Promotions to Full Professor
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
President Brown and I are delighted to announce the promotion of 17 members of our Charles River Campus faculty to Full Professor at Boston University.
These extraordinary faculty members demonstrate the breadth, diversity, and depth of knowledge that have, over the years, defined Boston University’s talented academic community. From the humanities and sciences to engineering and business, these professors are all leaders in their respective fields. They are producing substantive research and scholarship each day in their classrooms and laboratories, and we are proud to count them as members of our faculty:
Enrico Bellotti, ENG, Electrical & Computer Engineering, specializes in numerical modeling and design of energy-efficient photonics materials, devices and systems. An NSF CAREER Award recipient and co-recipient of a $15 million Army Research Laboratory grant, he has garnered recognition for using photonics materials to develop water purification systems, infrared detectors, and lighter, energy-efficient batteries and devices for soldiers in combat.
Robert Carey, CAS, Physics, specializes in high-precision particle physics and has earned praise for his experimental research into elementary subatomic particles, known as muons. A recent recipient of a National Science Foundation grant, he has won a Neu Family Award for excellence in teaching and authored dozens of widely cited journal articles and papers on particle physics.
Jodi Cranston, CAS, History of Art & Architecture, specializes in Italian Renaissance art and architecture, with specific expertise in Venetian Renaissance art. A frequent speaker at international academic conferences, she is the author of two books, one edited anthology and numerous journal articles, book chapters and reviews on Venetian painting and landscape architecture.
James Johnson, CAS, History, specializes in the cultural history of modern and early modern Europe, as well as music history. He has received numerous prizes for his teaching and research on 18th and 19th century France and Venetian history, published two nationally acclaimed books, and authored dozens of journal and encyclopedia articles, conference papers and lectures in his fields.
Jonathan Klawans, CAS, Religion, specializes in ancient Judaism, with expertise ranging from the Hebrew Bible through rabbinic literature. A leading scholar on Second Temple Judaism, he recently authored the book Josephus and the Theologies of Ancient Judaism (2012) and has written two other books, as well as numerous widely cited articles, book chapters, and reviews on Jewish scripture.
Kimberly McCall, CAS, Biology, specializes in cell biology, focusing her research on the molecular mechanisms of cell death and its role in development and disease. A Director of Graduate Studies and past Clare Boothe Luce Professor, she has authored or co-edited dozens of journal articles and scholarly papers on necrosis and carcinogenesis, producing important new scholarship toward disease treatment and prevention.
Meers Oppenheim, CAS, Astronomy, specializes in space plasma physics using supercomputer simulations and has recently focused his research on the physics of meteors. A former Director of Graduate Studies, he has received numerous National Science Foundation and NASA grants and written or co-written of dozens of scholarly papers on the Earth’s ionosphere and the creation of meteor trails.
M. Daniele Paserman, CAS, Economics, specializes in empirical labor economics, finding new ways to use existing data to address important economic questions, from Middle East policy and terrorism to electoral results and gender dynamics in European politics. A recipient of the Neu Family Award for Teaching Excellence, his scholarly citations rank among the top 10 percent of economists worldwide.
Anita Patterson, CAS, English, specializes in American literature, modernism and black poetry of the Americas, with an emphasis on transnational and intercultural dialogue. A Director of Undergraduate Studies ad interim, she has written two acclaimed books on race and literature, and numerous book chapters, journal articles, reviews, papers and lectures on transnational modernism.
Nathan Phillips, CAS, Earth & Environment, specializes in plant physiological ecology, studying the mechanisms and processes by which plants and ecosystems regulate water loss and carbon gain, and how global environmental change may alter such processes. He has authored dozens of widely cited journal articles and abstracts and cultivated a strong international reputation, with numerous overseas collaborations.
Siddharth Ramachandran, ENG, Electrical & Computer Engineering, specializes in the optical physics of guided waves and their applications to photonic devices, developing materials that can dramatically improve the rate of communications over optical fibers. A Fellow of the Optical Society of America, he holds 32 patents, has co-edited a book, and has authored or co-written more than 200 articles, papers and lectures in the field of optics and applied physics.
Kimberly Saudino, CAS, Psychology, specializes in behavior genetics as it contributes to psychological development, focusing on the relationship of temperament to activity level. As Director of the BU Twin Project, she has received numerous National Institutes of Health grants for her research, pioneering the use of direct electronic monitoring of activity and authoring or co-authoring dozens of widely cited journal articles and book chapters on childhood behavior.
David Somers, CAS, Psychology, specializes in vision science, focusing on how the brain works to produce visual perception and visually guided behavior. A recipient of numerous National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation grants, he has devised sophisticated new mapping techniques using functional MRI signals to identify brain areas, and authored dozens of seminal articles and abstracts in the field of neuroscience, most recently on visual short-term memory.
Shuba Srinivasan, SMG, Marketing, specializes in strategic marketing problems, linking marketing to financial performance and then applying her expertise in time-series analysis and econometrics. She has won a Broderick Prize for Excellence in Research Scholarship and authored a book chapter and numerous scholarly articles and papers on strategic marketing, most recently focusing on metrics for gauging marketing performance.
Ari Trachtenberg, ENG, Electrical & Computer Engineering, specializes in the application of coding theory to enhance information security, network quality and algorithms on communications networks, from computers to cellphones and other portable devices. A Kern Faculty Fellow, he has won an NSF CAREER award, received grants from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense and produced foundational new scholarship on networks and cyber security.
Jenny White, CAS, Anthropology, specializes in social anthropology, focusing her research and writing on contemporary Turkey. A former president of the Turkish Studies Association, she has authored six acclaimed books, most recently Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks (2012), along with numerous widely cited scholarly articles and international lectures on political Islam, civil society, ethnic identity and gender issues.
Joyce Wong, ENG, Biomedical Engineering, specializes in cell-biomaterial interactions, tissue engineering, and theranostics, using her highly translational research to help regenerate tissue and integrate drug delivery with acoustic imaging. A Kern Faculty Fellow and past Clare Boothe Luce Professor, she has authored a book and dozens of scholarly articles, reviews, lectures and abstracts, fast emerging as a leader in regenerative science and nanotheranostics.
Please join me in congratulating these wonderfully talented colleagues on their recent promotions and in wishing them the best of luck in their new positions. It is thanks in large part to their hard work and to yours that Boston University upholds its tradition of excellence and is on track to remain a research and teaching leader for many years to come.