To encourage and support scholarship, The Strong awards research fellowships three times each year. The Strong provides research grants through three programs: The Strong Research Fellowships, the Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Research Fellowships, and the Frances M. Williams Research Fellowships. Researchers from around the world have used The Strong’s collections and archival materials to inform dissertations, books, and other scholarly works. Find out more about their research below:
Past Fellowship Recipients
September 2019
Cristina Di Maio
Macerata University, Macerata, Italy
Topic: Play and the ludic element in short fiction by women writers
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2019
Sonia Tiwari
Penn State University
Topic: The evolution of Maker Toys over the last 50 to 60 years
The Strong Research Fellowship
Paul Rubery
Stony Brook University
Topic: The history and social context of handheld electronic games
The Strong Research Fellowship
Robert Whitaker
Louisiana Tech University
Topic: Digital games with historical settings and themes
G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowship
July 2019
June Coyne
Loyola University, Chicago
Topic: Cultural impact of educational computer games
The Strong Research Fellowship
Stella Rossikopoulou Pappa
Harvard University
Topic: Domestic games as a medium for expressing the transforming conceptions of knowledge, education, and citizenship
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
Whitney Pow
Northwestern University
Topic: The contributions of transgender women to the video game industry
The Strong Research Fellowship
Ian Larson
University of California, Irvine
Topic: Game console and software cloning from 1975 to 1995
The Strong Research Fellowship
June 2019
Steven Dashiell
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Topic: Conversations at gaming tables
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosmany Fellowship
Peter Licari
University of Florida
Topic: The influence of video games on political attitudes
The Strong Research Fellowship
Eva Nwokah
Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio
Topic: How authors play with words and images to create meaning for children
G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowship
Aria Halliday
University of New Hampshire
Topic: The contributions of black women to popular culture
The Strong Research Fellowship
March 2019
Tom Boellstorff
University of California, Irvine
Topic: The history of the Intellivision video game system
The Strong Research Fellowship
Braxton Soderman
University of California, Irvine
Topic: The history of the Intellivision video game system
The Strong Research Fellowship
January 2019
Marina Fontolan
University of Campinas, Brazil
Topic: United States video game industry history
The Strong Reseach Fellowship
September 2018
Gleb Albert
University of Zurich
Topic: 1980s video gaming piracy
The Strong Research Fellowship
July 2018
Alex Mirowski
Indiana University
Topic: The role that space (cosmos) has played in the development of video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
Sean Purcell
Indiana University
Topic: How jigsaw puzzles reinforce political, religious, and familial ideologies
The Strong Research Fellowhip
Andrew Ervin
Temple University
Topic: Dungeons & Dragons adventures
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
June 2018
Jana Rosinski
Syracuse University
Topic: Female game designers
The Strong Research Fellowship
Alec Hurley
University of Texas at Austin
Topic: Relationship between play and competitive sports
The Strong Research Fellowship
Natalie Underberg-Goode
University of Central Florida
Topic: The evolution of video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
Patrick Ellis
Georgia Insitute of Technology
Topic: Charles Lindergh-themed toys
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
Susan Fletcher
Author
Topic: History of childhood and play in America
G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowship
January 2018
Dany Guay-Bélanger
Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada
Topic: Video game preservation.
The Strong Research Fellowship
October 2017
Danielle Almedia
Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil
Topic: The role of toy in cultural identity.
The Strong Research Fellowship
September 2017
James Newman
Bath Spa University in England
Topic: The localization and international reception of 1980s and 90s console video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2017
Matt Knutson
University of California-Irvine
Topic: Pre-history of today's modern esports culture
The Strong Research Fellowship
July 2017
Susan Asbury
Penn State University
Topic: The role of board games in shaping American home life
G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowship
Whitney Pow
Northwestern University
Topic: History of maps and representations of space in video games and board games
The Strong Research Fellowship
Jose Bellido
University of Kent in England
Topic: Emergence of modern intellectual property
The Strong Research Fellowship
June 2017
Sarah Bell
Michigan Technological University
Topic: Speech synthesis and the Texas Instruments Speak & Spell.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Amy Ansong
George Mason University
Topic: STEM-based toys and their impact on girls' play.
The Strong Research Fellowship
March 2017
Katriina Heljakka
University of Turku in Finland
Topic: The playfulness of cultures and their "toyifying" tendencies.
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2016
Angela Cope
York University in Toronto
Topic: Rise of plastic use in children's toys from 1945 to 1970.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Lauren DeLaCruz
Northwestern University
Topic: The ways that children's toys share cultural ideas, values, and beliefs about gender.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Elizabeth Badger
University of Minnesota
Topic: Origins of the "male-dominated" video game industry and culture.
The Strong Research Fellowship
July 2016
Chris Dingwall
University of Toronto
Topic: The relationship of a popular 1915 black slave mechanical Christmas toy to contemporary views on race.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Benjamin Hoy
University of Saskatchewan (Canada)
Topic: The depiction of Native Americans in history and in board games.
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
Siobhan Carroll
University of Delaware
Topic: The influence of 19th-century playthings on the Victorian novel.
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
Chris Hanson
Syracuse University
Topic: The work and influence of video game designer Roberta Williams.
The Strong Research Fellowship
James Fleury
University of California at Los Angeles
Topic: The history of video game licensing and development.
The Strong Research Fellowship
April 2016
Nancy Callahan
State University of New York at Oneonta
Topic: Educational toys from the late 1800s.
The Strong Research Fellowship
February 2016
Aria Halliday
Purdue University
Topic: Ways that pop culture icons use "girl play" to popularize their brands.
The Strong Research Fellowship
December 2015
Mattia Thibault
University of Turin (Turin, Italy)
Topic: How toys reflect and represent cultural values
The Strong Research Fellowship
Molly Duggins
National Art School (Sydney, Australia)
Topic: Victorian-era romance with the sea and its influence on the 19th-century marketplace
The Strong Research Fellowship
October 2015
Riccardo Fassone
University of Turin (Turin, Italy)
Topic: The history of early film-to-video game adaptations.
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2015
Koral LaVorgna
University of Brunswick (Canada)
Topic: Connection between the cereal industry and children's history and culture.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Emily Aguilo-Perez
Pennsylvania State University
Topic: Puerto Rican women and their experiences with Barbie.
Blog: "Venturing into Barbie's World"
The Strong Research Fellowship
Benjamin Lindquist
Princeton University
Topic: Shifts in play and the concept of fun in American Christianity.
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
July 2015
Anastasia Salter
University of Central Florida
Topic: Life and work of video game designer Jane Jensen.
The Strong Research Fellowship
Alexander Bevier
New York University
Topic: The career of pioneering board game designer Sid Sackson.
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
Andrea Braithwaite
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Topic: How girls and women understand themselves as gamers.
The Strong Research Fellowship
May 2015
Robyn Holmes
Monmouth University in New Jersey
Topic: Connection between board games and cultural, social, moral, and religious messages.
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Fellowship
January 2015
Devin Monnen
Independent Games Historian
Topic: North American video game industry crash of 1983
The Strong Research Fellowship
Laine Nooney
New York University
Topic: Cultural history of computer game company Sierra On-Line
The Strong Research Fellowship
November 2014
Raiford Guins
Stony Brook University
Topic: History of coin-op arcade video game cabinet design
The Strong Research Fellowship
October 2014
Emily Flynn-Jones
York University in Toronto
Topic: How women and girls at play have been represented throughout history
The Strong Research Fellowship
September 2014
Jason Corace
Maryland Institute of Art
Topic: Games that feature both analog and electronic elements
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2014
Nina Huntemann
Suffolk University in Boston
Topic: Strategic business practices of video game companies that failed to survive the seventh generation console launch
The Strong Research Fellowship
Evan Lauteria
University of California-Davis
Topic: Influence of culture on the global video game market in the late 1980s and early 1990s
The Strong Research Fellowship
Reem Hilu
Northwestern University
Topic: Video games that focus on domestic settings and themes
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Research Fellowship
July 2014
Brandi Venable
Rutgers University
Topic: Conceptions of childhood food preferences in popular American print advertising
The Strong Research Fellowship
Gillian Smith
Northeastern University
Topic: Role of procedural content generation in digital and nondigital games
Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Research Fellowship
Marc-Niclas Heckner
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Topic: Impact of WWII-based first person shooter games on spatial perceptions of history
The Strong Research Fellowship
Carly Kocurek
Illinois Institute of Technology
Topic: History of coin-operated video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
April 2014
Marilyn Solvay
Husson University (Maine)
Topic: Depictions of women in the Old Maid card game
The Strong Research Fellowship
March 2014
Robert Guyker
Pacifica Graduate Institute (California)
Topic: Convergence of myth, play, and video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
January 2014
Douglas Guerra
State University of New York at Oswego
Topic: Game play and representations of agency and practices of social belonging in the 19th century
The Strong Research Fellowship
Rebecca Hernandez-Gerber
New York University
Topic: Issue of "versions" in video game preservation
The Strong Research Fellowship
December 2013
Joshua Unikel
University of Buffalo
Topic: History of Sesame Street
The Strong Research Fellowship
Christopher Darby
Seton Hall University
Topic: Video game industry from 1972 to 1987
The Strong Research Fellowship
August 2013
Sarah Scripps
University of South Carolina
Topic: Formation of youth scientific communities from 1915 to 1960
The Strong Research Fellowship
Jonathan Clemens
University of Minnesota
Topic: Impact of producers, users, and mediators on technological innovation
The Strong Research Fellowship
S. Lynneth Solis
Harvard University
Topic: Role of play in children's development
The Strong Research Fellowship
July 2013
Mirah Kirchner
York University in Toronto
Topic: Dolls and societal norms surrounding childhood
The Strong Research Fellowship
Samuel Tobin
Fitchburg State University (Massachusetts)
Topic: Transformation of the arcade in contemporary culture
The Strong Research Fellowship
June 2013
Brian Beaton
University of Pittsburgh
Topic: Popular attitudes toward the sciences
The Strong Research Fellowship
Frederika Eilers
McGill University (Montreal)
Topic: Dollhouses as architectural toys
The Strong Research Fellowship
May 2013
Kendall Garton
Queens University
Topic: Influence of dolls on Canadian identity
The Strong Research Fellowship
February 2013
Jason Begy
Concordia University (Portland)
Topic: Evolution of train-based games and video games
The Strong Research Fellowship
January 2013
Drew Chappell
California State University at Fullerton
Topic: How board games and roleplaying games define notions of "victory" over time
The Strong Research Fellowship
December 2012
Kristana Textor
Topic: Impact of toys and electronic on the evolution of traditional gender roles
The Strong Research Fellowship