Research Excellence
In 2017/18, our faculty continued pushing the boundaries of research in a vast array of fields. Discoveries both major and incremental will have a real, positive impact on people’s lives. One of the biggest leaps forward came with the opening in fall 2017 of the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering. This 170,000-square-foot facility on Commonwealth Avenue brings together researchers in the areas of human health, environment, and energy to collaborate on life-changing discoveries.
New Faculty Members Bring Research Energy
In spring 2018, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced the winners of its annual research fellowships, and three extremely promising early-career CAS professors were among them: Assistant Professor Jennifer Balakrishnan (mathematics and statistics), Assistant Professor Anushya Chandran (physics), and Assistant Professor Wen Li (astronomy). All three are new leaders in their respective fields: number theory (Balakrishnan); condensed matter theory (Chandran); and the interplay between the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres (Li).
Long-standing Expertise Pays Off
A couple of established faculty members saw their life’s work and expertise pay off in major ways this past year. Computer Science Professor John Byers saw EverQuote—a leading online auto insurance marketplace launched by Cogo Labs, a startup accelerator where Byers served first as founding CTO, then as chief scientist—raise $84M in its 2018 initial public offering. EverQuote, powered initially by Cogo Labs’ seed investment and technology, has grown to $120 million in annualized revenue and 10 million monthly visitors.
Meanwhile, Assistant Professor of Political Science Max Palmer used his expertise to shed light on a Virginia gerrymandering case. The court relied heavily on his testimony and expert reports throughout its opinion. The case was decided in 2018, with all of the challenged districts ruled unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.
Faculty Research Highlights
- Jodi Cranston, a professor of the history of art and architecture, and a team of CAS students have spent six years tracing the provenance of famous paintings. The virtual museum she created, Mapping Paintings, went live in 2017, displaying 750 artworks by 200 masters, with maps and timelines detailing what’s known about their ownership lineage.
- Christopher Schmitt, an assistant professor of anthropology and biology who specializes in primate obesity, studied African green monkeys (or “vervets”) introduced to a new diet, discovering that monkeys introduced to the diet in the womb were much more likely to grow up obese, and furthermore that only the male monkeys show this trend toward obesity. This suggests a previously unknown possibility: that men and women who become obese might get that way through different genetic processes.
- Timothy Longman’s new book, Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda (Cambridge University Press, 2017), continues his examination of that country’s long recovery from the genocidal tribal wars that killed more than 500,000 people in 1994. He is director of BU’s Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs (CURA) and a former director of the Rwanda field office of the Human Rights Watch.
Student Research Highlights
- Assistant Professor of Computer Science Kate Saenko and her students Huijuan Zi and Abir Das won the prize for the Most Innovative Solution on the IEEE Large-Scale Activity Recognition Challenge, which was held as part of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition.
- Katie Tiemeyer, a biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) major, was the only BU student selected in 2018 as a Barry Goldwater Scholar, a national honor awarded to students based on a strong commitment to, and potential for, a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Katie is a sophomore double majoring in BMB and voice and is conducting research with Biology Professor Kim McCall on neurodegeneration, using the fruit fly model system.
Annual Report 2017/2018
From the Dean
Leading a dynamic college and graduate school of arts and sciences within a major research university is by definition a team effort. Interim Dean of Arts & Sciences Stan Sclaroff is determined to build on the accomplishments of former Dean Ann Cudd. The dean search that gets underway this fall is also an exciting opportunity for the school’s leadership, staff, and faculty to continue to imagine what is possible for our college.
A Year of Building
During the 2017/18 academic year, the college and graduate school continued their forward momentum from recent years, strengthening and growing existing programs and initiatives. We helped lead the creation and launch of BU’s new general education curriculum, the BU Hub; launched a new living-learning program, Global House; and continued a pattern of growth in the number of master’s students while maintaining and enhancing the strength and excellence of our PhD programs.
Strengthening Undergraduate Education
At CAS, we provide students with an education for the 21st century—one that is flexible, forward-looking, grounded, and rigorous. In 2017/18, we matriculated one of our most talented ever classes of first-year students. And we worked hard to expand the experiential learning opportunities available to them, most notably with the launch of Global House. We also took the lead in developing a new BU-wide general education curriculum, the BU Hub.
Enhancing Graduate Education
A year ago, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) welcomed a new associate dean: sociologist Emily Barman. Since taking the helm, Barman has focused on expanding support services for students, enhancing diversity and inclusion efforts for our graduate programs, and continuing a pattern of growth in the number of master’s students while maintaining and enhancing the strength and excellence of our PhD programs.
Maintaining a World-Class Faculty
In order for CAS to provide its students with a world-class undergraduate and graduate education and maintain its reputation as a leading research institution, the college must continually renew and enhance its faculty. In 2017/18, CAS hired an excellent and diverse group of new lecturers and junior and senior faculty members.
Conducting Pathbreaking Research
In 2017/18, our faculty continued pushing the boundaries of research in a vast array of fields. Discoveries both major and incremental will have a real, positive impact on people’s lives. One of the biggest leaps forward came with the opening in fall 2017 of the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering.
Building Our Future Together
In 2017/18, the eighth year of the Campaign for Boston University, numerous alumni, friends, and parents have helped to raise $136.2 million for CAS—far exceeding our ambitious goal of $100 million.
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