Thirteen faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University were recently honored with endowed professorships.
“Our faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are breaking new ground in research across the humanities, social sciences and physical sciences,” said Peter John Loewen, Harold Tanner Dean of the College and professor of government. “I’m glad to recognize their hard work and dedication, as well as their commitment to teaching excellence, with these professorships.”
Only four of the 13 new endowed professors are women.
Rachana Kamtekar was appointed the Bryce & Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies. Her research is focused on ancient philosophy – primarily ethics, politics, and moral psychology. She is the author of Plato’s Moral Psychology: Intellectualism, the Divided Soul, and Desire for Good (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Dr. Kamtekar is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in philosophy and religious studies. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in pholosophy from the University of Chicago.
Eun-Ah Kim was named the Hans A. Bethe Professor in the department of physics. Her research interests lie in the theoretical study of the collective phenomena condensed matter systems exhibit, and in understanding how such phenomena emerge from microscopic physics.
Dr. Kim holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Seoul National University in Korea. She earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois.
Jun “Kelly” Liu is the Robert J. Appel Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology. She has been on the faculty at the university since 2001. She focuses on understanding how pluripotent precursor cells divide to produce multiple differentiated cell types. She also seeks to discover new players in a highly conserved signaling pathway, the BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) pathway.
Dr. Liu is a graduate of Wuhan University in China. She holds a doctorate from Cornell University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Michelle Smith was named the Distinguished Professor of Arts & Sciences and serves as the Ann S. Bowers Professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology. She also serves as senior associate dean for undergraduate education. Dr. Smith’s research focuses on what classroom techniques help students learn, how to effectively assess learning, and how to support faculty who implement change.
Dr. Smith is a graduate of Hanover College in Indiana. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Dayton in Ohio and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.