Faculty Highlights - Academic Year 2023-2024

Associate Professor of History Kendra Field appeared throughout Season 1 of the HBO Max show "Breaking New Ground," which chronicles Broadway performer Robert Hartwell’s journey into his own family history, while transforming a 200-year-old house into a home that celebrates resiliency and offers a sense of hope and reclamation. 

Associate Professor of Music Melinda Latour's book The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652 (Oxford University Press 2023) won the Morris D. Forkosch Book Prize for Best First Book in Intellectual History.

Associate Professor of History Kendra Field and Associate Professor of History and Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Kerri Greenidge helped to identify a living descendant of Elizabeth Freeman, as part of their work with the 10 Million Names Project. Their work is featured in this Boston Globe cover story, describing the search for descendants of Freeman, whose historic court case set the legal precedent to abolish slavery in Massachusetts. Field is quoted about the challenges of tracing African American genealogies saying, “It takes more work, it takes more investment, and it’s the work of repairing those erasures and voids.”

Research Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development Elizabeth Dowling, Fletcher Professor of Philosophy Erin Kelly, and Director of the Generous Listening and Dialogue Center and Research Associate Professor at the Tisch College of Civic Life Jonathan Tirrell attended the Listening and Leading: The Art and Science of Peace, Resilience, and Transformational Justice conference in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference, co-hosted by Aegis Trust, Tufts University, and the University of Rwanda, commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It brought together over 400 scholars, practitioners, policymakers, dignitaries, religious leaders, artists, and community peacebuilders to share lessons and envision a just and peaceful future. Aegis Trust announced the launch of a global center for peacebuilding, the Isōko Peace Institute, planned to include education, research, and memory work to promote peace and end identity-based violence. Dowling, Kelly, and Tirrell are continuing a research-practice partnership between Tufts and Aegis Trust intended to develop evaluation tools and a theory of change and for the Aegis Trust Peace and Values Education programs, to be amplified and scaled through the Isōko Peace Institute. The partnership between Tufts University and Aegis Trust, including the hosting of the Listening and Leading conference, is supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

Associate Professor of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies Kareem Khubchandani was awarded a 2024 Outstanding Book Award by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) for Decolonize Drag (OR Books 2023). The ATHE recognized Khubchandani’s book for its impressive pedagogical achievement and contribution to teaching and learning through drag performance.

Associate Professor of History Kendra Field and Associate Professor of History and Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Kerri Greenidge participated in a public conversation delving into the untold histories of the African Diaspora in New England. Entitled “Black Lives, Black Stories, Our History: The African Diaspora and New England,” the event illuminated the rich and often overlooked narratives that have shaped the region. It was held in front of The Embrace sculpture on Boston Common and was part of the City of Boston's newest public art initiative, Un-monument. They were interviewed by Tufts Postdoctoral Fellow (Center for the Humanities) and Executive Director of the Royall House and Slave Quarters Kyera Singleton.

Professor of Music John McDonald gave a talk at the 2024 Biennial State Conference at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The conference title reflected the title of McDonald’s music: "Week In, Week Out—A Teacher's Journey,” which explores pianistic work-life concepts designed to engage the curious intermediate to advanced keyboard aficionado. Pianist Liam Greene performed McDonald’s new work at the conference.

Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology Michael Levin joined the Theories of Everything podcast for for an in-depth discussion of his research in the applications of basal cognition research.

Associate Professor of History Kendra Field and Associate Professor of History and Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Kerri Greenidge hosted the third annual Du Bois Forum in the Berkshires, honoring the legacy of W.E.B Du Bois and the Black intellectual and artistic traditions he shaped. An article in Forbes Magazine describes the event as a "reaffirmation of the importance of Black intellectual and artistic traditions." The retreat and public events engaged leading writers, scholars, and artists from across the nation, including keynote speaker Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III. An interview in the Boston Globe highlights the historical significance of the Du Bois Forum.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kevin Clark received a Beckman Young Investigator Award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Awardees exemplify the Foundation’s mission of supporting promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences. Awardees were selected from a pool of approximately 300 applicants after a three-part review led by a panel of scientific experts, and will receive funding for over four years.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Caleb Scoville published a peer-reviewed article in the American Journal of Cultural Sociology entitled "How to divide people with things: division entrepreneurs, wedges, and the Delta Smelt controversy." The article was made possible by grants from the Tufts University Faculty Research Awards Committee and the Neubauer Faculty Fellowship.

Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Kwasi Ampene delivered the inaugural lecture at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. His talk was entitled "Performing Petition: Kete Songs, Lineage, and Kingship in Akan" and can be viewed here (talk begins at 1:09:15).

Professor in the Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies Department Heather S. Nathans has received a Duke Library Research Award. This short-term fellowship will support her ongoing archival work on the intersections of Southern, white, Black, Jewish, and Gentile identities, and allow her to explore the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke.

Newhouse Professor of Civic Studies Brian Schaffner has been named a 2024 Carnegie Fellow. As one of 28 scholars selected from more than 360 nominees, he will receive support for research that seeks to understand how and why our society has become so polarized and how we can strengthen the forces of cohesion to fortify our democracy.  

Emma Armstrong-Carter, assistant professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development, was awarded a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Small Grant for Early Career Scholars.

The National Science Foundation approved renewal funding for the Mathematics Department Visiting and Early Research Scholars' Experiences in Mathematics (VERSEIM-REU) grant for another three years (2024-2027). Professor of Mathematics Fulton Gonzalez will serve as the PI and Professor of Mathematics Kasso Okoudjou will serve as the co-PI. Robinson Professorship in Mathematics Todd Quinto also played a central role in this project.

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Justin Hollander, A’96, was invited to speak at the 60th International Making Cities Livable Conference in Newport, RI. He presented recent research he has been leading on the impact of green streetscapes on human emotional well-being, building on the Scientific American article he co-authored with Tufts graduate students.

Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy Timothy James Atherton is a 2023 5 Sigma Physicist Award recipient. This award recognizes American Physics Society (APS) members who have demonstrated outstanding advocacy that is crucial to maintaining the strength of the scientific enterprise. Professor Atherton won this award for his longstanding advocacy for LGBTQ+ people in Physics and STEM more broadly.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Luke Davis received an award from the Department of Energy to fund the development of new chemistry to decarbonize iron and steel production - one of the most significant industrial sources of carbon emission. Professor David received one of only thirteen awards made nationwide.

Professor of the Practice Rachelle Mozman Solano has been named a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow in recognition of her work in the field of photography. Chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants, the Class of 2024 Guggenheim Fellows was tapped on the basis of prior career achievement and exceptional promise. 

Professor of the Practice in Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies Maurice Parent, along with The Front Porch Arts Collective, a theater company he co-founded, received eight Elliott Norton Award nominations for the company's production of Fat Ham this season.

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Justin Hollander, A’96, was invited to deliver the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development Spring Lecture at the University of Maryland. He spoke about his new book Buildings for People: Responsible Real Estate Development and Planning (Wiley, 2023), co-authored with Tufts alum Nicole Stephens.

Assistant Professor in the History of Art and Architecture Department Alice Isabella Sullivan has co-edited a new book entitled Routledge Handbook of Byzantine Visual Culture in the Danube Regions, 1300–1600 (New York: Routledge, 2024), which explores the history, art, and culture of Eastern Europe relative to Byzantium. Professor Sullivan is also working as a senior researcher for the "HER-UKR: Challenges and Opportunities for EU Heritage Diplomacy in Ukraine" project that aims to provide European policymakers with solid expertise on developments in Ukraine’s cultural heritage field as well as that of East-Central Europe broadly. She is also serving as President of the Society of Historians of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Art and Architecture (SHERA). The purpose of SHERA is to promote research, provide a forum for ongoing conversations on areas of mutual interest, and foster contacts and collaboration among scholars of East European, Eurasian, and Russian art and architecture.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Anjuli Fahlberg's book Activism Under Fire: The Politics of Non-Violence in Rio de Janeiro’s Gang Territories (Oxford University Press 2023) was recently selected as one of two co-winners of the Roberto Reis Book Prize of the Brazilian Studies Association in the First Book category. She also received the Best Book Award from the International Studies Association’s Section on Human Rights.

Professor of Chemistry Joshua Kritzer and Associate Professor of Chemistry Charlie Mace were inducted into the 2024 Class of Senior Members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). NAI members are recognized as academic inventors who are rising leaders with success in patents, licensing, and commercialization, and have contributed to the welfare of society.

Assistant Professor in the Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Department Courtney Sato was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship. The fellowship will support the research and writing of Dr. Sato’s first book, Pacific Internationalisms: Asian American Mobility, Gender, and Empire in the Interwar Period.

Professor of the Practice Tanya Crane was recently named a 2024 United States Artist Fellow by the United States Artists organization. The USA Fellows are dedicated to their communities and committed to building upon shared legacies through artistic innovation, cultural stewardship, and multifaceted storytelling. As cultural leaders, teachers, and advocates, much of their work is founded on a sense of world-building, with practices that uncover marginalized histories, reimagine archives, blur genres, chart new paths, and empower the next generation to carry this work forward.

Outside of his teaching responsibilities, Senior Lecturer in Music Paul Lehrman continues to build upon his stellar musical practice. A pioneer in the field of computer music, he co-created a new version of George Antheil’s revolutionary 1924-5 composition “Ballet Mécanique,” for solo piano and multiple loudspeakers, which has now inspired a new ballet. The ballet will be premiered by the Ballett Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland on January 20.

Associate Professor of History and Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Kerri Greenidge and Associate Professor of History Kendra Field have been selected as members of the research team that will study Boston’s role in the transatlantic slave trade from 1620 to 1940, as part of the Boston Reparations Task Force’s work toward addressing the city’s historical involvement in slavery.

Kirsten Behling, Associate Dean of Student Accessibility and Academic Resources, is co-author of a new book Disability Services in Higher Education: An Insider's Guide (Temple University Press, 2023). The book is the first comprehensive guide for the field of ADA compliance in higher education.

Packard Professor of Theology Brian Hatcher was awarded the Vidyasagar-Dinamoyee Prize, presented by the Vidyasagar Academy with funding from the West Bengal State Government. The annual Vidyasagar Prize is awarded to authors for their lifetime contributions to language, literature, education, and social reform in West Bengal, India.
 

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Justin Hollander, A96, authored a book entitled The First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide to Settling the Red Planet (Springer 2022) earlier this year that was recognized among the best in 2023 by The New Scientist. Tufts Now also wrote an article about the book: How to Build the First City on Mars.

Prof. Hollander and his team published an article in the Journal of Climate Resilience and Justice entitled "Climate Change and Urban Migration in Sub-Saharan African Cities: Impacts and Governance Changes."

Prof. Hollander also co-authored a new book with Nicole Stephens, G’22, entitled Buildings for People: Responsible Real Estate Development and Planning. The book explores socially responsible and sustainable approaches to real estate development and planning, complementing the UEP Department’s newest graduate certificate offerings in Impact and Sustainable Investing.

Professor of English Lee Edelman was recently recognized by The Modern Language Association of America. Edelman was awarded honorable mention for the fifty-fourth annual James Russell Lowell Prize for his book Bad Education: Why Queer Theory Teaches Us Nothing (Duke University Press, January 2023). The prize is awarded annually for an outstanding book—a literary or linguistic study, a critical edition of an important work, or a critical biography—written by a member of the association.

Assistant Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture Alice Isabella Sullivan's recently published book The Eclectic Visual Culture of Medieval Moldavia (Brill, 2023) has been awarded the 2023 Book Prize from the Early Slavic Studies Association (ESSA) for the best book published between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2023 in the field of Early Slavic Studies (pre-1800).

Professor of Music Joseph Auner was featured in an article in the South China Morning Post describing a conference in Shenzhen, China celebrating the 150th Anniversary of renowned composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth. Auner wrote the original program preface for an opera about Schoenberg's life and gave a keynote on “Schoenberg’s Technological Imagination."

Professor of Music Richard Jankowsky is the winner of the Alan P. Merriam Prize in the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) for his monograph, Ambient Sufism: Ritual Niches and the Social Work of Musical Form (Chicago 2021). Awarded annually by the SEM, the award recognizes the most distinguished English-language monograph in the field of ethnomusicology. Jankowsky's same book, Ambient Sufism, received honorable mention from the American Institute for Maghreb Studies L. Carl Brown Book Prize. Jankowsky was also the joint keynote speaker for the Society for Arab Music Research and Religion, Music, and Sound Section at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology. 

Assistant Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Shan Jiang recently presented her research on "Mining Small & Big Data for Smart, Equitable, and Resilient Urban Futures" at the 10th Urban China Forum "Transformations and Opportunities of Urban Planning in China in Recent Decades."

Professor of Mathematics Kasso Okoudjou and Robinson Professor of Mathematics Todd Quinto were recognized as 2024 Fellows of the American Mathematical Society (AMS). AMS fellows have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics. Okoudjou and Quinto were among 43 mathematicians chosen to be AMS Fellows out of over 16,000 eligible members.

Professor and Chair of the Music Department Kwasi Ampene received a 3G Legend and Lifetime Achievement Award at The 12th Edition of the 3G Annual Awards and Celebrity Bash in New York City. The award was in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Highlife music in Ghana and the US, and the music industry in Ghana broadly. He also presented the keynote lecture for the African and African Diaspora Music Section of the 68^th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology in Ottawa-Canada. The title of his keynote speech was “What is African Music? Reflections on decolonizing the study and performance of the musical arts of Africa in the Academy.”

Professor of Chemistry Charles Sykes was recently recognized with the Henry Albert Award by the International Precious Metals Institute. His groundbreaking work on palladium single atom alloys was the first to conclusively show that isolated single atoms of a metal could act as powerful heterogenous catalysts. 

Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Keren Ladin's published an article entitled “Shared Decision Making Among Older Adults With Advanced CKD” in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD). It was awarded AJKD's Editors’ Choice Award, recognizing outstanding articles for the year.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Aerielle Allen, Professor of Psychology Lisa Shin, and Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Psychology Department Samuel R. Sommers received a NIH Director's Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health to fund a 5-year study entitled "The Effects of Racism on Brain and Physiological Pathways to Health Disparities." In addition, Tufts co-investigators include Professor of Psychology Heather Urry and Assistant Professor of Sociology Felipe Dias. 

Professor of Physics & Astronomy Gary Goldstein received a major grant to spearhead a project entitled "Accelerator Research and Development for Current and Future Nuclear Physics Facilities" using AI and machine learning to reveal the 3 dimensional structure of nucleons and nuclei.

Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Penn Loh published a new study in the Journal of Climate Resilience and Justice entitled Pandemic Response and Mutual Aid as Climate Resilience: Learning from Community Responses in the Boston Area.

Senior Lecturer in the Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Department Sumeeta Srinivasan published a paper entitled "Risk factors for persistent fatal opioid-involved overdose hotspots in Massachusetts 2011-2021: A spatial statistical analysis with socio-economic, access and prescription factors."

Professor of Political Science Brian Schaffner and several recent graduates of the Political Science Department, including Scott Blatte ’23, Yonatan Margalit ‘22, Carolina Olea Lezama ‘22, Aadhya Shivakumar ‘22, and David Wingens ’23, published a research article entitled “Critical Race Theory and Asymmetric Mobilization” in the peer-reviewed academic journal Political Behavior. 

Chair of the Department of Music Kwasi Ampene met with the king of the Asante Kingdom and a representative of the UCLA Fowler Museum to present returned artifacts taken during the Sagrenti War.

Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science Vickie B. Sullivan's essay entitled “Montesquieu on Slavery” was included in The Cambridge Companion to Montesquieu, edited by Keegan Callanan and Sharon R. Krause (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
 

Associate Professor of Sociology Freeden Blume Oeur has published a new co-edited volume entitled Gender Replay: On Kids, Schools, and Feminism (NYU Press, 2023). Professor of Sociology at the University of California Barrie Thorne’s Gender Play was a landmark study of the social worlds of primary school children that sparked a paradigm shift in our understanding of how kids and the adults around them contest and reinforce gender boundaries. Thirty years later, Gender Replay celebrates and reflects on this classic, extending Thorne’s scholarship into a new and different generation.

Assistant Professor in Earth and Climate Sciences Rebecca Jackson co-authored a paper that was recently published in Nature Geoscience entitled "Melting of Glacier Ice Enhanced by Bursting Air Bubbles." National Geographic also covered Jackson's research in a recent article.