Recipients of the 2026 Career Development Professorships (left to right): Emily Cunningham, Chang Xiao, Shabnam Raayai-Ardakani, and Michael Chang. Photos by Cydney Scott, aside from Chang photo courtesy of BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.

University News

Boston University Honors Four Junior Faculty With Prestigious Career Development Professorships

The 2026 recipients are leading the charge on AI aerodynamics and astrophysics

The four scholars who have been named this year’s Career Development Professors are consumed with finding answers to the same questions: What is our relationship to technology, and how can we leverage it to better understand the world around us and even the cosmos?

The junior faculty honored with the award, which recognizes early career educators emerging as leaders in their field, are seeking these answers in a variety of fields. Some are studying the ways new tools can enhance education and our view of the cosmos; others are investigating the uses of immersive technologies, like virtual reality, and animal-inspired aerodynamic innovations. 

The BU Provost’s Office annually selects Career Development Professors based on nominations by deans and other faculty. Each award recognizes a junior faculty member’s work and includes three years of financial support for a professor’s salary and/or research.

“One of the most important investments a university can make is in the people who will shape the future of their fields and inspire the next generation of students,” says Provost and Chief Academic Officer Colin Duckett. “These Career Development Professorships recognize faculty whose creativity, dedication, and scholarly achievement have already distinguished them as rising leaders. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, these awards provide meaningful support at a pivotal stage in their careers and help ensure that Boston University remains a place where exceptional talent can thrive.”

Margaret McGuire Earl Career Development Professorship
Established by Sylvia Tailby Earl (Wheelock’54) in honor of her mother-in-law, Margaret McGuire Earl 

Michael Chang, an assistant professor of language and literacy at BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, combines his background in computing and education to understand how AI can be used in the classroom. His research focuses on designing tools that “support collaborative and equitable forms of learning,” he says. For Chang, who also serves as assistant director of the Earl Center for Learning and Innovation at Wheelock, that involves a collaborative design process that gives students and teachers who will be using the technology a seat at the table.

David R. Dalton Career Development Professorship
Established by BU trustee Nathaniel Dalton (LAW’91) and Amy Gottlieb Dalton (LAW’91)

Emily Cunningham, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of astronomy, is mapping the cosmos. Her work sheds new light on how the Solar System formed and evolved, as she measures the distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way and studies low-mass galaxies that were consumed by our galaxy during its formation. She is pulling from massive datasets collected by cutting-edge tools like Chile’s Rubin Observatory “to generate new insights that will likely transform her field,” writes her nominator, Sten Sclaroff, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Innovation Career Development Professorship
Sponsored by BU Technology Development

At a time when AI is questioning the very nature of the relationship between humans and technology, Chang Xiao, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of computer science, is making sure people can interact with the digital world as easily as they do the physical world. In designing the next generation of AI-enabled tools, wearable devices, and virtual and augmented reality systems, Xiao pays as much attention to human perception and behavior as he does to technical details.

“By combining advances in AI, sensing, fabrication, graphics, and human-centered design, he has established a research agenda that is both intellectually groundbreaking and broadly consequential,” writes George Kollios, professor and chair of the department of computer science and one of Xiao’s nominators.

Reidy Career Development Professorship
Established by BU trustee Richard D. Reidy (Questrom’82) and his wife Minda G. Reidy (Questrom’82,’84)

Shabnam Raayai-Ardakani, a College of Engineering assistant professor of mechanical engineering, weaves together novel, nature-inspired designs and fluid mechanics to improve the aerodynamic performance of unmanned vehicles. Her research led to a design for a shark-like ribbed mechanism that reduces drag, which could “extend vehicle range, reduce energy consumption, and improve operational efficiency” and be applied to automated logistics and delivery, disaster response, and precision agriculture,” writes Sean Andersson, chair of the department of mechanical engineering and Raayai-Ardakani’s nominator.