Ten Postdoctoral Researchers Named to Society of Fellows in Public Knowledge

Ten postdoctoral researchers have been named to the inaugural cohort of SAS Commons Society of Fellows in Public Knowledge, an initiative created as part of SAS Horizons: Pathways for a Changing World. These early-career scholars have expertise across a range of fields, from astronomy and chemistry to political science and ethnomusicology. 

“Postdoctoral researchers operate in this very special place. They’ve finished their formal training. This is an intermediary step before they begin their full professional lives,” says Sophia Rosenfeld, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and SAS Commons Inaugural Director.  “Whether they’re going to go on in academia or do something else, the focus here is on creating a community of early-career scholars and bringing their scholarship into the public arena.” 

A call went out for applications last spring, and fellows were notified of their selection in July. The first official meeting will take place in late September. Then fellows will meet 10 times over the course of the year-long program. At each gathering, a different postdoc will briefly present a research talk. “We’ll be each other’s audience,” Rosenfeld explains. “They’ll have to figure out how to explain work that might be technical and esoteric in its scholarly dimensions to people not in their fields.” 

And though none of the postdocs specifically researches Democracy and Knowledge—the theme of the inaugural SAS Commons programming—Rosenfeld believes the research agendas of these scholars all fit well with this theme. “Democracy requires us to explain how advanced study of different fields contributes to the public good. We’re bringing scholarship into the public arena. Almost none of these scholars is working on the topic of democracy per se, but I think there is democratic potential in all of their topics, as well as their methods. We’re hoping a culminating event will be an ideas festival with public presentations of this work.”

The first cohort of Society of Fellows in Public Knowledge includes: 

1. Yintong Chen, Biology PhD, postdoc in the Department of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine
2. Amy Funck, Political Science PhD, postdoc with the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program, Penn Arts & Sciences 
3. Emma Kalb, South Asian Languages and Civilizations PhD, postdoc in the Department of South Asia Studies, Penn Arts & Sciences
4. Nathan Kong, Cognitive Neuroscience PhD, postdoc in the Department of Psychology, Penn Arts & Sciences
5. Madeline Lucey, Astronomy PhD, postdoc in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, Penn Arts & Sciences
6. Sewon Oh, Chemistry PhD, postdoc in the Department of Chemistry, Penn Arts & Sciences
7. Elizabeth Stippell, Physical/Theoretical Chemistry PhD, postdoc in the Department of Chemistry, Penn Arts & Sciences
8. Sejin Um, Sociology PhD, postdoc in the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies, Penn Arts & Sciences
9. Helena Yoo-Roth, History PhD, postdoc at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Penn Arts & Sciences
10. Allan Zheng, Ethnomusicology PhD, postdoc at the Wolf Humanities Center, Penn Arts & Sciences

Rosenfeld is excited about upcoming conversations with and among the Fellows, and for the part they’ll play in SAS Commons overall. “The SAS Commons initiative is happening from undergrad classes to community events to the postdoctoral realm. They’re all part of the same enterprise,” she says. “And for this group in particular, we want to emphasize not just what they’re contributing to their specific scholarly domain, but how they can explain it to people in the world, explain its relevance and value—an important task for all early career scholars today.”