The faculty welcomed 16 new colleagues at their opening meeting last week. They include (with the first six published in the last issue):
English: Binyavanga Wainaina, visiting writer-in-residence (starting Jan. 1), was to receive a master's degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom. The Kenyan writer and journalist has written for the East African, National Geographic, The Sunday Times (South Africa) and the Guardian (UK). The founding editor of the literary magazine Kwani?, he has taught writing extensively.
Mechanical engineering: David Hodgson, visiting instructor, was to receive his Ph.D. from Rensselaer with a dissertation titled, “Robust Reinforcement Learning Applied to Experimental HVAC System.” He has taught control systems, heat and mass transfer, mechatronics and measurement systems, and thermal sciences at Colorado State University.
Abraham Tchako, visiting assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. from the City University of New York. His interests include mechanical system design, finite element analysis, computer-aided drafting and research in biomechanics of spine and joints. He has held teaching positions at CUNY's City College and Medgar Evers College.
Modern Languages: Jing Li, visiting assistant professor of Chinese, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Folklore and Ethnography with a dissertation, “Molding Dai-ness on China's Periphery: Ethnic Tourism and the Politics of Identity Construction on Contemporary Xishuang Banna.” She has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Gettysburg College, Princeton University and Beijing University.
Laura Loth, visiting assistant professor of French, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota with a dissertation, “Moving Pictures: Gender, Vision and Narrative from the Colonial to the Postcolonial.” Her interests include literature and film of the Maghreb, immigration literature, Caribbean literature and francophone women writers and filmmakers.
Philosophy: Bradley Rives, visiting assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland with a dissertation, “The Proper Home of Concepts.” His areas of specialization include philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology and metaphysics.
Psychology: George Bizer, assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University. His area of specialization is social psychology; fields of study include quantitative psychology and political psychology. He has taught at Ohio State University and Eastern Illinois University.
Megan Cooper, visiting instructor, is to receive her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Connecticut at Storrs with a dissertation titled, “Age-Related Changes in Haptic Perceptual Independence.” She has taught at Eastern Connecticut State University, College of the Holy Cross and the University of Connecticut.
Melissa Lea, visiting instructor, was to receive a Ph.D. in psychology from Miami University. Her research interests include face perception and recognition, technology in the classroom, mathematical modeling of cognitive processes, and teaching techniques to improve critical thinking.
Visual Arts: Fernando Orellana, visiting assistant professor, holds a master's of fine art from The Ohio State University, where he has taught courses in digital imaging, 3D modeling and animation, interactive robotic sculpture and the use of rapid prototype technologies. He has exhibited his kinetic sculptures, digital prints and paintings internationally.