American Studies PhD candidate Dominic Dongilli has earned a prestigious Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship. He will be spending 2023-24 conducting research and completing his dissertation at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington DC, studying in the archives and engaging the animals there.

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers opportunities for independent research or study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff. Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior researchers to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts.