2024-25 Academic Year
Casey Crary ’26 and Jack McDermott ’25 | U.S. Research Project Competition
Posted 6/9/25
Casey Crary ’26 and Jack McDermott ’25 earned 2nd place and honorable mention awards, respectively, at the U.S. Research Project Competition sponsored by the Consortium for Undergraduate Statistics Education. Crary was recognized for a paper titled “Exploring Capture Recapture Methods: From Historical Origins to Modern Applications,” while McDermott’s article “A Tutorial in Generating Synthetic Data to Mitigate Disclosure Risk in Microdata: An Expository Review of Taylor, Zhou, and Rise” was honored. Both students were advised by Nicholas Horton, Beitzel Professor in Teaching and Society.
Nicholas Horton | Statistics
Posted 6/9/25
Nicholas J. Horton, Beitzel Professor of Technology and Society, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS). According to the IMS, Horton was honored for “exceptional scholarly contributions to undergraduate education of statistics and data science, and for highly influential leadership and services in the statistics profession.” Horton and this year’s IMS fellows “exhibited exceptional mastery in statistical or probabilistic research and/or have showcased remarkable leadership that has left a lasting impact on the field.”
Matteo Riondato | Computer Science
Posted 6/9/25
Matteo Riondato, associate professor of computer science, has been honored with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)/IBM Early Career Data Mining Research Award. The annual prize–which Riondato received during the SIAM International Conference on Data Mining last month–recognizes an individual in the field of data science who has made “outstanding, influential, and lasting contributions” within 10 years of receiving a PhD. Jilles Vreeken, a professor at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security who nominated Riondato, described his colleague as “an outstanding data mining researcher with an impressive track record of balancing deep theoretical analysis and useful, practical considerations to create impactful algorithms for important problems.” Vreeken added that he is particularly enamored with Riondato’s “high-quality research on statistically sound knowledge discovery”: “Matteo leads the way towards next-generation data mining methods by combining knowledge discovery techniques with recent developments in statistical hypothesis testing, ensuring the scalability and applicability of theory and methods to real-world problems.”
Olivia Keller ’26 | Phi Beta Kappa Award
Posted 5/8/25
Olivia Keller ’26 has been awarded Phi Beta Kappa’s undergraduate Key into Public Service scholarship. The Key into Public Service program and scholarship highlight the wide range of opportunities for arts, humanities, natural science, social science, and mathematics majors to pursue rewarding public sector careers. Keller, who was chosen from a pool of more than 800 applicants, was recognized for her academic achievement, breadth and depth in the liberal arts and sciences, and demonstrated interest in public service. In addition to a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship, Keller will participate in an in-person conference in Washington, D.C., June 25-29 that will provide her and the other scholarship recipients with training, mentoring, and reflection on service pathways.
Rachel Willick ’25 | Student Sustainability Leadership Award
Posted 5/8/25
Rachel Willick ’25 was named the national runner-up for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Student Sustainability Leadership Award. Willick was recognized for her work creating the Tread Shed, the campus bike co-op that collects, repairs, and redistributes abandoned bikes.
Weston Dripps | Sustainability in Higher Education Fellows Award
Posted 5/8/25
Weston Dripps, director of sustainability, has been recognized with an Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Fellows Award. The prize recognizes mid-career individuals who are significantly contributing to the advancement of sustainability in higher education. Dripps and nine other individuals were selected to receive the award, which was judged on the impact of the nominees’ projects and programs that advance sustainability in higher education; presentations and publications; and service and mentorship.
Eleanora Mattiacci | Political Science
Posted 4/11/25
Associate Professor of Political Science Eleonora Mattiacci’s Volatile States in International Politics has won the 2025 International Security Studies Section Best Book Award. The prize “recognizes a book on any aspect of security studies that excels in originality, significance, and rigor” published in the prior calendar year. Mattiacci will be honored in person at the International Studies Association’s conference in Chicago this month.
Benjaman Hanselman ’27 | Physics & Astronomy
Posted 4/11/25
Benjamin Hanselman ’27 was selected to attend the prestigious 2025 Harvard-Smithsonian Submillimeter Array (SMA) Interferometry School in Hawaii this past January. Hosted by the Center for Astrophysics in conjunction with the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the University of Hawaii, the school offered a series of lectures focusing on fundamentals of radio interferometry, with a special emphasis on the SMA interferometer and its capabilities. The workshop provided participants–themselves advanced undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral students, and scientists outside the field–with a broad knowledge of interferometry and data reduction techniques at (sub)millimeter wavelengths, experience performing observations and data reduction training, among other things.
Lloyd Barba | Religion
Posted 4/11/25
Lloyd Barba, assistant professor of religion, published a piece titled “Why the Second Trump Administration is Making Americans’ Perception of Migrant Crime Central to its Communications” on the Public Religion Research Institute’s website. The article examines perceptions of immigrants, crime, and mass deportation in light of the Trump administration’s messaging efforts to link immigrants to crime.
Jalilicia Jolly | American Studies and Black Studies
Posted 3/18/25
Jallicia Jolly, assistant professor of American studies and Black studies, was invited to participate in the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) U.S. and international Kavli Frontiers of Science symposia March 6-8. Jolly was one of 88 scientists and scholars from industry, academia and government who took part in the three-day event, which brought together scientists who are 45 or younger and engaged in exceptional research in a variety of disciplines. A committee of NAS members selected the participants from among young researchers who have already made recognized contributions to science, including recipients of major fellowships and awards. More than 6,800 young scientists have attended to date; notably, 354 of them were elected to the NAS, and 20 have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
Youssef Ben Ismail | Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought
Posted 3/18/25
The Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association has published an article by Youssef Ben Ismail, assistant professor of law, jurisprudence and social thought. Titled “Uncertain Histories: The Archive of Sovereignty in Ottoman Tunis,” the article offers a critical history of ideas of sovereignty, autonomy, and statehood as they crystallized in the 19th-century Mediterranean. The article is part of a special issue that Ismail co-edited with colleague Jessica Marglin, assistant professor of religion and Ruth Ziegler Early Career Chair in Jewish Studies at the University of Southern California.
Six History Majors | History
Posted 3/18/25
Six history majors in the class of 2025—Stephanie Abrego Diez, Revival Afolabi, Isabelle Anderson, Shreya Joshi, Hanah Lee and William Prince—together co-authored a paper that was published in the Jan. 29, 2025 issue of the journal Immigrants & Minorities. Titled “‘We were there’: how black nurses used friendship to navigate hierarchy within the NHS from 1960 to 1983,” the article examines the experiences of Black nurses, many of whom were recent migrants from the Commonwealth, within the racially-informed hierarchical structure of Great Britain’s National Health Service from 1960 to 1983. Advised and guided by history professor Ellen Boucher and research librarian Alana Kumbier, the students wrote the paper as part of a spring 2023 undergraduate research colloquium.
Sonya Clark | Art and the History of Art
Posted 3/6/25
Sonya Clark ’89, the Winifred L. Arms Professor in the Arts and Humanities and Professor of Art and the History of Art, was one of just 21 artists from across the country to be awarded a $20,000 Stepping Stone Grant from the Trellis Art Fund in January. The Stepping Stone Grants, which are designed to encourage recipients to “keep going” in the distinct practice they’ve developed, fund artists ranging in age from 34 to 73 years and hailing from across the United States, including 10 states, and 15 cities.
Ivan Contreras | Mathematics
Posted 3/6/25
The National Science Foundation has awarded Ivan Contreras, associate professor of mathematics, a grant in support of his attendance at the “Poisson Geometry, Lie Theory and Symmetry” conference at Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugal this summer. The prestigious event brings together more than 60 researchers with deep expertise in mathematics and physics from all over the world.
Pamela Matheson | Statistics
Posted 3/6/25
The Journal of the American Dental Association has published a paper co-authored by Pamela Matheson, lecturer of statistics. Titled “Nonopioid vs opioid analgesics after impacted third-molar extractions: The Opioid Analgesic Reduction Study randomized clinical trial,” the article showed that a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen managed pain better than the opioid hydrocodone with acetaminophen for patients during the first two days after having an impacted wisdom tooth pulled. Dentists are responsible for one-third of opioid prescriptions to adolescents, a vulnerable population for opioid misuse, so these findings are critical in turning the tide on the opioid crisis. Given the millions of unnecessary opioids dispensed every year to young people getting their wisdom teeth removed and the associated addictive risk of opioids, the study provides ample evidence to recommend the nonopioid combination as the standard of care.
Ethan Temeles | Biology
Posted 1/28/25
The journal Current Biology has published a paper by Ethan Temeles, the Thomas B. Walton, Jr. Memorial Professor of Biology And Environmental Studies. Titled “Hurricanes threaten species and alter evolutionary trajectories on tropical islands,” the article explores whether species on tropical islands are adapted to hurricane disturbance–and will, as such, be able to cope with storms that are both growing in intensity and frequency–or if tropical islands will see a wave of hurricane-induced extinctions in the future. Among other things, the paper also examines how hurricanes will “reshuffle interactions between species” and alter evolutionary trajectories for coadapted species; if particular species’ life histories and other traits enable them to survive the direct and indirect impact of hurricanes; and the effect that topographic complexity and island area may buffer against storms. The article concludes with a discussion of conservation efforts to diminish the detrimental ecological and evolutionary effects of stronger and more frequent hurricanes on tropical islands.
The Common | Creative Writing
Posted 1/28/25
The Common, the College’s literary magazine, has received a $12,500 award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The funding will support The Common in publishing and promoting global writing, thereby broadening American audiences’ exposure to international voices, and elevating the work of debut and emerging authors. It is The Common’s ninth NEA award.
Nusrat Chowdhury | Anthropology & Javier Corrales | Political Science
Posted 1/28/25
Nusrat Chowdhury, associate professor of anthropology, and Javier Corrales, the Dwight W. Morrow 1895 Professor of Political Science, both published papers in the January 2025 issue of The Journal of Democracy. Chowdhury’s piece, titled “The Return of Politics in Bangladesh,” explored the historic July 2024 uprising that led to the ouster of the Asian country’s authoritarian prime minister. Corrales’ article, “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote,” argued that, in spite of the fact that the nation’s current president lost the most recent election but refused to cede power, Venezuela’s vote-counting technology nevertheless holds promise for pro-democracy movements around the world.
Jonas Rosenbrück | German
Posted 12/16/24
Jonas Rosenbrück, assistant professor of German, has published a new book titled Common Scents: Poetry Modernity, and a Revolution of the Senses.“A very original contribution to the field of modern European letters,” according to one reviewer, the book explores the much-neglected sense of smell in and around modern German and French poetry. It argues for a shift away from vision-focused modern society to a more plural sensory existence that allows humans to pay attention to smell. “Odors allow us to perceive the air we breathe and thus locate us in the atmosphere that we exist in and share with all other life on earth,” said Rosenbrück. “Scents are what we all have in common.”
Katerina Ragkousi | Biology
Posted 12/16/24
“Lateral cell polarization drives organization of epithelia in sea anemone embryos and embryonic cell aggregates,” co-authored by Katerina Ragkousi, assistant professor of biology; Tavus Atajanova ’23; Emily Minju Kang ’24; Anna Postnikova, research assistant; Alivia Lee Price, research specialist; Sophie Doerr ’19; Michael Du ’20; and Alicia Ugenti ’21, was published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The article examines how embryos of Nematostella vectensis, an early branching species of sea anemone, organize their cells into epithelial tissues. Their results provide insight into tissue organizing principles from species that appeared long before our own during animal evolution
Rachel Bernard | Geology
Posted 12/16/24
Rachel E. Bernard, assistant professor of geology, has been chosen by the American Geophysical Union to deliver the prestigious Dorothy LaLonde Stout Lecture. Presented annually, the honor recognizes a team or individual that has made outstanding contributions in the area of Earth and/or space sciences in the area of Pre-K to 16+ education and/or public outreach.
Laure Katsaros | French
Posted 10/7/24
Laure Katsaros, G. Armour Craig Professor in Language and Literature, has published a volume of essays by noted critics and practitioners of architecture, landscape design and urban planning titled Multiplicity: On Constraint and Agency in Contemporary Architecture. The book–which Katsaros co-edited with colleagues from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Mount Holyoke College–explores the intersecting environmental, social, artistic and technological forces that are redefining the field of architecture in the 21st century, and addresses such diverse topics as biosynthetic design, the role of memorials in healing the wounds of the past, and the global emergence of “kinetic cities.”
Catherine Sanderson | Psychology
Posted 10/7/24
Teaching Social Psychology, a volume co-edited by Catherine Sanderson, Poler Family Professor of Psychology, was published in August. This edited guide summarizes diverse teaching philosophies and provides practical recommendations for best practices when teaching social psychology. Featuring chapters contributed by professors at a range of different types of institutions, the book aims to encourage educators to emphasize the direct connection between social psychology course material and everyday life.
Austin Sarat | Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought; Political Science
Posted 10/7/24
Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The funding will support a project titled, “Punishment: The American Story Project”, and a three-week, residential institute for 25 middle and high school teachers on the meanings, purposes, and history of punishment in the United States.
Catherine Newman | Creative Writing Center
Posted 9/24/24
Catherine Newman ’90, academic department coordinator at the Creative Writing Center, has published a novel titled Sandwich, an instant New York Times bestseller. The book has received rave reviews by a variety of outlets, including The Washington Post, Guardian and Chicago Review of Books.
Lillian Pentecost | Computer Science
Posted 9/24/24
Lillian Pentecost, assistant professor of computer science, and colleagues from Tufts University and Harvard University, received a grant from the National Science Foundation to create MemSysExplorer, a set of research tools for exploring and evaluating next-generation computer memory systems. Funded by the NSF’s Community Infrastructure for Research in Computer and Information Science and Engineering program, the project addresses the need for innovative memory solutions following the rapid, ongoing growth of data-intensive applications.
Lloyd Barba | Religion
Posted 9/23/24
Latin American and US Latino Religions in North America: An Introduction, an anthology edited by Lloyd Barba, assistant professor of religion, has been published by Bloomsbury. As an introduction to the field, the book provides an overview of the origins, traditions, cultures and key developments in the study of Latin American and Latino religions in North America. Barba was also recently one of 15 interdisciplinary scholars from across the country to be named a fellow of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). Through the organization’s Religion and Renewing Democracy Initiative, Barba and his colleagues will work alongside PRRI researchers and staff to generate impactful commentary and analysis at the intersection of religion, culture and politics.
Jen Manion | History
Posted 9/16/24
“A Legacy of Cruelty to Sexual and Gender Minority Groups,” co-authored by historian Jen Manion, Winkley Professor of History and Political Economy, has been published by The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The paper examines the role NEJM has played in promoting stigmatizing and false theories about LGBTQ+ people, perpetuating hatred and bigotry under the guise of scientific objectivity, and subsequently contributing to devastating health disparities for LGBTQ+ people to this day.
Sara Brenneis | Spanish
Book published in 2024
Sara Brenneis, professor of Spanish, has edited a new book titled Yo he estado en Mauthausen: Edición crítica. Yo he estado en Mauthausen–in English, “I Was in Mauthausen”–by Carlos Rodriguez del Risco, is the first survivor account published in Spain about the Nazi concentration camps, serialized in the pages of Francisco Franco’s official newspaper, Arriba, in 1946, just a year after the end of World War II. The memoir describes the experiences of del Risco, a young defender of the Spanish Republic, who fought against the Nazis, survived five years in a Nazi concentration camp, and returned to Spain under the protection of dictator Francisco Franco. This Spanish-language edition includes an introduction, photos from the personal collection of the author’s daughter, and a thorough series of explanatory notes from Brenneis.
Olufemi Vaughan | Black Studies
Book published in 2024
A new book by Olufemi Vaughan, Alfred Sargent Lee ’41 and Mary Farley Ames Lee Professor of Black Studies, Letters, Kinship, and Social Mobility in Nigeria, has been published by the University of Wisconsin Press. The book explores a trove of more than 3,000 letters written by four generations of his family in Ibadan, Nigeria, between 1926 to 1994. The collection was given to Vaughan in 2003 by his nonagenarian father, Abiodun Vaughan, who had been a civil servant in the colonial administration and the patriarch of a prominent family in Ibadan with historical roots in West Africa and connections to the Americas. The men and women who wrote the letters had emerged from the religious, social and educational institutions established by the Church Missionary Society, the preeminent Anglican mission in the Atlantic Nigerian region following the imposition of British colonial rule. The author’s deep analysis of the letters enabled him to illuminate everyday life for this important segment of Nigerian society.