KU doctor collects prestigious Guggenheim award

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded one of its top prizes to a School of Medicine faculty member.

Robert L. Martensen, professor and chair of history and philosophy of medicine and director of Clendening Library of History of Medicine, received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship Award.

Martensen, a renowned scholar of medical philosophy, wrote "The Origins and Cultural Politics of the Cerebral Body," which discusses the origins of modern ideas about the brain and mind that evolved during the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

Guggenheim fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The year 2002 fellowship winners include 184 artists, scholars and scientists selected from more than 2,800 applicants for awards totaling $6,750,000.

"Generally, the Guggenheim awards go to people in history or humanities departments," Martensen said. "The fact that we're being recognized for studying humanities in a professional school speaks well for our department."

This is the third Guggenheim awarded to a KU faculty member in six years: Guggenheims were awarded to Lisa Bitel, professor of history, 2000, and Roberta Johnson, professor of Spanish, in 1996.

#top#