2024-2025 Career Development Professorship Awardees
From Dr. Gloria Waters, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Each year, Boston University has the pleasure of awarding Career Development Professorships to several talented junior faculty members emerging as future leaders in their fields.
This year’s awards are made possible through the generous support of BU Trustee S.D. Shibulal (MET ’88) and his family; BU alumnus Peter J. Levine (ENG ’83); the estate of BU alumni Virginia Wetherill (CAS ’52) and Laurence Bloom (CAS ’68); a donor who wishes to remain anonymous; and proceeds from the University’s Technology Development Office.
The professorships include a three-year, non-renewable research award designed to support research, scholarship, and creative work, as well as defrayal of a portion of the recipients’ salaries. Nominations are submitted by the academic deans, and awardees are selected by the Office of the Provost. The following professorships were awarded this year:
- The Shibulal Family Career Development Professorship supports the research of rising faculty within the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences.
- The Peter J. Levine Career Development Professorship supports rising junior faculty in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.
- The Wetherill-Bloom Career Development Professorship in the Humanities recognizes excellence in humanities scholarship within the College of Arts & Sciences.
- The East Asia Studies Career Development Professorship, supported by a BU alumnus based in Taiwan, recognizes assistant professors in the College of Arts & Sciences, the Pardee School of Global Studies, the College of Communication, the College of Fine Arts, and the Questrom School of Business whose research is specific to East Asia, particularly China and Taiwan.
- The Innovation Career Development Professorship recognizes junior faculty whose translational research is likely to lead to future licensed technology.
This year’s Career Development Professorship recipients have 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 their potential to develop into outstanding faculty members. I am delighted to announce that this year’s Career Development Professors are:
Shibulal Family Career Development Professorship
Brian Cleary
Assistant Professor of Computing & Data Sciences, Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences
Brian Cleary’s research in computational biology applies algorithmic learning and experimental lab methods to better understand molecular, cellular, and tissue processes, including gene expression – work with potential to address fundamental problems associated with human disease. He holds additional appointments in the Departments of Biology and Biomedical Engineering and has been supported by substantial grants from the National Institutes of Health and BU’s Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering. He received his PhD in computational and systems biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a BS in biology and in business, economics, and management from California Institute of Technology.
Peter J. Levine Career Development Professorship
Tianyu Wang
Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Tianyu Wang combines physics-inspired computing, biomedical optics, and AI to develop faster, more efficient photonic-based computing and sensing technologies capable of delivering highly detailed deep-tissue imaging, including of the human brain. He holds a patent and recently received a major grant from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative to support his research with quantum-inspired light sources. He received a PhD in applied and engineering physics and a BS in biological engineering from Cornell University, where he also completed his postdoctoral work.
Wetherill-Bloom Career Development Professorship in the Humanities
Catalina Rodríguez
Assistant Professor of Romance Studies, College of Arts & Sciences
Catalina Rodríguez is a scholar of Latin American literature and culture from the 19th century forward, whose writings focus on gender and sexuality studies, women’s literature, theories of authorship, ecofeminism, and queer literature. She has published multiple book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, and reviews and is at work on her first book, Writing Like a Woman: Gendered Pseudonyms in Nineteenth Century. She holds a PhD in Spanish and Portuguese from Northwestern University and a BA in Hispanic and Latin literature from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.
East Asia Studies Career Development Professorship
Daigengna Duoer
Assistant Professor of Religion, College of Arts & Sciences
Daigengna Duoer is a historian who explores religion and politics at the intersection of the Chinese, Japanese, and Russian empires, with particular focus on transnational Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism in the 20th century. Her research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Association for Asian Studies, and the Mongolia Foundation, and she is at work on a forthcoming book, Buddhism Beyond the Nation and the Empire: Transnational Buddhists in Modern East and Inner Asia. She holds a PhD in religious studies from University of California, Santa Barbara and a MA and HBA in Buddhist studies from University of Toronto.
Innovation Career Development Professorship
Joseph Derosa
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Joseph Derosa is forging new ground at the interface of metal catalysis and organic synthesis, leveraging voltage-controlled electrolysis as a tool with great translational potential in the development of new drugs and chemical processes. He has published 23 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals including Nature and the Journal of the American Chemical Society and, prior to joining BU, received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the Scripps Research Institute and a BS in biochemistry from the Macaulay Honors College at the City College of New York.
Please join me in congratulating these talented junior faculty for their achievements and wishing them continued success in their teaching and research at Boston University over the coming years.
2024-2025 Career Development Professorship Awardees – 9.24.24