Maya’s colleagues and friends have written the loving memorial statement shared below.

Maya Karin Peterson, beloved professor of history and friend to many in the UCSC community, died unexpectedly in childbirth alongside her daughter, Priya Luna. Her absence leaves an immense void on campus, and her loss will be felt in the many communities around the world that she enriched through personal and professional relationships. Peterson, an internationally recognized scholar, was Associate Professor of History. Her research engaged questions of health, the environment, and the transnational histories of science and technology in the modern era. Her first monograph, Pipe Dreams: Water and Empire in Central Asia (Cambridge UP, 2019), was a finalist for the Central Eurasian Studies Society’s Award for Best Book in History and the Humanities. Skilfully narrated, occasionally very funny, and often sobering, Pipe Dreams patiently pieces together disparate fragments to create a story no one had previously seen or tried to tell. She did so with a shimmering intelligence that made hard intellectual work seem feasible, even fun. Equally impressive are the research practices behind it, which included sleuthing in Russian and Uzbek archives, and her facility with the multiple linguistic worlds of Russia and Central Asia. Peterson’s research was supported by the Social Science Research Council, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fulbright Program, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany, and Edrhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen, Germany. In addition to her monograph, she published articles in Slavic Review, Cahiers du Monde Russe, and Environmental History. Professor Peterson held a B.A. in History with High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Swarthmore College, and an M.A. in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia Studies and a Ph.D. in History from Harvard University, where she was also a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in the History of Science Department.

The intelligence, sharp wit, and devotion that infused Professor Peterson’s scholarship were also defining traits of her pedagogy. While at Harvard, she was awarded a certificate of teaching excellence. After arriving at UC Santa Cruz in 2012, she inspired undergraduates with innovative, wide-ranging courses that covered more than a thousand years of world history. She mentored a number of undergraduates as they wrote theses and seminar papers that garnered campus-wide awards and prizes. Her dealings with graduate students combined kindness and intellectual rigor; students responded to both, and their work came into its own under her guidance. She played an outsized role in departmental and university leadership for an emerging scholar, chairing an interdisciplinary faculty search for SEACoast – UCSC’s Center for Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions – and helping to reinvigorate UC Santa Cruz’s Center for World History. Finally, Professor Peterson was particularly welcoming to new faculty helping to introduce and integrate them into the intellectual and social life of the campus and community.

For us, her friends and colleagues, Maya’s death is an unfathomable loss. She was trusted and admired for her kindness, candor, and wisdom. She was beloved for her generosity, her legendary openness, and her irreverent sense of humor. A great lover of adventure, Maya approached the world with a balance of hunger and humility. She loved wild animals and was an avid climber; she found solace in the mountains and the seas; she took to the streets and people of a new city with palpable pleasure. On many of these journeys, her partner, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCSC, was by her side, the two of them sharing the sense of wonder at the world and their existence in it together. Maya is also survived by her parents Indira Viswanathan Peterson (Professor Emerita of Asian Studies, Mount Holyoke College) and Mark Peterson (Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Mount Holyoke College). For those of us who loved Maya, the contrast between her profound impact on our lives and her sudden absence is devastating and her death has cut a jagged gash through our hearts and our community. Details about a memorial service in the fall for the campus community will be forthcoming as will plans to commemorate Maya’s life.

The Humanities Division has established The Maya K. Peterson Memorial Fund which will be used to honor Maya’s memory and legacy. Learn more about the Maya K. Peterson Memorial Fund or make a contribution.

University of California, Santa Cruz
June 24, 2021