J. Luis Rodriguez Awarded Wilson Center Inaugural Sherwin Fellowship

WASHINGTON—The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in cooperation with the Sherwin Family, has named J. Luis Rodriguez as the recipient of the inaugural Martin J. Sherwin Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship, established by the Wilson Center and the Sherwin family, commemorates the extraordinary contributions of the late Martin J. Sherwin to the field of nuclear history.  

A distinguished scholar, Sherwin's biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, American Prometheus—co-authored with Kai Bird—won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and inspired the 2023 Academy-Award winning film by Christopher Nolan. Sherwin also served as a senior advisor and lead instructor at the Wilson Center’s Nuclear History Boot Camp, mentoring hundreds of international PhD students. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Luis Rodriguez, a rising star in the field of nuclear proliferation research, to the Wilson Center’s community this summer. Luis' project centers on issues dear to the work and legacy of the late Martin J. Sherwin and will strengthen the Center’s focus on one of the most important international security threats and its deeper, global history,” said Christian Ostermann, Director of the History and Public Policy Program.  

J. Luis Rodriguez was recently appointed to George Mason University's Schar School for Policy and Government as an assistant professor of International Security and Law. He will join the Wilson Center in residence in summer 2024. 

During his tenure, Rodriguez will focus on his project, “Negotiated Inequality: Latin America and the Making of the Nuclear Club.” His distinguished academic background includes a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University and notable publications in esteemed journals such as International Affairs and Third World Quarterly. In 2022-23, he was a Stanton Fellow at Stanford University.  

Rodriguez's selection followed an intensive peer-review process by an international advisory board including notable figures such as George Frampton (Atlantic Council), Gregg Herken (New Mexico and University of California), Leopoldo Nuti (Roma Tre University), Jayita Sakar (University of Glasgow), Alex Sherwin (New York), and Anna-Mart van Wyck (University of Johannesburg). 

The fellowship has received generous support from the Sherwin family, friends, colleagues, and former students, along with several philanthropic foundations. It is administered by the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program. 

Notes to editors: 

1.     The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.