Faculty

Research/Areas of Interest: Algebraic Geometry

Research/Areas of Interest: Media, Political Culture, Extreme Incivility, Digital Abuse and Harassment, Public Discourse, Gender, Social Movements

Research/Areas of Interest: Engineering for Health -> Physics of cancer and aging -> Mechanics of biomaterials at the nanoscale, Synthesis and study of functionals nanomaterials for biomedical imaging and drug delivery, Advanced imaging for medical diagnostics, Novel processes and materials for dentistry: nano-polishing and self-healing materials

Research/Areas of Interest: social perception and judgment; psychology of racial equity and group diversity.

Research/Areas of Interest: computational geometry, design and analysis of algorithms, computational complexity

Research/Areas of Interest: Middle English Literature Babble and Authority Quest Narratives

Research/Areas of Interest: Political Economy, International Economics, Economic Growth and Development

Research/Areas of Interest: Transportation; Health; Spatial models; Geographic Information Systems

Research/Areas of Interest: Biological Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Quantum Mechanics My research interests cover a broad array of topics in biological physics, condensed matter physics and quantum mechanics. In biological physics our group is performing both experimental and theoretical work to uncover fundamental physical principles that underlie the formation of functional neuronal networks among neurons in the brain. One of the primary challenges in science today is to figure out how as many as 100 billion neurons are produced, grow, and organize themselves into the truly wonderful information-processing machine which is the brain. We combine high-resolution imaging techniques such as atomic force, traction force and fluorescence microscopy to measure mechanical properties of neurons and to correlate these properties with internal components of the cell. Our group is also using mathematical modeling based on stochastic differential equations and the theory of dynamical systems to predict axonal growth and the formation of neuronal networks. The aim of this work is twofold. On the one hand we are using tools and concepts from experimental and theoretical physics to understand biological processes. On the other hand, active biological processes in neuronal cells exhibit a wealth of fascinating phenomena such as feedback control, pattern formation, collective behavior, and non equilibrium dynamics, and thus the insights learned from studying these biological systems broaden the intellectual range of physics. I am also interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics, particularly in decoherence phenomena and in applying the theory of stochastic processes to open quantum systems. My interests in condensed matter physics include quantum transport in nanoscale systems (carbon nanotubes, graphene, polymer composites, hybrid nanostructures), as well as scanning probe microscopy investigations of novel biomaterials.

Research/Areas of Interest: Tourism, museums, myth and ritual, cultural performance, culture-led redevelopment, mobilities, farm history/heritage I am an interdisciplinary scholar and practitioner working at the intersection of cultural anthropology and public history. My published work focuses largely on the uses of history, heritage, and culture in redevelopment projects, particularly in former industrial settings. I am particularly interested in foregrounding the presence and contributions of knowledge producers and cultural workers within processes of postindustrial transformation. My 2006 book The Lowell Experiment: Public History in a Postindustrial City explores the role of those who helped to reframe a New England textile city for the "new economy" of the late 20th century. My current research and writing asks about the potential for workers in these settings to engage productively with the realms of advocacy and activism, particularly around issues of energy use and food production. A book project in progress, co-authored with Michelle Moon and subtitled How History Can Help Reinvent the Food System, sets out a rationale and methodology for nudging historic sites and practice into closer dialogue with the contemporary "food movement," with the goal of bringing greater historical nuance and critical complexity to present-day understandings of the dominant industrial food system and other possible models. As an engaged scholar, I have served as a consultant to the U.S. National Park Service's Ethnography Program for more than 15 years, producing a number of peer-reviewed, publicly-accessible book-length studies of military reenactments, farming, and ethnic, avocational, and seasonal communities associated with national parks. I also have an interest in digital scholarship and publication, mostly through my involvement with the National Council on Public History and its evolving digital publications (particularly its History@Work blog, of which I was the founding editor).

Research/Areas of Interest: Animal Behavior: Recognition systems, evolution of sociality, parasite and host relationships, behavioral & chemical communication, invasion genetics

Research/Areas of Interest: German language and culture teaching as a vehicle to intercultural citizenship, second language acquisition, and teacher language education.

Research/Areas of Interest: Physical Organic Chemistry. Research interests include use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in studies of the stereochemistry and conformations of organic molecules, computer applications in teaching and research, and organic synthesis. Projects have included the study of nonchair conformations of cyclohexane derivatives, the influence of electrostatic interactions among polar groups upon conformational equilibria, and conformational studies of molecules of biological interest. Much of this work required the synthesis of organic compounds with deuterium and carbon-13 at specific locations for use in the determination of NMR coupling constants and relaxation times, and are interpreted in terms of conformational equilibria. Experimental conformational energies were also compared with those calculated by use of the methods of computational chemistry. Other projects have involved the use of computers in teaching organic chemistry. The most ambitious of these projects was designed to develop an interactive computer program for teaching of organic synthesis.

Research/Areas of Interest: Dr. Stopka's current research focuses on the intersection of opioid use disorder, overdose, and infectious diseases (HCV, HIV, STIs, COVID-19). He employs GIS, spatial epidemiological, qualitative, biostatistical, and laboratory approaches in multi-site, interdisciplinary studies and public health interventions. He currently leads and contributes to clinical trials and observational studies funded by the NIH, CDC, and SAMHSA to assess the effectiveness of a mobile, telemedicine-based HCV treatment and harm reduction model for rural opioid users in Northern New England, to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40% in Massachusetts, and to evaluate the overdose prevention impacts of administration of medication for opioid use disorder in houses of correction. Dr. Stopka is also Co-PI of the Tufts research priority group focused on equity in health, wealth, and civic engagement. He teaches courses in GIS and spatial epidemiology, research methods for public health, and epidemiology. He enjoys mentoring research assistants, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty in ongoing research studies and collaborative publications.

Research/Areas of Interest: Development and Growth, Urban Economics

Research/Areas of Interest: Medieval Latin Philosophy; Classical Arabic Philosophy; History and Philosophy of Logic; Aristotle; Avicenna

Research/Areas of Interest: Environmental health, environmental epidemiology, air pollution, exposure science, data analytics

Research/Areas of Interest: Medieval art, architecture, and visual culture in Europe and the Byzantine-Slavic cultural spheres; image theory; historiography; patronage; monasticism; cross-cultural interactions

Research/Areas of Interest: Mesoamerican Archaeology, Ceramic Analysis, Rise and Fall of Complex Societies My research interests are in the social mechanisms involved in the development and demise of complex societies, concentrating on Mesoamerica. The central theme behind my research is to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in the establishment and collapse of social hierarchies and how these are expressed in the archaeological record. I examine these issues though a contextual analysis of material culture (specifically pottery) from a number of different sites. As the ceramicist for the Programme for Belize Archaeology Project in the Three Rivers Region of northwestern Belize, I am in the process of developing a regional chronology for the area which involves the analysis of ceramics recovered from a number across the region(ranging from isolated finds to large cities such as La Milpa) and dating from the Middle Preclassic (900 B.C.) to Terminal Classic (A.D. 900). I am also the Associate Director of the St. George's Caye Archaeological project where we are excavating the remains of the first capital of Belize. This project is focused on historic period occupation where we are finding some of the forefathers of Belize that were associated with the Battle of St. George's Caye in 1798 when the Baymen fought off the Spanish. A significant part of this public archaeology project involves working closely with the local community on the island to carry out research that is of importance to them and to share our findings.

Research/Areas of Interest: Political Theory

Research/Areas of Interest: Music and identity, music and spiritual experience, music and advocacy, and the impact of technology on the transmission of tradition.

Research/Areas of Interest: Moral philosophy, practical rationality, moral psychology, action theory

Research/Areas of Interest: International Relations

Research/Areas of Interest: Statistics

Research/Areas of Interest: Macroeconomics; Economic growth

Research/Areas of Interest: Physical Chemistry, Surface Science, and Nanoscience. The Sykes group utilizes state of the art scanning probes and surface science instrumentation to study technologically important systems. For example, scanning tunneling microscopy enables visualization of geometric and electronic properties of catalytically relevant metal alloy surfaces at the nanoscale. Using temperature programmed reaction studies of well defined model catalyst surfaces structure-property-activity relationships are drawn. Of particular interest is the addition of individual atoms of a reactive metal to a relatively inert host. In this way reactivity can be tuned, and provided the energetic landscapes are understood, novel bifunctional catalytic systems can be designed with unique properties that include low temperature activation and highly selective chemistry. Newly developed curved single crystal surface are also being used to open up previously inaccessible areas of structure sensitive surface chemistry and chiral surface geometries. In a different thrust, the group has developed various molecular motor systems that are enabling us to study many important fundamental aspects of molecular rotation and translation with unprecedented resolution.

Research/Areas of Interest: French Language; Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition; Integration of Technology into Second Language Acquisition; Hybrid Courses (face-to-face and online learning)

Research/Areas of Interest: Modern Literature (American, British), Modern Intellectual History (American, British), Aesthetics, Literary Theory