The Distinguished Fellows Video Contest is a highlight of an annual celebration honoring graduate students who receive prestigious fellowships, and their supporters. This year, fellows, donors, faculty, and staff viewed the winning entries at an evening gala on March 6, 2019.

Winners received research-travel grants in the amounts of $1,500, $1,000, and $750 respectively. All of this year’s videos are well worth viewing!


First Place: Jon Jon Moore

Recipient of the Berkeley Fellowship

Jon Jon is a Detroit-born poet, graduate of Tufts University, and first-year doctoral student in the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley. He is interested in the relationship between afro-pessimism, black feminist theories of the human, and experimental poetics. Jon Jon works at the Gender Equity Resource Center, co-coaches CalSLAM, and loves bad horror movies.


Second Place: Adrian Bayer

Recipient of the Berkeley Fellowship

Adrian is a first year PhD student in the Department of Physics. He completed his undergraduate studies in Physics at Imperial College London and obtained a masters in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He now works at the intersection of physics and data science, where he uncovers our universe’s deepest secrets.


Third Place: Sara Ann Knutson

Recipient of the Mellon-Berkeley Fellowship

Sara Ann is a Berkeley-Mellon Fellow and a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Anthropology. She holds a masters degree in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge and an MA in Scandinavian Studies from UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on the medieval cross-cultural networks between Europe and the Arab World.


View past contest submissions