UAlbany Spotlights Senior Faculty for Research, Creative Arts and Scholarship
ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2023) — As part of Research and Entrepreneurship week, the University at Albany hosted a senior faculty recognition ceremony on Oct. 17.
The event, which included a keynote address from Professor and Chair of Art & Art History Daniel Goodwin on "Art Across and Between Disciplines: Teaching & Learning with Museum Exhibitions," highlighted contributions in research, scholarship and creative arts.
The University's first Research & Entrepreneurship Week brought together educational institutions, industry partners and state government to harness the spirit of collaboration and advance New York’s research and technology footprint.
Below are faculty who were recognized at the ceremony:
Excellence in Creative Arts
Max Lifchitz, professor, Music & Theatre, College of Arts and Sciences: Accomplishments as an outstanding composer, performer, arts administrator and educator whose creative endeavors have been supported by numerous grants and fellowships.
Excellence in Research
Eunju Lee, associate professor, School of Social Welfare: The dedication to improving policy, practice and research in child welfare.
Aaron Benavot, professor, Educational Policy & Leadership, School of Education, Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences: Research on global education policy, and exemplary comparative studies of the interplay among education, sustainable development, global citizenship and climate change.
Peter Shea, professor, Educational Theory & Practice, School of Education: Impact on research and practice of online learning and investigating the development of communities of inquiry in online education.
Alex M. Valm, assistant professor, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences: The relationship between structure and function in the human microbiome and sustained extramural funding.
Barbara Sutton, professor and chair, Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies, Latin American, Caribbean & U.S. Latino Studies, Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences: Expansive work on women’s lives, body politics, violence, the dynamics of social inequalities, and the forces of societal transformation in Latin America.
Kristen L. Corbosiero, associate professor, Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences: Cutting edge work on the interaction between tropical cyclones and the environments in which they are embedded.
Ken Halvorsen, senior research scientist, RNA Institute, College of Arts and Sciences: Development of DNA nanoswitches and the Centrifuge Force Microscope for sensing and analysis of biomolecules.
Jeannette N. Sutton, associate professor, Emergency Management and Homeland Security, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity: The evolving role of information and communication technology in social media and mobile devices for disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
Woongje Sung, associate professor, Nanoscale Science & Engineering, College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering: Semiconductor device physics, design and computer simulation of power devices, Fabrication technology of silicon, wide bandgap, SiC and other materials.
Scott Miller, research associate, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center: Studying the processes controlling surface-atmosphere exchange leading to improvements in models to understand current and future biogeochemical cycles and climate.
Beth Feingold, associate professor, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health: Anthropogenic changes to the environment affected by food production and consumption, and their impacts on nutrition and human health.
Erika Martin, professor, Public Administration and Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, Health Policy, Management & Behavior, School of Public Health: Research on infectious disease policies and programs, allocation of scarce public health resources, adoption and impact of public health policies, public health infrastructure and data systems.
Excellence in Research Leadership
Yanna Liang, professor and chair, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering: Research leadership in the development of engineering solutions to remediate environmental contamination, such as PFAS, and the conversion of waste streams to value-added products.
Nathaniel Cady, professor and associate dean for Research, Nanoscale Science and Engineering, College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, The RNA Institute, College of Arts and Sciences: Leadership in establishing and securing funding for the Northeast Regional Defense Technology (NORDTECH) Hub in the Capital District for the Department of Defense Microelectronics Commons network.
Excellence in Scholarly Work
Carmen L. Morano, professor, School of Social Welfare: Outstanding scholarship in gerontology, health and mental health care systems, and community-based partnerships.
Meredith Weiss, professor, Political Science, International Affairs, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy: Outstanding scholarly work in Southeast Asian politics and building institutions to foster collaborations and exchanges.
Ashley Fox, associate professor, Public Administration and Policy, International Affairs, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy: Scholarship in health policy and contributions to understanding health disparities and their persistence in the United States and internationally.
Lisa E. Baranik, associate professor, Management, School of Business: Advancing our understanding of the stressors experienced at work, especially in stigmatized groups, and mentoring relationships that help employees succeed.
