Yotam Shem-Tov, assistant professor of economics at UCLA has been awarded a 2025 Sloan Research Fellowship, one the most competitive and prestigious awards available to early-career researchers which recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize the fields of economics, chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, mathematics, neuroscience and physics.
Shem-Tov studies labor economics, applied econometrics and criminal justice and crime. His research has reshaped key debates in criminal justice and labor economics by providing credible causal evidence that challenges long-held assumptions. One major contribution of his work has been his focus on restorative justice as an alternative to traditional prosecution.
While restorative justice has long been cited as a promising alternative to address conflict and crime, rigorous U.S.-based causal evidence has been scarce. Using data from a randomized controlled trial conducted by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Shem-Tov provided some of the first robust estimates showing that restorative justice programs can reduce recidivism rates by 23 percentage points, offering valuable insights for policymakers seeking effective diversion strategies.
Another key contribution of Shem Tov’s work focuses on the long-term effects of incarceration on labor market outcomes. While conventional wisdom suggests that prison itself is a primary driver of unemployment and recidivism, his work reveals that many individuals already exhibit weak labor market attachment before incarceration—with employment rates below 50% and earnings below the federal poverty line. His findings suggest that the root causes of post-prison economic struggles often predate incarceration, shifting the policy focus toward early interventions, sentencing reforms and employment support programs for at-risk individuals.
Ultimately, his efforts aim to achieve a more effective and equitable system that balances public safety with rehabilitation. Shem Tov’s work has been published in leading economics journals such as: Econometrica,The Journal of Political Economy and The Review of Economics and Statistics.
Shem-Tom joins six other UCLA faculty among the 126 scientists and scholars to receive 2025 Sloan Research Fellowships, UCLA ranks No. 1 among public colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada in the number of new honorees. Yotam also joins past Sloan winners in UCLA’s Department of Economics including David Baque, Natalie Bau, Denis Chetverikov, Pablo Fajgelbaum, Jon Vogel, Dora Costa, Lee Ohanian and Andy Atkeson.
UCLA Waystation Initiative to lead global project on restitution of cultural objects
The collaborative effort will build a framework for voluntary return and shared stewardship
Lyssa Stapleton, Waystation Initiative co-founder, will lead the NEH-funded project selected for its potential to use the humanities to address contemporary social challenges.
The Waystation Initiative at UCLA, the first university-based effort in the U.S. dedicated to advancing ethical stewardship and return of international cultural objects, has been awarded a grant to address the complexities surrounding unprovenanced or unethically obtained cultural objects.
The two-year, $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will support efforts to advance two key solutions: shared stewardship and voluntary return. It is a broad discussion and effort to provide resources for institutions — mostly in the U.S. but not exclusively — and to help members of Indigenous communities find a voice within their own country, says Lyssa Stapleton, co-founder and director of the Waystation Initiative.
A centerpiece of this effort is “Creating Connections: Advancing Restitution and Stewardship of Cultural Heritage through Community Collaboration,” a two-day convening, which the Waystation Initiative will host this spring, coorganized with the Consensus Building Institute and the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Representatives from diverse communities across the globe will gather to foster dialogue and to develop shared strategies that promote forward-thinking solutions for cultural heritage in private and institutional collections.
“This grant will support the crucial work of the Waystation in developing and exploring more equitable and collaborative approaches to the voluntary return and stewardship of cultural objects, advancing the cause of heritage justice,” Stapleton said. “Through international partnerships, our initiative fosters knowledge-sharing and collaboration among communities and nations, advocating for their rights to be the primary decision-makers concerning their cultural heritage.”
The grant will also support the launch of community consultations, which will engage diverse international communities to ensure that their needs and perspectives are central to new guidelines for shared stewardship and voluntary return. Community members hired as consultants will be drawn from the Waystation’s existing stakeholder network, participants in the 2025 “Creating Connections” convening and external contacts from global heritage initiatives.
Findings from these efforts will inform “The Best Practices for Voluntary Return and Shared Stewardship,” the grant’s final objective, which will be guided by the Waystation’s ongoing restitution efforts, community engagement, current research and case studies from other institutions involved in similar initiatives.
The Waystation’s project was funded under the NEH’s United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture program and forms part of the broader American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future initiative. The grant is one of six awarded from 33 competitive applications. The Waystation’s proposal was selected for its potential to use the humanities to address contemporary social challenges, including strengthening democracy and advancing equity for all.
Launched in April 2023, the Waystation Initiative also includes a graduate certificate program in cultural heritage research, stewardship and restitution — the first university program in the U.S. to offer formal training in the ethics and mechanics of returning cultural objects to nations and communities of origin.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, opulent hats adorned with exotic bird feathers became a major trend in American and European fashion. But the lucrative plume trade came at an enormous ecological cost, with many fearing that overhunting would drive numerous bird species to extinction.
The golden-fronted bowerbird was one such threatened species. Previously known from only four skins found in a Paris feather shop in 1895, this New Guinea bird, which boasts a brilliant crest atop its head, was presumed for nearly a century to be a relic — and a victim — of Victorian fashion sensibilities. These specimens were proof of the birds’ existence, but other than being brought to France by Dutch Indie East plume traders by way of New Guinean hunters, little else about its origin was certain.
John Gerrard Keulemans
That is until 1981, when Jared Diamond, a UCLA professor of geography and physiology, rediscovered this elusive bird while exploring the Foja Mountains in Papua, Indonesia, approximately 179 miles south of the equator and uninhabited by humans
Diamond — who joined UCLA’s faculty in 1966, earned a MacArthur Fellowship in 1985 and the National Medal of Science in 1999 — was invited by the Indonesian New Guinea government in 1979 to survey the island and propose plans for the creation of a national parks system.
With a $1,000 grant from the government, he chartered a helicopter to explore the peaks of the Foja Mountains so he could collect general data on its wildlife and plants. But, like many bird enthusiasts, Diamond had a hunch this might be the place to find the golden-fronted bowerbird.
“Every scientist who came here had a dream in the back of his mind about finding the bird – the mystery bird of New Guinea,” Diamond said in a 1981 New York Times interview. But, alas, luck wasn’t on his side on this 1979 expedition.
Without the proper tools and equipment, there was no way to land the helicopter safely on the high-altitude marsh the pilot had identified.
“Here I am in paradise,” Diamond said, “and I can’t land there. I was crushed.”
Unfazed by the initial setback, Diamond returned to the Foja Mountains two years later, this time with a copilot who rappelled down from the hovering helicopter into a marsh and, using a chainsaw and some pieces of plywood, created a makeshift landing pad with felled trees.
And on Jan. 31, 1981 — the second day of the expedition and not far from where his New Guinean-led team set up camp — the first bird Diamond saw as he entered the forest was the golden-fronted bowerbird, marking the first-ever documented sighting of live specimens.
Fittingly, the man deemed to know too much is the inaugural guest of the UCLA College’s “Tell Us What You Know,” an original podcast highlighting and uplifting voices from across its five divisions. Hear more about the rediscovery of this bird of myth from the man and legend himself.
And what a show he saw: an azygous male performing its elaborate courting ritual, which involved displaying a bright blue fruit in its bill so it could be seen against the background of its yellow crest.
Additionally, Diamond had the opportunity to observe the intricately constructed bower — the source of the bird’s name and the signature gesture of its mating ritual. This unique structure, created solely by males to woo females, stands 3 to 4 feet tall and is made from sticks, twigs and foliage and embellished with fruits and flowers.
Diamond remembers, with a smile, one of his former UCLA student’s reactions when he shared his observation that male bowerbirds with the dullest plumage tend to have the fanciest bowers, and vice versa.
“‘Aha! That’s just like men who own sports cars,’” Diamond recalls the student saying. “I myself have no opinion on this matter.”
Diamond’s pioneering expeditions to the Foja Mountains not only led to the rediscovery of the golden-fronted bowerbird but also established a blueprint for other scientists seeking to explore and document the world’s second-largest island after Greenland.
In 2005, Bruce Beehler, an American ornithologist and research associate at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, led an international team of scientists and returned to the Fojas, successfully photographing the golden-fronted bowerbird for the first time. (Diamond also photographed the bird in 1981, but during a perilous boat journey between islands, the boat overturned and the film was lost.
For nearly a century, scientists knew little about this mythical bird, but as it turns out, Diamond’s inkling about this equatorial mountain range was spot on.
“The golden-fronted bowerbird and Berlepsch’s six-wired bird of paradise were the only two lost-long New Guinea birds — and they both turned up in the Foja Mountains,” Diamond said.
As Diamond looks back on his historic rediscovery, he also marks another remarkable accomplishment — he retired from UCLA in 2024 after a remarkable 58-year career here that began in 1966.
Diamond’s life and academic curiosity would be forever linked to New Guinea after his first trip to the island in 1964. / Pamela Springsteen
“There’s a chance that I’ve been the longest-serving faculty member at UCLA,” Diamond said. “I’ve had a very good time at UCLA and am grateful to our institution and the UCLA students I’ve had the pleasure of working with throughout the decades.”
As a geographer, Diamond’s insight and intellect are best reflected in his acclaimed bestsellers “Collapse,” “The World Until Yesterday” and “Guns, Germs and Steel,” the latter earning him a Pulitzer Prize for groundbreaking work exploring the environmental and geographical factors that have shaped human history.
Diamond’s robust body of research — which combines diverse and seemingly unconnected topics such as the domestication of animals, the origins of smoking and drug use, the reason for menopause, the development of the Indo-European family of languages, the displacement of Native Americans, the biology of New Guinea birds, digestive physiology and conservation biology — earned him numerous distinctions, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Overall, Diamond’s nearly six decades at UCLA showcase a simple truth: He is that rare scientist who can speak to the public – and be understood.
This story was originally published in the UCLA Newsroom on January 31, 2025
Altadena’s Black community disproportionately affected by Eaton Fire, report shows
UCLA study shows systemic inequalities and redlining practices contributed to fire vulnerability and impacts
The 2025 aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena. / Photo Courtesy: Mayra Beltran, Los Angeles County
The Eaton Fire has had devastating and disproportionate impacts on Altadena’s Black community, according to a new data brief from the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
“Altadena’s Black community has long served as a symbol of resilience and opportunity in the Los Angeles region, but the Eaton Fire exposes how decades of segregation and the legacy of redlining practices have left Black households more vulnerable,” said Lorrie Frasure, a professor of political science and African American studies who directs the Bunche Center. “The recovery process must acknowledge this historic legacy and the disparities stemming from it to provide tailored support that ensures the restoration and future of this vibrant community.”
According to the report, at least 2,800 Black households were forced to evacuate within a day of the Eaton Fire’s outbreak on Jan. 7, 2025. As flames ravaged the area, a disproportionate number of homes damaged or destroyed were concentrated in neighborhoods historically occupied by Black residents. Now, the middle-class enclave not only faces the challenge of rebuilding and restoring residents’ homes, but also the long-term challenges stemming from systemic inequities to sustain and grow this historic Black community.
The study highlights several key findings:
Disproportionate impact: 61% of Black households in Altadena were located within the fire perimeter, compared with 50% of non-Black households. Nearly half (48%) of Black households were destroyed or sustained major damage, compared with 37% experienced by non-Black households.
Impacts of redlining and legacy of housing discrimination: Historical redlining practices resulted in the concentration of Black families into the areas of Altadena most affected by the fire, exacerbating vulnerabilities.
An aging population at risk: With 57% of Black homeowners in Altadena over age 65, many face unique barriers to recovery, including the possibility of insufficient insurance and risks of financial exploitation related to rebuilding or restoring their homes.
Interruption of generational wealth and declining homeownership: The fires will directly disrupt the passage of property to younger Black community members, making the transfer of generational wealth in this community uncertain. Additionally, rising property values and preexisting barriers to homeownership for Black buyers prevent younger Black people from buying in the area. These two factors threaten to erase Altadena’s Black community altogether.
The data brief notes that Black residents impacted by the Eaton fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres, will face unique challenges that require tailored solutions to address systemic inequities exacerbated by this crisis.
“The Eaton Fire has the potential to accelerate the decline of Altadena’s Black community, erasing generations of progress,” Frasure said. “Policymakers and relief organizations must act swiftly to protect the legacy and future of this historic community.”
“It is critical to place the consequences of the Eaton Fire in a broader historical and societal context,” said Paul Ong, research professor and director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. “Doing so highlights the numerous challenges and inequalities African Americans face in the United States today.”
The authors stress that Altadena, a hub of Black homeownership and cultural vibrancy, now faces an uncertain future. They point to their findings as a stark reminder of the systemic inequities that persist, at least in part, due to the legacy of discriminatory housing policies. Their report calls for disaster recovery strategies that are equitable – prioritizing not only immediate restoration but also the sustainability of historic communities, which remain among the most vulnerable to disasters.
This story was originally published in the UCLA Newsroom on January 28, 2025
In talk at UCLA, former Greek prime minister cites roles of innovation, imagination in democracy
Advancing democracy, said former Greek prime minister George Papandreou, means opening our imagination and being open to new ideas. / Vince Bucci Photography
Drawing vivid comparisons and contrasts between democracy’s standing in the world today and its origins in ancient Greece, George Papandreou outlined a vision for preserving and protecting citizens’ role in governance amidst a global rise in authoritarianism.
Papandreou, who served as Greece’s prime minister from 2009 to 2011, spoke Jan. 22 at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center. He proposed the need for a “new democratic social contract.”
“If democracy is under siege, we must not merely defend it; we must reimagine it,” he said. “The challenges of climate change, inequality and technology demand innovation in governance.”
Papandreou, whose father, Andreas, and grandfather, Georgios, both also served as prime minister of Greece, enumerated a series of measures he said could help strengthen democracy. Among them: banning unlimited corporate donations to lobbyists, restoring democratic education in public service media, introducing wealth taxes on billionaires and requiring full transparency in political advertising.
“These are some ideas,” Papandreou said. “But politics in the way the ancients taught it was not what we have today, with polling, tweeting, soundbites and looking for donors. It was actually to expand their imagination of a better future. The ancient Greeks said, ‘We don’t need tyrants to tell us what to do. We don’t need monarchs or kings or high priests. We can decide our future. Therefore, we can imagine a better future.’
“So politics, which means being a good citizen, means that we can collectively think of a better future.… Let’s open our imagination. Let’s be open to new ideas.”
Papandreou (second from left) with Dean Alexandra Minna Stern, Professor Sharon Gerstel, Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Dean Abel Valenzuela. / Vince Bucci Photography
Papandreou opened his talk with an expression of sympathy for Angelenos who have been affected by the wildfires.
“I stand here before you with a heavy heart, as in recent days you have witnessed the horror of entire neighborhoods reduced to ash, lives uprooted, dreams turned to smoke,” he said, relating the experience to his having witnessed severe fires and floods destroy homes and natural habitats in Greece. “No words can truly capture the anguish of watching the place you call home disappear in flames.”
In her opening remarks, Sharon Gerstel, the SNF Center’s director, praised Papandreou as a “public servant associated with change, transparency, social justice, resilience and democracy.” And she highlighted the role of the SNF Center — now in its fifth year — as a nexus for intellectual and cultural programming based in a city that boasts a large and dynamic population of Greeks and Greek Americans.
Gerstel presented Papandreou with Greek and English versions of Weaving Dreams: Kilims from Geraki, Laconia, a book she co-edited that examines the history of textile art in the Greek village of Geraki.
Anastasia Loukaito-Sideris, interim dean of the School of Public Affairs; Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of humanities; and Abel Valenzuela, dean of social sciences, also offered brief comments. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Christina Valassopolou, consul general of Greece in Los Angeles, and Andreas Kyprianides, honorary consul general of Cyprus in Los Angeles.
Stronger stress response in monkeys helps them survive
A recent El Niño drought paved the way for the new discovery
A white-faced male capuchin monkey forages on grass seed during the dry season in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Researchers have been documenting the lives of these monkeys and studying their social behaviors and survival strategies for 35 years. / Photo Courtesy of Susan Perry
White-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica who experienced more intense physiological responses to mild droughts were more fit to survive extreme drought, researchers found in a new UCLA-led study.
Most research on wild animals and humans is focused on the damage that stress response causes to a system — “the wear-and-tear.” In this new study, however, published in the journal of Science Advances, a team of researchers sought to examine the adaptive nature of the stress response in wild primates and how a more robust stress response might help them when faced with catastrophic events.
“We wanted to understand how the stress response adaptively helps these individuals survive greater challenges,” Susan Perry, a UCLA evolutionary anthropologist, field primatologist and co-author of the study, said.
In the absence of an experimental design that could apply the same stressor to all individuals in a population, the researchers took advantage of a natural experiment — a particularly severe El Niño drought — to investigate the relationship between hormonal responses to this extreme stressor and survival outcomes of white-faced capuchins at the Lomas Barbudal Capuchin Monkey Project in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
In Guanacaste, Perry and a team of researchers have been documenting the lives of monkeys and studying their social behaviors and survival strategies for 35 years. For this particular study, Perry’s research group (including current and former graduate students, and research assistants Irene Godoy, Ashley Mensing, Juliane Damm and Colleen Gault) collaborated with University of Michigan researchers Jacinta Beehner and Sofia Carrera.
Two wild white-faced capuchin monkeys — a 24-year-old mother and her infant — are seen at the Lomas Barbudal Capuchin Monkey Project in Guanacaste, Costa Rica / Photo Courtesy of Susan Perry
How a drought led to discovery
The El Niño drought that spread across Central and South America from 2014 to 2016 was the biggest in recent history and led to the deaths of many monkeys. While devastating for the monkeys and the researchers who have studied them for so long, Perry’s team was able to make use of the environmental circumstances and samples collected from the six years prior to study the relationship between the endocrinologic stress response and survival in the white-faced capuchins.
During the drought, the monkeys started to lose weight, revealing vertebrae and rib cages, and mothers even rejected caring for and nursing their infants, abandoning them to go forage. Monkeys who would normally babysit infants in a mother’s absence also were not taking on child care responsibilities. Mortality rates soared, particularly for infants and older females. This was the only time in Perry’s long-term study that these monkeys, who are usually behaviorally flexible, failed to adapt to an environmental stressor by simply changing how they behaved (e.g., changing their diet).
For 14 female monkeys who survived and 14 who had died, the researchers analyzed glucocorticoid levels in fecal material that had been collected from them in the six years prior to the El Niño drought (2008-2013). Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that regulate metabolism, inflammation and the immune system.
In Guanacaste, Costa Rica, a pair of white-faced capuchin monkeys are seen holding hands. / Photo Courtesy of Susan Perry
What glucocorticoids in monkey fecal matter revealed
The researchers discovered that the monkeys who showed a steeper rise in these stress hormones during the mild droughts were more likely to survive the severe El Niño drought than those monkeys who experienced less of a stress response. The findings controlled for other conditions known to affect these hormone levels, such as pregnancy and time of day.
With a clearer picture of what an adaptive stress response looks like for this species and population, Perry’s team can begin to ask questions about the origin and maintenance of individual differences in the endocrine stress response and whether these differences affect survival.
The study also puts a spotlight on the value of long-term studies in the face of climate change. As weather intensifies globally, longitudinal studies of how wild animals cope with changes in temperature, rainfall and food availability can help us understand which species can adapt rapidly through learning or physiological flexibility and which species lack the ability to cope with major environmental changes during their lifetimes. This knowledge can be useful for conservation reasons. For example, a population of highly endangered animals that cannot quickly adapt to change might need to be moved to a place that now has climatic conditions that match the environment in which that population evolved.
This story was originally published by the UCLA Newsroom on January 22, 2025.
This study published in Science Advances by BEC Faculty Susan Perry and BEC PhD student Ashley Mensing. The full study can be accessed here: https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.adq5020. This research forms part of UCLA’s Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture within UCLA’s Division of Social Sciences.
How you can help those impacted by the wildfires
Resources for the Bruin community to give and receive aid
The current wildfires continue to have a devastating effect on Los Angeles County’s people and infrastructure. With thousands of residents displaced and many having lost their homes and businesses, UCLA and local organizations have mobilized to support both the campus community and the broader public.
As UCLA continues to focus on protecting its students, faculty, staff and their loved ones, the university is also encouraging those who are able to donate funds and supplies and to volunteer to aid in relief and recovery. More information as to how to get involved and additional campus resources can be found here.
L.A. fires: UCLA campus updates and resources
The latest on the status of campus operations, instruction and emergency plans for the Bruin community
On Jan. 12, the UCLA Newsroom launched a wildfire information microsite to centralize fire-related resources and campus operational updates, FAQs for students, faculty and staff.
The site is being updated regularly with the latest information. Visit UCLA’s L.A. Fires webpage here.
New UCLA Data Brief Reveals Wildfire Impacts Beyond Burn Zones, Highlighting Disparities in Health and Economic Vulnerability Among Latino and Underserved Communities
Hillside on fire with bright orange flames and black smoke making heart shape during California Woolsey Fire
This brief is the first in a continuing analysis of the event. Upcoming publications will examine the full scope of wildfire impacts, affected workers, displaced jobs and small businesses.
Hillside on fire with bright orange flames and black smoke making heart shape during California Woolsey Fire
LOS ANGELES (January 10, 2025)—A new data brief from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute and the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge reveals that the Palisades, Hurst, and Eaton wildfires have far-reaching effects. They extend beyond evacuation zones to disproportionately impact Latino and other underserved communities across Los Angeles County and neighboring communities.
The brief reveals a stark truth about Latinos who work in outdoor occupations like construction, delivery, transportation, and agriculture: 17% of residents in Latino neighborhoods are employed in these sectors compared to just 6% in white neighborhoods. Wildfire smoke puts these workers at risk of respiratory illness and income loss due to work disruptions. Many outdoor workers may also experience income disruptions as their places of employment are destroyed or closed, and air quality plummets across the county.
Health disparities: Latino neighborhoods experience nearly double the exposure to diesel and PM2.5 pollution compared to white neighborhoods, compounding the health risks of wildfire smoke. Asthma-related emergency room visits average 67 per 10,000 residents in Latino neighborhoods—over 2.5 times higher than in white neighborhoods (25 per 10,000).
Lack of Preparedness: Latino households and small businesses often lack disaster plans or insurance coverage, leaving them financially unprepared. Nearly 30% of surveyed small businesses reported having no insurance for fire or natural disasters, limiting recovery options.
Access to health care: With 14% of residents in Latino neighborhoods uninsured—compared to 3% in white neighborhoods—access to critical medical care during and after disasters remains a significant barrier.
“These findings show that wildfires exacerbate long-standing inequities, not just for Latinos, but for all underserved communities in Los Angeles County,” said Pech, deputy director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge.
“We must take immediate action to address these disparities through equitable disaster response, preparedness, and recovery efforts,” said Gonzalez, research director at UCLA LPPI.
The authors call for policy solutions such as expanding healthcare access, employer-mandated protections for outdoor workers, and investment in culturally responsive emergency preparedness programs to safeguard vulnerable populations countywide.
To download any of the previous reports in the Hollywood Diversity Report series, click HERE.
To learn more about the UCLA Entertainment and Media Research Initiative, click HERE.
The Hollywood Diversity Report 2024, Featuring Film, Part 1: Theatrical (released March 2024) and the Hollywood Diversity Report 2024, Featuring Film, Part 2: Streaming (released May 2024) are also available. Download those reports HERE.
