The Kranzberg Fellowship

Updated 20 April 2026

It is now possible to submit proposals for the 2026 Kranzberg Fellowship. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2026.

It is possible to submit the required letter of recommendation for the Kranzberg Fellowship separately.

2025 Mevin Kranzberg Fellowships

In 2025 we had a very large number of applications of exceptional quality. The Kranzberg Committee in response proposed awarding two fellowships. The endowment which supports this fellowship, normally can support only a single award but with support of an anonymous gift (in memory of Marie Bashara) SHOT is able to support two awards this year.

• Karolina Partyga, Columbia University for her dissertation project titled: “Starting from Scrap. Material politics of Polish reconstruction and the industrial remaking of East Central Europe, 1944-1950.”
• Thomas McLamb, University of California, San Diego for his dissertation project titled: “The Ksara Observatory: Technology, the Observatory Sciences, and Private Property in Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate.

Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship

Melvin Kranzberg

The Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship is presented annually to a doctoral student engaged in the preparation of a dissertation on the history of technology, broadly defined. This award is in memory of the co-founder of the Society and honors Melvin Kranzberg’s many contributions to developing the history of technology as a field of scholarly endeavor and SHOT as a professional organization.

The $4,000 award is unrestricted and may be used in any way that the winner chooses to advance the research and writing of his or her dissertation. Possible uses include underwriting the costs of travel to archival collections; photocopying or microfilming; translation of documents; and so on. The award may not be used for university tuition or fees.

Students from institutions of higher learning anywhere in the world who are working on projects in the history of technology are eligible to apply; doctoral candidates from outside the United States are especially encouraged to submit application materials. Applicants must have completed all requirements for their doctorate except for the dissertation by September 1 of the year the award is made. (Students from outside the United States, whose programs of study may follow a different pattern, are encouraged to contact the committee chair to review their standing and discuss their eligibility for the Kranzberg Fellowship.)

The Kranzberg Fellowship will be announced annually during the Awards Event at the SHOT Annual Meeting.

An application should include the following

1. A curriculum vitae.
2. A 3-5 page (750-1250 word) summary or abstract of the proposed dissertation. In this summary, applicants should describe how their research contributes to the history of technology.
3. A 1-2 page (250-500 word) description of how the applicant intends to use the funds.
4. A letter of recommendation from the student’s dissertation director. This letter should also attest that the student is currently enrolled and in good standing at a recognized university graduate program, and will complete all requirements for the doctorate except the dissertation by 1 September. (It is possible to submit the letter of recommendation separately, see below.)

Submission Guidelines

• Please submit your application via our online submission form.
• If preferred the required letter of recommendation of the dissertation director may also be submitted separately.
• Please note that all applications should be in English.

Yakup Emre Karaşahan, recipient of the 2024 Kranzberg Fellowship during his pre-recorded reply at the Awards Event in Chile. (Photo SHOT)

2025 Kranzberg Fellowship Committee

For more information, please contact the SHOT secretariat at [email protected].

Recipients of the Kranzberg Fellowship