Jacobus Fellows' research spans empathy to superconductivity

By the Office of Communications on March 20, 2017, noon

Earlier this year, the Graduate School named the winners of the Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship, Princeton University's top honor for graduate students.

The fellows are Adam Lerner in philosophy, Alexander "Sasha" Philippov in astrophysical sciences, Henry Shapiro in history and Neereja Sundaresan in electrical engineering. The fellowships are awarded to one Ph.D. student in each of the four divisions (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering) whose work has exhibited the highest scholarly excellence, and they support the students' final year of study at Princeton. The fellows were recognized at Alumni Day, Saturday Feb. 25.

In the videos below, the fellows and their advisers discuss the students' research.

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Philosophy student Adam Lerner's dissertation, "Empathy, Moral Epistemology, and Moral Progress," examines the role of empathy in determining what is morally right and then applies this reasoning to several moral debates. Lerner and his adviser Sarah-Jane Leslie, the Class of 1943 Professor of Philosophy, discuss his research in this video. (Videos by Nick Barberio, Office of Communications)

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In his dissertation, Alexander "Sasha" Philippov, a Ph.D. student in astrophysical sciences, uses 3-D modeling to provide greater understanding of pulsars, which are rotating magnetized neutron stars. He and his adviser Anatoly Spitkovsky, a professor of astrophysical sciences, discuss his research in this video.

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History student Henry Shapiro is writing a dissertation titled "The Great Armenian Flight: The Celali Revolts and the Rise of Western Armenian Society," which offers new insights about the timing, reasons and impact of Armenians' migration to the western territories of the Ottoman Empire. With his adviser Molly Greene, professor of history and Hellenic studies, Shapiro describes his interest in the topic.

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Neereja Sundaresan, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, explores superconductivity and photons in her dissertation research. She and her adviser Andrew Houck, a professor of electrical engineering, explain the purpose and methods of her work.

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Four win Jacobus Fellowship, top graduate student honor .

Adam Lerner, Alexander "Sasha" Philippov, Henry Shapiro and Neereja Sundaresan have been named the winners of the Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship, Princeton University's top honor for graduate students. The fellowships support their final year of study at Princeton and are awarded to one Ph.D. student in each of the four divisions (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering) whose work has exhibited the highest scholarly excellence.

Jacobus Fellow Henry Shapiro: Armenian-Ottoman history .

History student Henry Shapiro is writing a dissertation titled "The Great Armenian Flight: The Celali Revolts and the Rise of Western Armenian Society," which offers new insights about the timing, reasons and impact of Armenians' migration to the western territories of the Ottoman Empire. With his adviser Molly Greene, professor of history and Hellenic studies, Shapiro describes his interest in the topic.

Jacobus Fellow Sasha Philippov: Pulsars .

In his dissertation, Alexander "Sasha" Philippov, a Ph.D. student in astrophysical sciences, uses 3-D modeling to provide greater understanding of pulsars, which are rotating magnetized neutron stars. He and his adviser Anatoly Spitkovsky, a professor of astrophysical sciences, discuss his research in this video.

Jacobus Fellow Adam Lerner: Empathy .

Philosophy student Adam Lerner's dissertation, "Empathy, Moral Epistemology, and Moral Progress," examines the role of empathy in determining what is morally right and then applies this reasoning to several moral debates. Lerner and his adviser Sarah-Jane Leslie, the Class of 1943 Professor of Philosophy, discuss his research in this video.

Jacobus Fellow Neereja Sundaresan: Superconductivity and photons .

Neereja Sundaresan, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, explores superconductivity and photos in her dissertation research. She and her adviser Andrew Houck, a professor of electrical engineering, explain the purpose and methods of her work.

Alumni Day honorees Kuczynski, Schmidt stress solutions for global challenges .

The recipients of Princeton's top alumni awards underscored solutions for the political and technological challenges of today and the future at the University's annual Alumni Day on Saturday, Feb. 25. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, president of Peru, spoke of a new age in Latin America, while Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., was positive about the power of technology to solve societal problems.

Jacobus Fellow Matthew Edwards explores ultrafast sources of radiation .

Matthew Edwards is one of four winners of this year’s Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship, Princeton University’s top honor for graduate students.