mountain profile Institute for Astronomy University of Hawaii

Parrent Fellowship

An endowment created with funding from the estate of Beatrice Watson Parrent provides support, in perpetuity, for a post-doctoral astronomy research fellowship in her name.   Today the prestigious Parrent Fellowship is well known in astronomical circles and is sought after by the most promising newly-graduated PhDs in the world. The Parrent Fellow is appointed for a term of two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension at the discretion of the Institute for Astronomy Director. Parrent Fellows are free to pursue research of their own choosing. This has served to stimulate ideas and approaches which have led to new theories and knowledge in the field of astronomy.

Recipients of the Beatrice Parrent Watson Fellowship have been
  • 1985-1988 Eileen Friel, PhD University of California, Santa Cruz Stellar evolution
  • 1988-1991 Fernando Selman, PhD California Institute of Technology Cosmology
  • 1991-1994 Constantine Deliyannis, PhD Yale University Element abundances
  • 1994-1997 William D. Vacca, PhD University of Colorado Starburst galaxies
  • 1997-2000 Gillian Wilson, PhD University of Durham Gravitational lensing
  • 2000-2003 Michael Liu, PhD University of California, Berkeley Star/planet formation
  • 2003-2006 Jan Kleyna, PhD Harvard University Galaxy dynamics
  • 2007-2009 Adam Bolton, PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gravitational lensing