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Dean's Faculty Fellows

Dean’s Faculty Fellows represent some of the most promising junior faculty in the College of Arts and Science. Through a highly competitive nomination process, fellows are selected for their scholarly accomplishments and the future potential to make an impact in their respective fields. Dean's Faculty Fellows hold the title for two years and receive support for their research, scholarship, and creative expression as they seek tenure.

CURRENT DEAN'S FACULTY FELLOWS
Megan Behringer

Megan Behringer

Steven and Bunny Fayne Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor of Biological Science
Experimental evolution, environmental factors, genomic analysis and genetic variation.

Emanuele Costa

Emanuele Costa

Greg S. Allen Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Political Science
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Early modern philosophy and metaphysics, philosophy of religion, political philosophy, Renaissance philosophy

John Dearborn

John Dearborn

Carolyn T. and Robert M Rogers Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Political Science
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Presidency, Congress, American political development, American political thought, archival methods.

woman looking into distance

Rebecca Epstein-Levi

Steven and Bunny Fayne Dean's Faculty Fellow in Jewish Studies
Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies
Jewish bioethics, purity in the Abrahamic traditions, comparative religious environmental ethics.

Raheleh Filsoofi

Raheleh Filsoofi

S Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Race, Racial Justice, and Social Justice
Assistant Professor of Art
Synthesizing socio-political statements, ancient and contemporary media.

Patrick Greiner

Patrick Greiner

C Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Grand Challenges: Climate and Society
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Inequality emerging from social, political, and economic structures.

Bohyeong Kim

Bohyeong Kim  

Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Communication Studies
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Critical media and cultural studies with a particular emphasis on Korea and East Asia.

Karan Jani

Karan Jani

Cornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty Fellow
Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Black holes, general theory of relativity, gravitational wave detectors.

Amanda Lea

Amanda Lea

Frank Kelly Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Climate Studies
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Evolutionary biology, genomics, and human health research.

Bianca Manago

Bianca Manago

Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Sociology
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Inequalities in health, race, gender, and sexuality.

Michelle Marcus

Michelle Marcus

C Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Economics
Assistant Professor of Economics
Environment, health disparities, public policy.

Lars Plate

Lars Plate  

Cornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Chemistry and Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Networks of protein interactions that drive the function of healthy cells that provide insights into what causes disease.

Raisa Rexer

Raisa Rexer

Dean’s Faculty Fellow in French
Assistant Professor of French
19th century French literature and the early history of photography.

Tasha Rijke-Epstein.

Tasha Rijke-Epstein

Britton Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in History
Assistant Professor of History
Urban history, material culture, built forms, museums and public history, and politics of kinship and belonging.

Larry Rolen

Larry Rolen

Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Math
Assistant Profess of Mathematics
Number theory, particularly so-called harmonic Maass forms and modular-type functions. 

Akshya Saxena

Akshya Saxena

Dean’s Faculty Fellow in English
Assistant Professor of English
20th and 21st century Anglophone world literature, film, and media, with a focus on South Asia.

Simone Stirner

Simone Stirner

Max Kade Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Contemporary German Studies
Assistant Professor of German Studies
Poetry and poetics, memory studies, and German/Hebrew literature.

Ann Tate

Ann Tate

SC Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Temporal and evolutionary dynamics of host-microbe, the immune system, and its function.

We Jung Yi

We Jung Yi  

Cornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Asian Studies
Assistant Professor of Asian Studies
Comparative Asian studies, translation theory, film and media studies, gender criticism, and histories of violence in the Pacific Rim.

Erin York

Erin York

C Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Political Science
Assistant Professor of Political Science
How governing autocratic institutions influence political outcomes; legislative institutions and opposition participation.

Meng Zhang

Meng Zhang

Britton-Perry Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Economic History
Assistant Professor of History
Late imperial and modern China, economic and environmental transformation, transnational connections.

 

Allison Anoll, Assistant Professor of Political Science

  • how social context, connections, and norms affect political participation, especially among racial and ethnic minorities.

Brandon Byrd, Assistant Professor of History

  • history of the 19th and 20th century U.S. with specializations in African American History and the African Diaspora.

Marcelo Disconzi, Assistant Professor of Math

  • geometric analysis, fluid dynamics, relativistic fluids, and mathematical physics.

Christy ErvingS Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow for the Study of Race, Racial Justice, or Social Justice in Sociology, Assistant Professor of Sociology

  • medical sociology, mental health, health disparities, population health, and the intersections of race, ethnicity, immigration, and gender.

Diana Heney, Assistant Professor of Philosophy,

  • objectivity of ethical judgements, the nature of moral judgements, and ethical issues pertaining to mental illness.

Jessie Runnoe, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

  • Quasar central engines, long-term variability, and unification; the host-AGN connection; low-frequency gravitational waves, and supermassive black hole binaries.

Bradley SmithCornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Political Science, Assistant Professor of Political Science

  • studies questions at the intersection of international conflict and international cooperation, specifically military cooperation in the international system. 

Stephen Taylor, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

  • gravitational wave astrophysics, multi-messenger astronomy, statistical inference, black holes, neutron stars, and pulsar timing arrays. 

Steven Townsend, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

  • human milk science and the synthesis of carbohydrates.

Rebecca VanDiver, Assistant Professor of Art History

  • African American art

Guojun Wang, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies

  • late imperial Chinese literature.