The Dan David Prize has awarded $300,000 each to nine scholars for their research on the human past, the foundation announced Tuesday. The prize, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, aims to recognize innovative work and support future research by early and mid-stage scholars.
The international group of recipients is being recognized for a range of research topics. Among the honorees are scholars examining violence and historical memory in the Balkans, the medieval perception and structuring of time, and ancient Inca road networks that have influenced modern infrastructure in Peru.
Historian Howard Chiang of the University of California, Santa Barbara, was recognized for his analysis of the history of sex change in China, proposing a new paradigm for transgender history centered on geopolitics. Environmental historian Dagomar Degroot's work focuses on how past civilizations adapted to ice ages.
Ariel David, a board member and son of the prize's late founder Dan David, stated that the scholars "challenge us to see the past, and our present, in a new light."
The winners received their awards at a recent ceremony in Italy. Previous recipients of the Dan David Prize include Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.