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Indian-origin scholars among 2026 Guggenheim fellows
Founded in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation awards fellowships that provide financial support for independent work under what it calls “the freest possible conditions.”
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Pranavi Sharma - Wed, 15, Apr 2026
- 02:19 EDT
- 18
The 2026 fellows include Amitav Ghosh in general nonfiction, Megha Majumdar in fiction, Vivek Narayanan in poetry, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan in computer science. / John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The New York based John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation on April 14 announced its 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows, naming 223 artists, scientists and scholars across 55 fields, including four of Indian origin recognized in different categories.
The 2026 fellows include Amitav Ghosh in general nonfiction, Megha Majumdar in fiction, Vivek Narayanan in poetry, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan in computer science. The foundation said fellows were selected through a competitive application and peer review process from nearly 5,000 applicants, based on prior achievement and future promise.
Ghosh, based in Brooklyn, New York, is known for novels that examine identity and history in India and South Asia. He received India’s Jnanpith Award in 2018. Majumdar, who teaches at CUNY Hunter College, gained recognition with her debut novel A Burning, a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel, A Guardian and a Thief, was shortlisted for the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction and won the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
ALSO READ: Amitav Ghosh to deliver special lecture at COA
Narayanan, a faculty member at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, was born in India and raised in Zambia. He is a poet. He studied cultural anthropology at Stanford University and earned an MFA in creative writing from Boston University.
Vaikuntanathan, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, works in cryptography, including homomorphic encryption. He shared the 2022 Gödel Prize and co-founded the data startup Duality Tech.
“Our new class of Guggenheim Fellows is representative of the world’s best thinkers, innovators, and creators in art, science, and scholarship,” said Edward Hirsch, president of the foundation. He added that the fellows would pursue “bold and inspiring work” despite current challenges.
Founded in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation awards fellowships that provide financial support for independent work under what it calls “the freest possible conditions.” Since its inception, the foundation has granted nearly $450 million to more than 19,000 fellows.
The 2026 class spans 97 academic institutions, 33 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, three Canadian provinces and eight other countries. Fellows range in age from 28 to 76, and about one-third are not affiliated full time with a college or university.
According to the foundation, this year saw a 50% increase in applications in the creative arts and humanities and an 86% rise in the sciences. Fellows’ work addresses issues including artificial intelligence, medical technology, historical research and new forms of artistic expression.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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