Grants | The Leakey Foundation
The Leakey Foundation is proud to announce the spring 2025 Francis H. Brown African Scholars. This prestigious award acknowledges their contributions to the study of human origins and their exceptional potential for continued success.
The Francis H. Brown African Scholarship Fund was created in honor of Dr. Francis H. Brown, an eminent geologist who served on The Leakey Foundation’s Scientific Executive Committee for many years. Frank Brown devoted more than five decades to mapping and analyzing the geology of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, and his work provided a way to place fossil finds in chronological order.
During his time working in Ethiopia and Kenya, Frank Brown became an expert in the geology and plant life of the Omo-Turkana basin. He studied several languages, including Kiswahili, Kikamba, Kikuyu, and Turkana. Along the way, he sponsored the education of many Ethiopian and Kenyan university students.
Every year, through this scholarship fund, The Leakey Foundation supports outstanding East African students and researchers whose work is focused on the earth sciences or botany related to human origins. Read on to learn more about these Francis H. Brown African Scholars.
Tefera Tarekegn Bayu, Ethiopia
Tefera Tarekegn Bayu is a PhD candidate in paleoenvironmental archaeology at Université Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, where he is investigating Holocene human-environment interactions in southwest Ethiopia using anthracological (charcoal) analysis. His research focuses on the Kumali archaeological site in the Moist Afromontane Forest, a region critical to understanding early agriculture, environmental change, and long-term human adaptation. Bayu brings extensive research and teaching experience from his previous role as a lecturer and department head at Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia.
His current work includes building a comparative wood anatomy reference collection—an essential but missing resource for identifying archaeological charcoal remains from Ethiopia. This involves extensive field collection, sample preparation, and high-resolution imaging through collaborations in Germany and Ethiopia.
Impact of the scholarship
This scholarship will enable Tefera to continue key field and lab work that advances both his research and the broader field of paleoenvironmental archaeology in Ethiopia. It fills a critical funding gap at a pivotal point in his PhD.
Future goals
Tefera is a previous recipient of two years of funding through the Baldwin Fellowship. He plans to return to Ethiopia to train future archaeologists and strengthen national capacity in archaeobotany, heritage management, and paleoenvironmental research.
Angesom Resom Kidane, Ethiopia
Angesom Resom Kidane will begin his PhD in earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley, in fall 2025. His research investigates the geochemistry, chronology, and stratigraphy of Pliocene and Pleistocene tephra deposits in the Main Ethiopian Rift and Eastern Highlands. By identifying the volcanic sources and eruption timing of tephra layers at sites such as Melka Wakena, Munesa, and Melka Kunture, his project will improve regional correlations between archaeological sequences and contribute to our understanding of hominin evolution in East Africa. Angesom enters the program with extensive field experience and has co-authored several geoarchaeological publications based on research conducted in Ethiopia.
Under the mentorship of Paul Renne, Angesom will receive training in geochronology and geochemical analysis at UC Berkeley and its partner institutions. A major component of his work includes a three-month field season in Ethiopia, where he will collect and analyze volcanic samples from multiple archaeological and geological sites. The Francis H. Brown African Scholarship Fund is providing support for this phase of his research. These funds will cover travel, fieldwork, and associated research expenses.
Impact of the scholarship
This funding will allow Angesom to carry out critical fieldwork and lab analysis during the early stages of his doctoral training. By offsetting travel and research costs, the scholarship enables him to focus more fully on developing his expertise in geochronology and contributing new data to the fields of geology and paleoanthropology.
Future goals
Angesom plans to return to Ethiopia after completing his PhD to contribute to scientific training and lead research in volcanic geology, geochronology, and human evolutionary studies.
Million Alemayehu Mengesha, Ethiopia
Million Alemayehu Mengesha is a PhD candidate in earth and environmental sciences at the University of Michigan, where he is investigating climate, landscape evolution, and tectonic dynamics in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Originally from Ethiopia, Million also holds a faculty position at Addis Ababa University, where he plans to return after completing his degree. He has a strong background in petroleum geoscience and field geology, with prior degrees from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS and Addis Ababa University. His doctoral research focuses on reconstructing the Mid-Pliocene landscape and hydrological systems of the Woranso-Mille and Hadar paleoanthropological sites. These are two important localities for understanding early hominin evolution in East Africa.
Million’s current project investigates sediment provenance and hydrologic connectivity between these two sites, aiming to determine whether they once formed part of a single drainage system or evolved separately due to tectonic and volcanic shifts. His work integrates petrographic analysis and geochronological techniques, including U-Pb zircon and Ar-Ar sanidine dating. This research is expected to clarify how tectonics and landscape fragmentation influenced ecosystems and shaped early hominin habitats.
Support from The Leakey Foundation will cover the costs of advanced laboratory analyses and associated travel to research facilities in the U.S., including Arizona State University and the Berkeley Geochronology Center.
Impact of the scholarship
The scholarship will allow Million to conduct high-resolution laboratory research essential to his dissertation. By funding key analytical work, it supports data generation that will directly inform our understanding of early hominin environments in the Afar.
Future goals
After completing his PhD, Million plans to return to his faculty role at Addis Ababa University. He is committed to mentoring future geoscientists and advancing collaborative research on tectonics, sedimentation, and paleoanthropology in East Africa.
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