NICHOLAS D. CHABRAJA CENTER FOR HISTORICAL STUDIES

Leopold Fellowship

The Center supports an undergraduate program honoring Professor Richard Leopold, a long-time member of the NU Department of History. The Leopold Fellowship program provides a group of able Northwestern undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in genuine historical research. The fellowship entails an hourly wage and possible travel expenses, but no academic credit. Leopold Fellows work on current faculty research projects, learning how to interpret complex archival and documentary materials.

The program is OPEN to ALL Northwestern undergraduates, irrespective of school or major. For more on the application process, please go to How to Apply for a Leopold Fellowship (click here or on the left-hand sidebar).

2023-2024 LEOPOLD FELLOWS      

  *Asterisk denotes a returning Leopold Fellow

1.  Lucia BARNUM (junior, Journalism) working with Professor Paul GILLINGHAM on “Unseen Mexico” (summer, F/W/S)
2. Asia BLACKWELL (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “The Wisdom of the Peoples: A Global History of Traditional Medicine” (summer, F/W)
3. Wyatt BROWDY (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/W/S)
4. *Elie (Eloise) CLARK (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Social History of the Jet Age” (F/W/S)
5. *William CLARK (senior, Journalism), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Right-Wing Environmentalism in Europe” (summer, F/W/S)
6. *Jane CLARKE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W)
7. Quinn COOK (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on "’The Common Property of Mankind’: When Intellectual Property and Experimental Economics Collide” (F/W/S)
8. Mariam COSMOS (sophomore, Journalism), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on “Leaving New Orleans: A Personal Urban History” (summer, F/W/S)
9. Noah COYLE (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on "’The Common Property of Mankind’: When Intellectual Property and Experimental Economics Collide” (F/W/S)
10. Sari DASHEFSKY (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: The United States in the Age of Infernos” (W/S)
11. Oliver GOLDMAN (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Michael ALLEN on “Presidents and Political Violence” (summer, F/W/S)
12. Elisa GUO (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on "’The Common Property of Mankind’: When Intellectual Property and Experimental Economics Collide” (summer, F/W)
13. *Joanna HOU (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/S)
14. Jason HUANG (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on “The history of race and medicine at Northwestern University” (summer, F/W/S)
15. Yong-Yu HUANG (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Notorious Flops: Why Entrepreneurs Failed” (summer)
16. Scott HWANG (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: The United States in the Age of Infernos” (summer, F)
17. Ana Karin ITURRALDE ZURITA (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Carl SMITH on “Shooting the Bad Guys:  Photography and the Identification of Criminals” (summer, F/W/S)
18. *Elena JAFFE (senior, Communication), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W)
19. Katie KEIL (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Social History of the Jet Age” (summer, F/W/S)
20. Daniel KIM (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “The Wisdom of the Peoples: A Global History of Traditional Medicine” (summer, F/W)
21. Lucas KIM (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/W/S)
22. Sophia KONDE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Joanna GRISINGER on “Famous Trials” (summer, Fall)
23. Isabella LEPENDORF (sophomore, WCAS), working with Leslie HARRIS on “Leaving New Orleans: A Personal Urban History” (summer, F/W/S)
24. Eliana MARTINEZ (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Notorious Flops: Why Entrepreneurs Failed” (summer)
25. Alan MEDINA (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Paul GILLINGHAM on “Unseen Mexico” (summer, F/W/S)
26. Jessica MOSKOWITZ (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Early Black Migrants to the Urban Middle West” (W/S)
27. Jonathan PERKINS (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: The United States in the Age of Infernos” (summer/F/W)
28. Mia PERKINS (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Haydon CHERRY on “The Year of the Horse: A Tropical Gothic” (summer, W/S)
29. Carter POPKIN (senior, Communication), working with Joanna GRISINGER on “Famous Trials” (summer, Fall)
30. Elissa RIZZO (sophomore, WCAS), working with Helen TILLEY on “The Wisdom of the Peoples: A Global History of Traditional Medicine” (summer, F/W)
31. Cate ROSE (sophomore, WCAS), working with Daniel IMMERWAHR on “All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: The United States in the Age of Infernos” (summer, F)
32. Colin SYMONS (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Kathleen BELEW on “Home, at the End of the World” (summer, W/S)
33. Connor TOOMAN (junior, Communication), working with Joanna GRISINGER on “Famous Trials” (summer, Fall)
34. Hannah TSAI (junior, WCAS), working Prof. Joanna GRISINGER on “Famous Trials” (W/S)
35. *Elizabeth VAZQUEZ (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lydia BARNETT on “Earth Workers: Marginalized Labor in the History of Science” (summer, F/W/S)
36. *Pengyue (Pete) WANG (junior, WCAS), working with Yohanan PETROVSKY-SHTERN on “National Democracy Behind Bars: Ukrainian and Jewish Dissidents in the Gulag, 1959-1989” (summer, F/W/S)
37. Talia WINIARSKY (sophomore, Journalism), working with Prof. Kathleen BELEW on “Home, at the End of the World” (F/W/S)
38. Lauren WHITE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Yohanan PETROVSKY-SHTERN on “A History of Laughter” (summer, F/W/S)
39. *Daniel WOLF (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Yohanan PETROVSKY-SHTERN on “A History of Laughter” (summer, F/W/S)
40. *Bobby YALAM (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer/S)

• Congratulations to 2022-23 Leopold Fellows Kate BOWMAN, who  has received a 2023-24 San Francisco Fellowship, and Michael PALASKAS who has won Phi Beta Kappa and  a Fulbright to Mexico!

2022-2023 LEOPOLD FELLOWS

*An asterisk denotes a returning Leopold Fellow

1. Pavan ACHARYA (sophomore, Journalism) working with Professor Sherwin BRYANT on “Slavery and the lives of the enslaved in southeastern North Carolina” (summer, F/S)
2. *Nick BAKAYSA (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Social History of the Jet Age” (summer, F/W/S)
3. Elisabeth BETTS (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (W/S)
4. Kate BOWMAN (senior, SESP) working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “The Wisdom of the Peoples: A Global History of Traditional Medicine” (F/W/S)
5. Elie (Eloise) CLARK (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Social History of the Jet Age” (F/W/S)
6. Jane CLARKE (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W)
7. Lauren ESCUDERO (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/W/S)
8. Theo FAUGERES (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “The Wisdom of the Peoples: A Global History of Traditional Medicine” (F/W/S)
9. Julia FILIMOWICZ (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Yohanan PETROVSKY-SHTERN on “National Democracy Behind Bars: Ukrainian and Jewish dissidents in the gulag, 1959-1989” (summer, F/W/S)
10. Bella (Isabella)  GIBB (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Carl SMITH on “Cameras and Criminals” (summer, Fall)
11. Alix (Alessandra) HAMILTON (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Scott SOWERBY on “Absolution and Arms: The Violent Origins of Religious Toleration in Early Modern Europe” (summer, W/S)
12. Annie HOROWITZ (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on “Social History of the Jet Age” (summer, F/W/S)
13. Joanna HOU (sophomore, Journalism), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W/S)
14. Elena JAFFE (junior, Communication), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, W/S)
15. *Minji KIM (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/W/S)
16. Julia MENCHER (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lydia BARNETT on “Earth Workers: Marginalized Labor in the History of Science” (W/S)
17. Rosie NEWMARK (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Brett GADSDEN on “From Protest to Politics: How African Americans Transformed the Presidency” (summer, W/S)
18. Michael PALASKAS (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Scott SOWERBY on “Absolution and Arms: The Violent Origins of Religious Toleration in Early Modern Europe” (F/W)
19. Elizabeth VAZQUEZ (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Lydia BARNETT on “Earth Workers: Marginalized Labor in the History of Science” (F/W/S)
20. Aaron (Xuandi) WANG (senior, Journalism), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/S)
21. Pete (Pengyue) WANG (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Jeff EDEN on “Resistance and Rebellion in the Age of Catherine the Great—The Pugachev Rebellion (1773-1775)” (F/W/S)
22. Morgan WILLISON (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Lauren STOKES on a “History of Bisexuality” (F/W/S)
23. Daniel WOLF (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Yohanan PETROVSKY-SHTERN on “A History of Laughter” (summer, F/W/S)
24. Bobby YALAM (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Dunne, Didion, Dunne” (summer, W/S)

 2021-2022 LEOPOLD FELLOWS

 *An asterisk denotes a returning Leopold Fellow

1. Nick BAKAYSA (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Joanna GRISINGER on “Public Interest or Public Corruption? Airline Regulation and Administrative Politics” (W/S)
2. Victoria BENEFIELD (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Michaela KLEBER on “Gendered Societies, Sexual Empires” (summer/F/W)
3. Madeline BROWN (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Sherwin BRYANT on “Slavery and the lives of the enslaved in southeastern North Carolina” (W/S, summer 2022)
4. William CLARK (sophomore, Journalism), working with Prof. Sarah CUSHMAN on “Auschwitz: The Women’s Camp” (summer, Fall)
5. Henry CONOVER (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Sherwin BRYANT on “Slavery and the lives of the enslaved in southeastern North Carolina” (summer/F/W/S)
6. Milena DeGUERE (senior, SESP), working with Prof. Sarah CUSHMAN on “Auschwitz: The Women’s Camp” (summer 2021)
7. Joan GWAK (senior, Medill School of Journalism), working with Prof. Ji-Yeon YUH on “The Korean War and Separated Families” (summer, W/S)
8. Griffin HARRIS (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Joanna GRISINGER on “Public Interest or Public Corruption? Airline Regulation and Administrative Politics” (summer, F)
9. *Chayda HARDING (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (summer, Fall)
10. Eva HERSCOWITZ (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W)
11. Minji KIM (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer, F/W/S)
12. Sean LIU (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W/S)
13. Giboom PARK (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ji-Yeon YUH on “The Korean War and Separated Families” (summer, Fall)
14. Samuel ROSNER (junior, WCAS), working with prof. Scott SOWERBY on “Absolution and Arms: The Violent Origins of Religious Toleration in Early Modern Europe” (summer, Fall 2021)
15. *Abigail ROSTON (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on "Defining Racialized Crime in 20th-Century New Orleans" (summer, F/W/S)
16. *Laurisa SASTOQUE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Sarah MAZA on “Les Misérables in the United States” (F/W/S)
17. Ashley SANCHEZ (sophomore, Journalism), working with Prof. Geraldo CADAVA on a book about Latino history over the past 500 years (W/S)
18. *Sophia SCANLAN (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “Men on Trial” (summer, F/W/S)
19. Neel SHAH (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (summer 2021)
20. Tanisha TEKRIWAL (junior, WCAS/Communication), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “People of the Flame: Wood, Fire, and the End of the World” (F/W/S)
21. Samantha WALTERS (senior, Journalism), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “People of the Flame: Wood, Fire, and the End of the World” (W/S)
22. Camille WILLIAMS (rising senior, Journalism), working with Prof. Sarah CUSHMAN on “Auschwitz: The Women’s Camp”  (summer 2021) and with Prof. Henry BINFORD (F/W/S) on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (F/W/S)
23. *Jerry ZHANG (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax“ (summer, F/W/S)

2020-2021 Leopold Fellows

*An asterisk denotes a returning Leopold Fellow

1. Elena ANDREWS (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (F/W/S)
2. Chloe BIVONA (junior, School of Communication), working with Prof. Benjamin FROMMER on “The Ghetto without Walls: The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia” (summer/Fall) and with Prof. Sarah CUSHMAN on “Auschwitz: The Women’s Camp” (Spring)
3. *Soren CAMPBELL (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “’The Wisdom of the Peoples’: African Decolonization, Global Governance, and Cold War Constructions of Traditional Medicine” (summer, F)
4. Meredith ELLISON (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “American Journalists and Europe” (summer, F/W/S)
5. Shannon HAN (sophomore, Communication), working with Prof. Laura HEIN on “Making Imagination Without Borders Trilingual” (summer, F/W/S)
6. Chayda HARDING (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (F/W/S)
7. *Emily HOLTZMAN (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Sean HANRETTA on “Cemeteries and Religious Practices in West Africa” (F/W/S)
8. Joshua IRVINE (junior, Journalism), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax“ (F/W/S)
9. *Martin KONSTANTINOV (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “American Journalists and Europe” (summer, F/W/S)
10. Hannah LITCHMAN (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Scott SOWERBY on “Absolution and Arms: The Violent Origins of Religious Toleration in Early Modern Europe” (W/S)
11. Jade MARCUM (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (summer 2020)
12. *Molly MOLLOY (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Michael ALLEN on "New Politics: The Imperial Presidency, the Democratic Party, and the Paradoxes of Power, 1940-1980" (summer, F/W)
13. Sarah PAPIRNIK (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Benjamin FROMMER on “The Ghetto without Walls: The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia” (summer/F)
14. *Abigail ROSTON (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on “Writing a History of Climate Change and Migration” (summer, F/W/S)
15. Anna RUBIN (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Joanna GRISINGER on “Airline Regulation, Administrative Politics, and Congress” (summer, F/W/S)
16. Anamaria SAYRE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Benjamin FROMMER on “The Ghetto without Walls: The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia” (F/S)
17. Laurisa SASTOQUE (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Sarah MAZA on “Les Misérables” in the United States (W/S)
18. Katharine SCHLAGER (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Geraldo CADAVA on "Buckley and Hunt: Watergate and the Limits of Friendship" (summer, W/S)
19. Sachin SHUKLA (senior, Music), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax“ (summer, F)
20. Carolina STUTZ (sophomore, WCAS), working with Scott SOWERBY on “Absolution and Arms: The Violent Origins of Religious Toleration in Early Modern Europe” (summer 2020)
21. Jerry ZHANG (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax“ (summer, F/W/S)
22. * Xinyang ZHOU (senior, Journalism), working with Prof. Ji-Yeon YUH on “Chosunjok and China’s National Minorities Policy” (summer, F)

2019-2020 Leopold Fellows

1. Maria Melia AGUDELO (senior, School of Communication), working with Professor Sean HANRETTA on “Cemeteries and Religious Practices in West Africa” (Fall 2019/Winter 2010/Spring 2010)
2. Fiona ASOKACITTA (junior, Weinberg College of Arts and Science WCAS), working with Prof. Benjamin FROMMER on “The Ghetto without Wall: The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia” (summer/F/W)
3. *Dominic BAYER (senior, WCAS) working with Professor Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (F/W/S)
4. Soren CAMPBELL (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “’The Wisdom of the Peoples’: African Decolonization, Global Governance, and Cold War Constructions of Traditional Medicine” (summer, W/S)
5. Matthew CASLER (senior, SESP), working with Prof. Shana BERNSTEIN on “Strawberry Fields Forever? A Consumer, Worker, and Environmental History of California’s Most Toxic and Profitable Crop” (F/W)
6. Yichun CHEN (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ji-Yeon YUH on “Chosunjok and China’s National Minorities Policy” (summer, F/W/S)
7. Adam DOWNING ( junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “People of the Flame: Growth, Wood, Fire, and the End of the World”(F/W)
8. Eleanor ELLIS (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Daniel IMMERWAHR on “People of the Flame: Growth, Wood, Fire, and the End of the World (F/W)
9. Nathan GLASMAN (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Paul RAMIREZ on “Salt of the Santos: A History of Devoted Work” (summer, F/W)
10. Emily HOLTZMAN (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Sean HANRETTA on “Cemeteries and Religious Practices in West Africa” (W/S)
11. Anthony INHORN (sophomore, School of Communication), working with Prof. Michael ALLEN on “New Politics: The Imperial Presidency, The Democratic Party, and The Paradoxes of Power, 1940-1980” (F/W/S)
12. Martin KAEHRLE (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Ajay MEHROTRA on “The VAT Laggard: A Comparative History of U.S. Resistance to the Value-added Tax” (F/W/S)
13. Martin KONSTANTINOV (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “American Journalists and Europe” (summer, F/W/S)
14. Kelly MILLER (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Benjamin FROMMER on “The Ghetto without Wall: The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia” (summer/F/W)
15. Molly MOLLOY (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Michael ALLEN on “New Politics: The Imperial Presidency, The Democratic Party, and The Paradoxes of Power, 1940-1980” (summer, F/W/S)
16. Aldo MONTES (junior, WCAS), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on “Writing a History of Climate Change and Migration” (summer, F/W/S)
17. *Lien (Sam) H. NGUYEN (junior, WCAS) continues working with Professor Haydon CHERRY on “Đào Duy Anh: Vietnamese Journalist” (summer/W/S)
18. Johann OSORIO (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Paul RAMIREZ on “Salt of the Santos: A History of Devoted Work” (summer, F/W)
19. Andrew REED (senior, Bienen School of Music/WCAS ), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “American Journalists and Europe” (F/W/S)
20. Abigail ROSTON (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on “Writing a History of Climate Change and Migration” (F/W/S)
21. Sophia SCANLAN (sophomore, WCAS), working with Prof. Deborah COHEN on “American Journalists and Europe” (F/W/S)
22. *Mychala SCHULZ (senior, WCAS) continues working with Henry BINFORD (F/W/S) on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (W/S)
23. Trent STEELMAN (senior, WCAS), working with Prof. Helen TILLEY on “’The Wisdom of the Peoples’: African Decolonization, Global Governance, and Cold War Constructions of Traditional Medicine” (summer, F/W)
24. Keerthi (Kiki) YALAMANCHILI (junior, SESP), working with Prof. Henry BINFORD on “Small Business in Poor Urban Communities” (F/W/S)
25. Xinyang ZHOU (junior, Medill School of Journalism), working with Prof. J-Yeon YUH on “Chosunjok and China’s National Minorities Policy” (F/W/S)
26. *Jared ZVONAR (senior, SESP)—working with Professor Scott SOWERBY on “States of Exclusion: Religious Diversity and Military Power in Early Modern Europe” (F/W/S).

SPECIAL Summer Leopold Fellows working with Prof. Leslie HARRIS on the history of co-education at Northwestern.

• Vivien HOUGH (rising junior, WCAS)
• Beatriz SAMPAIO (rising junior, WCAS)
• Keerthi (Kiki) YALAMANCHILI (rising junior, SESP)