A Large Group of New Women Faculty at Cornell University

Cornell University, the Ivy-League educational institution in Ithaca, New York, has added 53 new faculty members this fall. Of the new additions, 23 are women.

(L to R) Top row: Nandini Ananth, C. Lindsay Anderson, Ludmilla Aristilde, Yimon Aye, Kendra Bischoff, Erin York Cornwell, Ellen Maria Diaz, Eve Donnelly, Arpita Ghosh, Amanda Jo Goldstein, Rachel Kerr, and Ariana Kim.
Second row: Lena Fitting Kourkoutis, Noliwe Rooks, Rebecca Sequin, Lynn Stout, Ananda Cohen Suarez, Laura Tach, Anna Thalacker-Mercer, Mingming Wu, So-Yeon Yoon, Rana Zadeh, and Roseanna N. Zia.

Nandini Ananth is an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology. For the past three years Dr. Ananth has been a postdoctoral fellow at CalTech. She is a graduate of Stella Maris College in Chennai, India. She holds a master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. She earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley.

C. Lindsay Anderson is an assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering. Her research is focused on renewable energy systems. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Guelph and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Western Ontario.

Ludmilla Aristilde is an assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering. Her research centers on soil science. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Cornell University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering and a Ph.D. in molecular toxicology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Yimon Aye is an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology and an assistant professor of biochemistry. For the past three years, she was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. Dr. Aye holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oxford in England. She earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Harvard University.

Kendra Bischoff is an assistant professor of sociology. She was a Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow in the Ethics of Education at Stanford University. Dr. Bischoff is a graduate of Pomona College in California. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Stanford University.

Erin York Cornwell is an assistant professor of sociology. For the past three years, she has been a visiting assistant professor at Cornell. A graduate of Wellesley College in suburban Boston, Dr. Cornwell holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago.

Ellen Maria Diaz is an assistant professor of English and an assistant professor of Latino studies. Since 2006, she was a lecturer at the San Francisco Art Institute. Dr. Diaz is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in American studies from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Eve Donnelly is an assistant professor of materials science and engineering.  She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Dr. Donnelly holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.

Arpita Ghosh is an associate professor of information science. She was a senior research associate at Yahoo! Inc. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Dr. Ghosh holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Amanda Jo Goldstein is an assistant professor of English. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin. A 2002 graduate of Brown University, Dr. Goldstein earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley.

Rachel Kerr is an assistant professor of sociology. She was an assistant professor at Western University in London, Ontario. Dr. Kerr is a graduate of the University of Toronto. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Guelph and a Ph.D. in developmental sociology from Cornell University.

Ariana Kim is an assistant professor of music. She held a similar post at the University of Indianapolis. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the Julliard School in New York City.

Lena Fitting Kourkoutis is an assistant professor of applied and engineering physics. She was a Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany. A graduate of the University of Rostock in Germany, Dr. Kourkoutis earned master’s degree and a Ph.D. in applied and engineering physics at Cornell University.

Noliwe Rooks is an associate professor of Africana studies and an associate professor of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. She was the associate director of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. Before going to Princeton, she taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Rooks is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta and holds a Ph.D. in American studies from the University of Iowa.

Rebecca Sequin is an assistant professor of nutritional sciences. She previously was an adjunct professor at Tufts University. A graduate of Boston University, Dr. Sequin holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in food policy and applied nutrition from Tufts University.

Lynn Stout is a Distinguished Professor of Corporate and Business Law at the Cornell Law School. She was the Paul Hastings Distinguished Professor of Corporate and Securities Law at the University of California at Los Angeles. Professor Stout holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Princeton University and is a graduate of the Yale Law School.

Ananda Cohen Suarez is an assistant professor of the history of art. She was a visiting lecturer of Latin American studies at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Dr. Suarez is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the City University of New York.

Laura Tach is an assistant professor of policy analysis and management. She was conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Tach holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.

Anna Thalacker-Mercer is an assistant professor of nutritional sciences. She was an assistant professor of cell, developmental, and integrative biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she holds a Ph.D. in nutrition science from Purdue University.

Mingming Wu is an associate professor of biological and environmental engineering. She has been an adjunct associate professor in Cornell’s engineering department since 2003. She previously taught at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Dr. Wu is a graduate of Nanjing University in China and holds a Ph.D. in physics from Ohio State University.

So-Yeon Yoon is an associate professor of design and environmental analysis. She was an associate professor of architectural studies at the University of Missouri. Dr. Yoon holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Pusan National University in Korea. She holds a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in information science and learning technologies from the University of Missouri.

Rana Zadeh is an assistant professor of design and environmental analysis. She was a graduate research assistant at Texas A&M University. A graduate of Azad University of Tehran in Iran, she earned a Ph.D. in architecture from Texas A&M University.

Roseanna N. Zia is an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. She was conducting postdoctoral research at Princeton University. A graduate of the University of Missouri, Dr. Zia earned a master’s degree at the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.