Among the newcomers to the Urbana campus are faculty members whose appointments began this summer or fall. Inside Illinois continues its tradition of introducing some of the new faculty members on campus and will feature at least two new colleagues in each fall issue.
Sept. 17, 2009
(pictured above)
assistant professor of sustainable landscape design, department of crop sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Education: M.LA (landscape architecture), Ph.D. and M.S. (agronomy), and B.S. (agricultural science), UI.
Why Illinois? "It was indeed a very difficult decision to leave my faculty position at University of Vermont, but ultimately I decided UI had more to offer in terms of students, collaborators, financial support and high-profile research opportunities," Lovell said. "In particular, I was impressed by the people with whom I would be working - their diversity of knowledge, interest in cooperative activities and enthusiasm about current and new directions for the program. The high quality of graduate students that could be attracted to the university was another important factor, in considering the development and long-term sustainability of a strong research program."
Research interests: Her research ranges from sustainability issues on small farms to urban landscapes. She also researches multifunctional landscapes, urban agriculture, ecological design and landscape agroecology.
"Dr. Taylor Lovell brings to her position, a strong academic background in crop sciences and landscape architecture," said Robert G. Hoeft, professor and head of crop sciences. "This diverse background has led her to focus her teaching and research on the sustainable landscapes, particularly at the interface where urban and agricultural land uses interact. A major emphasis of her research program will be devoted to localized production of food and fuel."
professor of finance, College of Business
Education: Ph.D. (managerial economics and decision sciences), Northwestern University; B.S. (economics) and B.A. (philosophy), University of Pennsylvania.
Why Illinois? "I chose Illinois because a former colleague from Harvard, Jeff Brown, is here and recently started the Center for Business and Public Policy within the finance department. The center is doing very exciting work at the intersection of business and public policy that fits in well with my interests. A big part of my coming here was the opportunity to work with Jeff, Don Fullerton and the other center affiliates," Miller said. "In addition, both my wife and I have family histories here. I grew up outside of Chicago and my father (UIC), a brother and a sister (UIUC) attended the UI. My wife was actually born in Urbana while her father was in graduate school here. So, although neither of us attended the university as students, we also were drawn here by the opportunity to come back to Illinois and get involved with an institution that has had a big positive effect on our lives."
Research interests: "Nolan Miller joins us from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he spent a decade developing and applying cutting-edge economic theory to important public policy problems, ranging from important and timely questions about efficiency of U.S. health insurance markets, to the impact of world food prices on consumption and nutrition in China, to advertising budgets in competitive markets," said Charles Kahn, chair of the finance department.
"In addition to being a skilled researcher, he also is a gifted teacher who guides students to become effective at translating economic theory into practical analysis of public policy," said Brown, the William G. Karnes Professor of Finance and director of the Center for Business and Public Policy. "He will be an extremely valuable addition to our faculty as well as to the center."
Oct. 1, 2009
Chantal Nadeau
professor and director of Gender and Women's Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education: Ph.D. (sociology), Université de Montréal; M.A. (political science), B.A. (political science), Université Laval, Québec City.
Research interests: Her research intersects queer theory, feminist analysis, political criticism and sexual and ethnic identities in a transnational context. She is studying the discontinuities and rupture of justice and equity for what have been tagged as both minorities and majorities.
"Professor Chantal Nadeau is at the forefront of innovative, interdisciplinary work in gender studies," said LAS associate dean Karen Carney. "She has said that her teaching philosophy could be summed up in two words: think outside. Indeed, in the many undergraduate and graduate courses she has taught she challenges herself and her students to push their boundaries, to overcome their fears of the unknown, and to be creative and imaginative with the texts they read. Professor Nadeau is a scholar with a strong commitment to building intellectual community both inside the classroom and beyond its boundaries."
Why Illinois? "I didn't choose Illinois, Illinois chose me," Nadeau said. "More seriously, it was actually an easy call. I was looking for a vibrant research university committed to invest in sexuality and gender curriculum and research. I wanted to be able to work with a rich collection of scholars whose work was not only challenging but at the forefront of what's going on in the field.
"I moved from Montreal mainly because I couldn't find such an environment there. Finally, something that was important for me was the fact that UI was a public university. It might sound weird, but I am a pure product of public education and as such and despite all the strains that affect public-funded universities, I do believe in the public mission of universities."
assistant professor of speech and hearing science, College of Applied Health Sciences
Education: Postdoctoral fellowship, University of Rochester; Ph.D. (psychology), University of Southampton, England; M.Sc (neural computation), University of Stirling, Scotland; B.Sc. (psychology), Manchester Metropolitan University, England.
Research interests: His research is concerned with the effects of deafness on development of visual cognition skills. It compares control groups of children and adults with those who were deaf from birth to enhance intervention strategies for cognitive development in the deaf community. His research is sensitive to family contexts of deafness such as hearing children of deaf parents or deaf children of hearing parents.
Why Illinois? "Apart from Illinois' reputation as an outstanding R1 institution, the thing that appealed to me most is the cross-disciplinary nature of academic activities," Dye said. "While we all have 'home' departments and colleges, it was my impression that academics (here) are actively encouraged to 'leave home,' and to meet and interact with colleagues across the campus with whom they may share and develop research interests and programs. As someone who has worked or studied in six departments, often in different colleges, this was a strong lure."
Oct. 15, 2009
assistant professor of aerospace engineering, College of Engineering
Education: Sc.D Doctor of Science (control and estimation) and M.A (aeronautics and astronautics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.A. (aerospace engineering), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
Research Interests: Chung's research efforts are centered on aerospace systems, autonomous systems and robotics, including nonlinear control theory.
"Dr. Chung comes to us from Iowa State University where he won several faculty awards for his teaching and research contributions," said Craig Dutton, the head of the department of aerospace engineering at Illinois. "He is an extremely talented researcher who is skillful in the theoretical aspects of multi-disciplinary control systems research, and he is equally effective in the laboratory when it comes to implementing his algorithms on experimental hardware.
"He has an impressive record of scholarship for his career stage, which we expect to flourish even further in the rich Illinois environment of dynamics and controls researchers. Dr. Chung has broad aerospace systems experience in both aircraft and spacecraft applications, which makes him a wonderful fit in our department."
Why Illinois? "The aerospace engineering department and the College of Engineering of Illinois are internationally top-ranked programs, so I was intrigued by excellent opportunities here with top-notch faculty and students," Chung said. "Another strong point is the academic atmosphere that encourages multi-disciplinary and interdepartmental collaborations. The nature of my work is highly multi-disciplinary that spans controls, nonlinear dynamics, robotics, neuroscience and biology. While at the UI, I found that lots of people want to work with you. There is much prestige attached to being at Illinois."
assistant professor of chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education: Postdoctoral fellowship (pharmacology), University of California at San Diego; Ph.D (chemistry), University of California at Berkeley; B.A. (chemistry), Carnegie Mellon University.
Research interests: Mitchell's research focuses on molecular underpinnings of bacterial virulence and natural product biosynthesis.
"Doug has just started his independent career here at Illinois, but is clearly headed toward a program that will have a major impact in biomedicine," said Steven Zimmerman, professor and head of the department of chemistry. "Indeed, Doug has an extraordinary research vision, which grew out of a seminal discovery he made as a postdoc. Given his astounding record of accomplishment at each stage of his young career, I am confident that Doug will emerge as a leader who opens new fields, in this case by showing how pathogenic microbes can be treated by directly attacking the mechanism of pathogenesis."
Why Illinois? "The world-renowned chemistry department and chemical/biological infrastructure as well as the collegial and collaborative (friendly and supportive, too) environment," Mitchell said. "(Also) the lack of traffic, but close proximity to several urban centers. I lived in California long enough to despise traffic jams."
Nov. 5, 2009
assistant research professor of communications and assistant professor of media studies in the Institute of Communications Research, College of Media
Education: Ph.D. (Program in the History and Anthropology of Science, Technology and Society) and S.M. (comparative media studies), Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.A. (journalism and women's studies), New York University.
Research interests: Digital technology networks and free software and e-governance in Latin America.
"She has been a predoctoral research fellow at Columbia University School of Law and a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the humanities during this past year at Stanford University," said Cliff Christians, a retired professor of journalism in the Institute of Communications Research, who recruited Chan. "She has done award-winning research on free software and e-governance in Latin America. She will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in economics and the media; in global communications; and in science, technology and media."
Why Illinois? "The reason I chose Illinois is easy: The amazing reputation of both the Institute of Communications Research and College of Media and within the realm of communications research. It has what every young faculty member looks and hopes for in an institution: a community of scholars that will challenge you and bring out the best in your work. The fact that the ICR and college have also fostered great collegiality is just another plus."
professor of law, College of Law
Education: Ph.D. (philosophy), University of Michigan; J.D., Yale Law School; B.A, Harvard University.
Research Interests: Jurisprudence and moral and political philosophy and in those areas of the law, including the common law, that appear to reflect moral imperatives. He is specifically interested in the role of contract law and markets in modern political society, and in responses to the now-dominant accounts of these phenomena found in the law and economics literature.
"Rob is a superbly talented legal philosopher, with a deep understanding of jurisprudence and moral philosophy," said Bruce P. Smith, dean and Guy Raymond Jones Faculty Scholar. "His scholarship on contract theory and legal obligation also exhibits impressive interdisciplinary range, drawing on economics, psychology and anthropology. He is also a generous and insightful institutional citizen. We are very fortunate to have him at Illinois."
Why Illinois? "I chose to come to Illinois because it has one of the premier faculties in the nation working at the intersection of law and philosophy, and because it is one of a handful of law schools where one can develop sophisticated, cutting-edge, interdisciplinary work in a community of scholars who genuinely appreciate and interact with ideas from a broad range of cognate fields," Kar said. "Communities with this very special quality have, in my view, given birth to some of the most novel and challenging ideas, and I believe that Illinois will push me to develop along these same lines, to the very best of my abilities."
assistant professor of urban and regional planning, College of Fine and Applied Arts
Education: Ph.D. and M.A. (city and regional planning), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.A. (economics and political science), Duke University.
Research Interests: Wilson's interests lie in the areas of growth-management policy, sustainable urban form and urban simulation. His research focuses on the linkages between land use and environmental planning policy, development patterns, and both environmental and social outcomes. The use of GIS and spatial-analysis techniques to inform better planning and decision-making is a key thread linking his research and teaching.
"Dr. Wilson's considerable expertise in urban and regional growth management, environment policy, geographical analysis, and simulation mesh closely with our strength in sustainable development, computation and planning support systems," said Edward Feser, the head of the department of urban and regional planning. "It also dovetails with traditional and expanding areas of excellence in the College of Fine and Applied Arts and around campus. His research directly addresses critical issues facing cities today, especially the need for development patterns, urban designs, and supporting infrastructures that minimize energy consumption and adverse environmental impacts."
Why Illinois? "The urban and regional planning department at Illinois is one of the best in the nation," Wilson said. "There are several faculty members both within and outside the department with similar research interests, so the potential for collaboration was a huge draw. The university also has infrastructure and resources in place to help junior faculty succeed."
Nov. 19, 2009
Catherine Blake
associate professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Education: B.S. and M.S. (computer science, software engineering), University of Wollongong, Australia; M.S. (information and computer science, artificial intelligence) and Ph.D. (information and computer science, information access and management), University of California at Irvine.
Research interests: Blake's primary research goal is to accelerate scientific discovery by synthesizing evidence from text. Her techniques embrace both automated and human approaches that are required to resolve contradictions and redundancies that are inevitable in this information-intensive world. Her text-mining research clusters around language processing to automate information synthesis, human-information synthesis and medical and health informatics.
"Cathy Blake comes from a computer science background, and she comes to GSLIS with ongoing, funded research in evidence-based discovery and in linking data collected by hospital and ambulance services," said John Unsworth, dean of GSLIS. "She's very interested in topics such as the automated extraction of information from electronic health records, and she'll be a great collaborator for those on campus interested in health information from an information-science perspective."
Why Illinois? "I am thrilled with my move to the UI," Blake said. "In addition to the Graduate School of Information and Library Science's No. 1 ranking, I was attracted to the UI because of the high level of faculty engagement with programs such as the Illinois Informatics Initiative, the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship, and the Community Informatics Initiative. The intellectual climate here is fantastic, particularly with respect to interdisciplinary research and creative ways to deliver educational content."
Sidonie Lavergne
assistant professor of pharmacology in the department of veterinary biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Education: D.V.M. (Veterinary School of Nantes, France); IPSAV (veterinary internship, Veterinary School of Montreal); Ph.D. (comparative biomedical sciences), University of Wisconsin at Madison; American Board of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology.
Research interests: Lavergne's research and clinical interests are focused on understanding the mechanisms of adverse drug reactions to enable their diagnosis and management.
"She brings critical expertise to the growing interest in drug development on the Urbana campus with her focus on antibody- and cell-mediated events leading to drug-induced allergy (immediate and delayed)," said Duncan Ferguson, department head. "Her veterinary background positions her uniquely to identify spontaneous animal models of drug allergy, as well as to evaluate human diseases where drug allergies are of particular concern."
Why Illinois? "As a veterinarian specialized in clinical pharmacology, whose research focuses on adverse drug reactions, the presence of a veterinary school, a medical school, a center for translational research, and the largest veterinary anti-poison control center in the world, and many other research and clinical facilities, all in the same city, Illinois felt like a dream come true," Lavergne said. "In addition, Champaign-Urbana appeared like a lovely city to settle in on a personal level, which was the cherry on top of the cake."
Roberto Galvez
assistant professor of psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education: B.A. (biological science), University of California at Irvine; Ph.D. (neuroscience) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Research Interests: Galvez investigates the neurobiology of associative learning in the mammalian brain at cellular and systems levels using both in vivo and in vitro techniques. His research program focuses on characterizing the ways neurons store new information during associative learning.
"He is using a combination of behavioral, biophysical and pharmacological approaches to answer this question," said David Irwin, professor and department head. "He is in a unique position to use his anatomical, molecular and electrophysiological expertise to take a comprehensive approach in understanding not only the processes necessary for neocortical memory storage in young adults, but also how abnormalities in these mechanisms in aged subjects and in various forms of mental retardation contribute to impaired learning."
Why Illinois? "Deciding to accept the position at the UI was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made," Galvez said. "A comparison of psychology departments across the nation has consistently ranked the UI in the top 10 schools, and very often in the top five schools. However, if I had to select one aspect that attracted me to the University of Illinois it would be the research, not just in my home department, but the research at the university as a whole. I can think of no better example of this collaborative understanding toward research than the Beckman Institute itself, a place that by definition fosters such collaborations. It is this collaborative approach toward research that will eventually facilitate our understanding of issues such as memory consolidation, and it is this collaborative mindset that solidified my decision to accept this position."
Dec. 3, 2009
Rebecca K. Foote
assistant professor of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education: B.A. (Spanish), University of Houston; M.A. (Spanish language and literature), Rice University; Ph.D. (Spanish linguistics, specializing in second-language acquisition and teacher education), UI.
Research Interests: The effects of age and proficiency on the acquisition of Spanish.
"Dr. Foote's expertise in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language will complement the work already being done in our unit; in Spanish linguistics and second language acquisition, in SLATE (second language acquisition and teacher education) and in linguistics," said Diane Musumeci, a professor and head of the department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. "She also has superb teaching and service records. ... Although she only just completed her Ph.D in 2007, she has already published in one of the top journals in applied linguistics and has presented her work at several major national and international conferences."
Why Illinois? "I chose Illinois for two main reasons: one related to teaching and the other to research," Foote said. "I graduated from Illinois with my Ph.D., so I know that the students here are excellent and are eager to learn, which makes them a pleasure to teach. In terms of research, Illinois is a great place to build one's own research profile while being surrounded with scholars who are already distinguished in their fields."
Karrie A. Shogren
assistant professor of special education, College of Education
Education: B.S. (psychology), Ohio State University; M.A. (psychology), University of Dayton; Ph.D (special education - leadership and systems change in low incidence disabilities), University of Kansas.
Research Interests: Shogren's research focuses on self-determination of people with disabilities, particularly students and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. She also studies the use of technology to provide support for greater independence and social justice issues related to self-advocacy and self-determination in school, work and the community.
"Professor Shogren has been described as one of the most promising young scholars in the field of special education," said Michaelene Ostrosky, a professor and head of the department of special education.
Why Illinois? "In terms of what brought me to Illinois, it was the quality of the UI and its colleges and departments," Shogren said. "The department of special education is one of the top programs in the country, and throughout the College of Education and the university people are doing research that makes a difference in society. I was proud to have the opportunity to join such a stellar faculty."
Dec. 17, 2009
Robert Rumbelow
director of bands, College of Fine and Applied Arts
Education: B.A. (music performance), M.A. (music education), M.A. (music conducting) Texas Tech University; Ph.D. (musical arts, conducting) University of Rochester
Research Interests: Rumbelow has interests in the fields of conducting for wind band, chamber, contemporary, orchestra and opera, as well as music education, and composition and arranging music for band, chamber, orchestral, jazz, choir and studio orchestra.
"Robert Rumbelow brings great energy and outstanding musicianship to his new role," said Robert Graves, dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. "The band program at Illinois has enjoyed a storied history, and we are fortunate to have attracted Dr. Rumbelow to lead and advance that sterling tradition."
Why Illinois? "The UI Bands program is legendary in the band profession," Rumbelow said. "Not only was it the first band program integrated as part of the music curriculum, it has been influential in the band world, and the world of music education for over a century. To provide vision and leadership toward the future for such a historic band program is an amazing opportunity, and to provide mentoring to such a large number of students (music performance, music education, and majors from practically every discipline on the UI campus) is a responsibility that I'm thrilled to undertake with my new colleagues."
Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta
clinical professor, College of Business and School of Labor and Employment Relations
Education: B.S. (industrial engineering), M.S. (industrial engineering), Ph.D. (industrial engineering) Purdue University
Research interests: Her research integrates technology with management, including studying the impact of Automated Guided Vehicles on the planning and control of computer integrated manufacturing systems and the use of Radio Frequency Identification technology in manufacturing and global supply chain.
"The College of Business, the School of Labor and Employment Relations and the university are all enriched by Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta," said Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, professor and dean of the School of Labor and Employment Relations. "She brings deep experience as an engineer with many years on the faculty of a business school. In LER, we look forward to her teaching a new course, Project Management for HR Professionals. We see her research on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and other supply-chain matters as advancing knowledge in important ways at the intersection of social and technical systems."
Why Illinois? "Well, there is really one real reason: UI is a world-class university and with a joint appointment in the department of business administration and the School of Labor and Employment Relations, Illinois has given me an opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary environment," said Taghaboni-Dutta. "Leaving a long tenure at Michigan was not an easy decision, but at the end, the opportunity offered was too exciting to pass up - the UI had more to offer in terms of students, collaborators and research opportunities, all of which will further my professional development."