Two Princeton University professors have been named 2026 MacArthur Fellows, joining a highly selective group of scientists, scholars and artists recognized for exceptional creativity and original work.
Economist Ellora Derenoncourt and historian Elizabeth Ellis are among 20 fellows selected nationwide this year. Each recipient will receive an $800,000 grant paid over five years, with no specific requirement on how the money must be used. Princeton University
Ellora Derenoncourt Recognized for Research on Economic Inequality
Derenoncourt, an associate professor of economics at Princeton, was selected for research examining the historical roots of racial disparities in wealth and economic mobility in the United States.
Her work focuses on labor markets, wage inequality and economic policy, often using large historical datasets to study how policy changes affected economic disparities over time. The MacArthur Foundation specifically highlighted her research into persistent gaps in earnings and accumulated wealth between
Derenoncourt joined Princeton’s faculty in 2021 and is the founding director of the university’s Program for Research on Inequality.
Elizabeth Ellis Honored for Work on Indigenous History
Ellis, an associate professor of history, was recognized for scholarship on early North American and Native American history.
Her research examines Indigenous politics, diplomacy, migration, sovereignty and borderlands, with particular attention to smaller Native nations whose histories have often received less attention in traditional accounts.
Her 2022 book, The Great Power of Small Nations: Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South, explores how smaller Native American nations influenced the development of what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Ellis is Peewaalia and an enrolled citizen of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. She joined Princeton’s history department in 2022.
Princeton Alumnus Also Named a Fellow
Princeton graduate alumnus Kaiyu Guan, who earned his Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering in 2013, was also named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow.
Guan is now a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and was recognized for work combining satellite observations, environmental models and machine learning to improve agricultural sustainability and productivity. Graduate School
20 Fellows Selected Nationwide
The 2026 MacArthur class includes 20 scientists, artists and scholars from across the United States.
The fellowship, often informally called the “genius grant,” recognizes people who have demonstrated exceptional originality and dedication to their creative work. The award is designed to give recipients freedom to pursue new ideas without restrictions on how the funds are spent. Princeton University
For Princeton, the latest awards continue a long history of faculty receiving MacArthur recognition across disciplines ranging from mathematics and African American studies to economics and history.
Sources: Princeton University, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
By NJ RADAR Team