Ole Miss Names Poet, Physicist as 2026 Faculty Laureates

The Mississippi Lab, a project of the Office of the Provost, selects two faculty members every other year as the university's faculty laureates. The program's goal is to bring the expertise, knowledge and passion for education from the Ole Miss campus to Mississippi communities.

This cycle's laureates are Luca Bombelli, professor of physics and astronomy, and Beth Ann Fennelly, distinguished professor of English.

"Our jury of six faculty made its choices by focusing on proposals that put University of Mississippi faculty in a broad range of Mississippi communities, applying their knowledge and teaching in bold, nontraditional ways," said John T. Edge, director of the Mississippi Lab.

"Supported by generous stipends, enabled by reduced teaching loads, the professors in this second cohort will help reintroduce the people of Mississippi to the transformative power of our university."

Bombelli, a theoretical physicist who specializes in gravitational physics, will bring a mobile planetarium to high schools across the state. The goal is not only to interest students in the vast universe, but to spur a lifelong love of science, he said.

"Sitting inside a planetarium, students can imagine themselves under a starry sky, and I will tell them stories about what they can see, how it changes over time and what one can learn by looking at it," Bombelli said. "I know of people who decided that science was what they wanted to do in life after a visit to a planetarium when they were kids, and I plan to bring that experience to students in all corners of our state."

Fennelly, poet laureate of Mississippi from 2016 to 2021, has a mission to bring Mississippi stories to readers across the state. She will begin her term by organizing and leading a free weekly Mississippi Literature class for the Lafayette-Oxford-University community, with each session focusing on a Mississippi writer.

"As my term progresses, I will conduct classes around the state, each site-specific and focused on a single Mississippi author, equipping more Mississippians with the skills to appreciate and celebrate our state's best export: our stories," Fennelly said.

The Faculty Laureates program is developed and managed by the Mississippi Lab and underwritten by the Daniel W. Jones Endowment for Faculty Support.

Top: Luca Bombelli (left), professor of physics and astronomy, and Beth Ann Fennelly, distinguished professor of English, are the university's 2026 Faculty Laureates. Through the laureate program, Bombelli and Fennelly will bring their expertise in poetry and physics to Mississippi communities across the state. Photos by Kevin Bain and Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services