2017-2018 Career Development Professorship Awardees
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Each year, Boston University has the pleasure of recognizing a number of talented junior faculty who are emerging as future leaders within their respective fields with the award of Career Development Professorships.
Promising junior faculty are eligible to be nominated for these awards by their deans. These awards are made possible through the generous support of BU Trustee Peter Paul; BU Trustee Ruth Moorman and her husband Sheldon Simon; a donor who wishes to remain anonymous; and proceeds from the University’s office of Technology Development.
The awards highlight the caliber, potential, and continued vitality of Boston University’s diverse faculty and include a three-year, non-renewable stipend designed to support scholarly or creative work, as well as a portion of the recipients’ salaries. Peter Paul Career Development Professorships are awarded University-wide to outstanding faculty in any discipline who have been at BU for two years or less and who have held no prior professorships, while the Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professorship supports the work of a junior faculty member whose scholarship spans more than one school or college. The University Provost’s Career Development Professorship, sponsored through an anonymous gift, provides the opportunity for the Provost to select its annual focus – and this year advances the participation and success of women in the natural and life sciences. Finally, the Innovation Career Development Professorships, sponsored by proceeds from the office of Technology Development, recognize junior faculty whose translational research is likely to lead to future licensed technology.
This year’s Career Development Professorship recipients have all been recognized for their extraordinary accomplishments in their areas of study, their passion for the creation and transmission of new knowledge, their efforts to enhance the student experience, and, most importantly, for their potential to develop into outstanding faculty members. I am delighted to announce that this year’s Career Development Professors are:
Peter Paul Career Development Professorship
- Travis Bristol
Assistant Professor of English Education, School of Education
Travis Bristol’s research examines race and gender in schools, including district and school-based practices that support teachers of color, and policies that enable and constrain the workplace experiences and retention for teachers of color. He received his doctorate in education policy from Columbia University, a master’s degree in education from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College.
- Daniella Kupor
Assistant Professor of Marketing, Questrom School of Business
Daniella Kupor’s research studies areas of decision making and consumer persuasion, investigating how external factors – including interruptions, messaging, and other situational variables – help to shape choices and risk judgements. She holds a doctorate in marketing from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University.
- Rory Van Loo
Associate Professor of Law, School of Law
An expert in digital markets, Rory Van Loo focuses his research on consumer transactions, with particular interest in the intersection between technology and regulation. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School and holds a doctorate from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College.
Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professorship
- Allyson Sgro
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Allyson Sgro’s translational research bridges biology and technology, exploring how cells work together and make group decisions to perform complex behaviors such as assembling into a tissue, forming a biofilm, healing a wound, or developing into different cell types. She holds a doctorate and master’s degree in chemistry from University of Washington and received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and pre-medical studies from Bard College at Simon’s Rock. She completed her postdoctoral training at Princeton University.
University Provost’s Career Development Professorship
- Xi Ling
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, College of Engineering
Xi Ling’s multidisciplinary research in nanoscience works to synthesize new two-dimensional nanomaterials, reveal their physical nature through spectroscopy, and ultimately develop them into novel, high-performance, flexible devices for use in energy conversion and chemical sensing. She holds a doctorate in physical chemistry from Peking University and bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from Lanzhou University in China. She completed her postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Innovation Career Development Professorship
- Miloš Popović
Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Miloš Popović’s research and design work in silicon chip technology employs first-principles theory and photonics at the micro- and nanoscale to create integrated systems-on-chip that enable new modes of communication, computation, signal processing, and sensing. He received his doctorate in electrical engineering and completed his postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Queen’s University in Canada.
- Emily Whiting
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, College of Arts & Sciences
A specialist in computer graphics, Emily Whiting uses her research in architectural geometry, computer-aided design, and 3D fabrication for numerous applications – from building masonry to the manufacture of materials – to help bridge the gap between geometric modeling, structural engineering, and design. She holds a doctorate in computer graphics and building technology and a master’s degree in design and computation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from University of Toronto. She completed her postdoctoral work at ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich.
Please join me in congratulating these talented junior faculty for their achievements and in wishing them continued success in their teaching and research at Boston University in the years ahead.
2017-2018 Career Development Professorship Awardees – 9-7-17