Four receive Wilbur Cross Medals
Four distinguished alumni of Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences were awarded 2024 Wilbur Cross Medals on October 7, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to academia, research, and public service. This year’s honorees include James Scott ’67PhD, (political science), Anne Ferguson-Smith ’86PhD (biology), John Guillory ’79PhD (English language and literature), and Kai Li ’86PhD (computer science).
Scott, a Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science and professor emeritus of anthropology at Yale, and a renowned social scientist, received the medal posthumously. Scott was a pioneering figure in the fields of political science and anthropology. His work on peasant resistance, state power, and Southeast Asian studies left a lasting impact on academia.
Ferguson-Smith, a geneticist and professor at the University of Cambridge, was recognized for her groundbreaking research in developmental genetics and epigenetics. Her work has advanced the understanding of how genetic and environmental factors influence health across generations. Ferguson-Smith is also a leader in the scientific community, holding numerous prominent positions, including president of the UK Genetics Society.
Guillory, a scholar of Renaissance literature and media studies, was also honored for his extensive contributions to literary criticism and the history of rhetoric. Guillory has written several influential books and numerous essays on figures including Milton, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Bacon, and others, and received numerous accolades for his scholarship.
Li, a computer scientist at Princeton University, is recognized for his innovations in computer systems, particularly his contributions to shared virtual memory and deep learning. Li, who grew up in Chanchun, China, was one of the first group of students to come to the US from China for PhD studies after the Cultural Revolution. His work has transformed the fields of data storage and artificial intelligence.
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