Pardee Center Welcomes 2026 Graduate Summer Fellows
Earlier this week, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future welcomed the 19th annual class of Graduate Summer Fellows. The 10-week program (May 26 – July 31, 2026), open to graduate students across the University, offers structured interaction with faculty and a collegial atmosphere that fosters peer support and intellectual growth. Summer Fellows conduct independent, future-oriented, policy-relevant research and produce a substantive research paper to be considered for publication by the Pardee Center.
This year’s fellows come from the Pardee School of Global Studies, the School of Public Health, the College of Communication, and GRS Departments of Earth & Environment, Political Science, and Anthropology. Their research spans topics including AI and corporate power, critical mineral supply chains, climate adaptation, urban heat islands, global health equity, indigenous identity, and education in China.
During their first week, the Fellows participated in an orientation session with Pardee Center Interim Director Min Ye, Professor of International Relations and Pardee School Dean Scott Taylor and a workshop with Pamela Templer, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Biology.
During the remaining nine weeks of the program, the Fellows will complete research paper drafts on a wide range of future-oriented topics while participating in more activities and events designed to advance interdisciplinary learning.
About the Fellows
Yunxiao (Caitlyn) Chen is a first-year PhD student in Emerging Media Studies at BU’s College of Communication. Her research sits at the intersection of technology governance, AI, and human-computer interaction, with a particular focus on privacy in virtual reality environments. She comes to us from the University of Florida, where she earned her MA in Communication with distinction.
Thang Ha is a PhD candidate in Political Science, specializing in international political economy and security with a focus on Southeast Asia and China’s foreign policy. Originally from Vietnam, he previously served as a specialist at Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been a research assistant at BU’s Global Development Policy Center. He is currently at work on a paper examining the politics of demand signaling in sanctions.
Yvonne Ilupeju is a PhD student in Political Science whose work spans comparative politics and international relations, with a strong focus on Africa. She holds a first-class MPhil from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, where her thesis examined the political ecology of e-waste smuggling. She has also conducted research at MIT’s Global Diversity Lab.
Mira Kelly-Fair is a PhD candidate in Earth and Environment whose research models coastal and mangrove ecosystems to inform climate resilience planning. A Mount Holyoke alumna, she has worked as a naturalist at the New England Aquarium, represented BU at COP29, and currently serves as president of the Earth and Environment Graduate Student Association.
Melissa Martin is a PhD candidate in Earth and Environment investigating the growing global demand for space cooling as temperatures rise — a challenge sitting at the crossroads of climate change, urbanization, and energy equity. She brings substantial professional experience from Element Energy and the climate think tank E3G, and holds an MSc with distinction from Imperial College London.
Stanley Muoghalu is a Doctor of Public Health candidate at BU School of Public Health, and brings over 15 years of experience as a physician and global health professional. He has worked on malaria surveillance, Ebola response, and reproductive health systems across Nigeria and Sierra Leone, including roles with the WHO, the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility, and the US PMI Malaria program.
Muhammad Rizkita is a master’s student in International Affairs at BU’s Pardee School, specializing in security studies with a focus on religion, politics, and identity. He comes from Indonesia, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Islamic Philosophy magna cum laude and published widely on topics including religious intolerance, secularism, and identity politics.
Tong Xin is a sociocultural anthropology PhD candidate whose dissertation research explores sexuality education for children in China through ethnographic and participatory methods, including photovoice. She previously worked at Peking University’s School of Public Health and China’s National Center for Women and Children’s Health, and has co-curated several public exhibitions growing from her fieldwork.