UChicago News

Yesomi Umolu, exhibitions curator at Logan Center, named artistic director of next Chicago Architecture Biennial

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 09:03 -0600

Yesomi Umolu, exhibitions curator at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, will serve as the artistic director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2019 edition, the Biennial and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on March 6.

With a background in architectural design and curatorial studies, Umolu focuses her work on global contemporary art and spatial practices. Her recent projects—including the exhibitions Kapwani Kiwanga: The sum and its parts, The Land Grant: Forest Law, and The Museum of Non Participation: The New Deal—have explored the politics of the built environment. A Chicago-based curator and writer, Umolu is a visiting lecturer, critic and speaker at a number of international universities and institutions.

“I am honored to be invited to serve as artistic director of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial,” said Umolu. “Having my roots in the field of architecture, spatial questions have always been an important consideration of my work with contemporary artists, architects and urbanists from across the world. I am excited to embark on the journey of engaging the city of Chicago and it publics, as well as visitors to Chicago from across the country and around the world, in these conversations.”

Jack Guthman, chairman of the Biennial, said Umolu’s “broad curatorial experience makes her ideally suited to build upon the critical acclaim accorded to our 2015 and 2017 Biennials by our dual constituencies—the architecture profession worldwide, as well as Chicagoans and visitors to our city.”

In the coming months, Umolu will formalize and convene an international curatorial team of creative practitioners with strong knowledge of visual arts, architecture and design practices globally. The members of the curatorial team will be announced this spring. Umolu’s vision for the next Chicago Architecture Biennial features the exploration of emerging practices and global locations that are developing new approaches to architecture, urbanism and spatial practice. Through this process, she will use the Biennial as a forum to explore creative responses to shifting spatial conditions at local, regional and international levels.

“Yesomi is a visionary curator with strong roots in Chicago, and she will work tirelessly to cultivate an incredible cultural, educational and economic event for the city,” said Emanuel. “With Yesomi at the helm, the third Chicago Architecture Biennial is sure to secure its reputation as the most innovative architectural, art and design showcase of its kind.”

“We are delighted by Yesomi Umolu’s appointment as the next artistic director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The appointment further testifies to the curatorial imagination and dexterity she has demonstrated so well at the Logan Center for the Arts,” said Daniel Diermeier, provost of the University of Chicago. “By consistently showcasing the best in architectural innovation—in a city renowned for its architectural achievements—the Biennial advances the conversation about the potential impact of design. That conversation is playing an increasing role at the University of Chicago, and it is vital, of course, to the future of Chicago’s South Side, as to cities around the world.”

Umolu was selected by a committee comprised of Chicago Architecture Biennial board members, as well as past artistic directors, who considered candidates from around the world and from a variety of disciplines. Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial artistic directors, said: “Umolu’s curatorial practice, which boldly, yet elegantly, traverses the fields of art and architecture, makes her uniquely situated for success in this role. The Biennial is a complex and multifaceted platform for exploring both the history and present-day challenges in the field, and we eagerly await the outcomes of Umolu’s curatorial inquiry and exploration.”

Now in its third edition, the Biennial will return Sept. 19, 2019 and run through Jan. 5, 2020.

Following a successful partnership in 2017, the opening of the 2019 edition will align with EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, and the main site of the Biennial will once again be the Chicago Cultural Center.

—Adapted from a Chicago Architecture Biennial news release.

Nigel Lockyer appointed to second term as director of Fermilab

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 09:45 -0500

Nigel Lockyer has been reappointed as the director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. During his first four years as leader of the world-renowned laboratory he helped enhance its international scientific leadership, including the launch of a pioneering international particle physics project hosted by Fermilab.

Lockyer’s second five-year term, which begins Sept. 3, 2018, comes as Fermilab begins building its flagship project that will send neutrino particles underground from Illinois to South Dakota to unlock new insights into the origins of the universe. The lab is also a leader in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland, while serving as the home of groundbreaking experiments conducted by scientists from around the world.

“For decades, scientists working at Fermilab have made major discoveries that have greatly illuminated the nature of matter and the universe. Under Nigel’s outstanding leadership, Fermilab is not only continuing many of its important ongoing projects, but has embarked upon a new ambitious research agenda for the coming years that will enable further profound discoveries,” said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago and chair of the board of directors of Fermi Research Alliance, LLC.

The Fermi Research Alliance, which was formed in 2006, is a joint partnership of UChicago and the Universities Research Association, Inc. Together they manage Fermilab under a contract with the Department of Energy. Fermilab’s operations include a powerful complex of particle accelerators and sophisticated experiments to study the nature of matter, energy, space and time, with more than 4,500 scientists from 50 countries using the research facilities annually.

“On behalf of the Universities Research Association, Nigel has been an extraordinary leader, and we join the University of Chicago in enthusiastically supporting this reappointment,” said Lou Anna K. Simon, chair of the Universities Research Association and vice chair of Fermi Research Alliance, LLC.

During his first term, Lockyer positioned Fermilab as a world leader in research of neutrinos, spearheading the successful launch of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility with locations in Illinois and South Dakota. The facility will house the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, a massive research project that brings together more than 1,000 scientists from 31 countries in a quest to understand the hard-to-detect particles and usher in a new era of international particle physics research.

“DOE is committed to supporting world-leading science at its national laboratories,” said Steve Binkley, acting director of the DOE Office of Science. “LBNF/DUNE exemplifies America’s strong partnerships with the international community in pioneering scientific discoveries.”

Lockyer has forged new international partnerships dedicated to advancing experiments at the laboratory, while retaining Fermilab’s leadership in the Large Hadron Collider and Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at CERN. Fermilab has contributed major components for the collider’s accelerator and Compact Muon Solenoid experiment upgrades.

As Fermilab director, Lockyer has continued Fermilab’s trailblazing program in particle astrophysics that seeks to understand the nature of dark energy and discover particles of dark matter. He has led efforts to revitalize the laboratory’s infrastructure, accelerated the laboratory’s efforts to translate scientific discoveries to applications for society and kicked off new initiatives such as Fermilab’s participation in the Chicago Quantum Exchange.

Lockyer earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from York University and a doctorate in physics from the Ohio State University. He served for more than two decades as a physics faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania.

Before arriving at Fermilab, Lockyer was director of Canada’s TRIUMF laboratory for particle and nuclear physics and a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia. He is the 2006 recipient of the American Physical Society’s Panofsky Prize for his leading research on the bottom quark.

Adrian Talbott appointed executive director of UChicago Institute of Politics

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 10:30 -0500

Adrian Talbott, a leader in civic engagement at the University of Chicago, has been appointed executive director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

Talbott, who serves as director of strategy, research initiatives and development in the Office of Civic Engagement, will join the Institute of Politics on Aug. 1. Talbott’s experience prior to joining the University in 2014 includes co-founding and serving as executive director of Generation Engage, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing civic participation among college-age youth.

“Adrian has devoted his life to encouraging young people of all political persuasions to become active, engaged citizens; for him, this work is not a job but a mission,” said David Axelrod, the founder and director of the Institute of Politics. “He has the experience, energy and commitment to help build on the tremendous momentum the IOP has established in five short years on campus. We are thrilled to welcome him.”

The nonpartisan Institute of Politics is a leader on campus and across the country in igniting a passion for politics and public service among young people, through speakers and visiting fellows, career development programs, and opportunities for civic engagement and community service. Talbott will oversee the institute’s extracurricular programs and staff, while advancing new initiatives and building and strengthening partnerships with other units of the University and outside organizations.

Axelrod thanked the institute’s outgoing executive director, Steve Edwards, who was instrumental in growing institute programing and building its strong staff. Edwards was recently appointed vice president and chief content officer at WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station.

“The IOP would not be what it is today without Steve Edwards,” Axelrod said. “His brilliant, sensitive leadership has earned him the love and respect of IOP students and staff and my undying gratitude. We borrowed him from journalism five years ago and return him today, trailed by a litany of accomplishments that have made a positive mark on so many young lives. He will be missed.”

In the most recent academic year, the Institute of Politics brought to UChicago 165 speakers, including then-Secretary of State John Kerry, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton as well as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, CNN President Jeff Zucker and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Students active with the Institute of Politics had an opportunity to meet with former President Barack Obama during his visit to campus in April.

The institute provided 250 internships, held political exploration trips, and oversaw community engagement and volunteer programs. Seventeen fellows, including former United Kingdom Cabinet Minister Douglas Alexander and Washington Post reporter and “Washington Week” host Robert Costa, spent time at the institute, sharing with students.

“I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to join an organization that has done so much in its first five years. I look forward to working with the stellar team at the institute to build on its successes and momentum and help advance the institute’s work with a new generation of leaders in politics and public service,” Talbott said.

In UChicago’s Office of Civic Engagement, Talbott has worked with faculty and staff to advance urban research, develop funding opportunities for civic engagement initiatives and lead strategic planning. Talbott spent four years leading Generation Engage, the non-profit organization he co-founded that used technology and grassroots outreach to increase civic participation among young adults, on and off college campuses. He also served as program director of CGI Lead at the Clinton Global Initiative, overseeing a program that brings together emerging global leaders.

Talbott started his career working on political campaigns in North Carolina and as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. He received a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

The institute began programming in 2012, before officially opening in January 2013 under the leadership of Axelrod, AB’76, who served as chief strategist and senior advisor to President Obama and is currently the senior political commentator for CNN. Its goal is to enrich political discourse and to help inspire a new generation of leaders by providing opportunities for students to engage with leading public servants and political practitioners.

Rika Mansueto, AB’91, elected to University of Chicago Board of Trustees

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:50 -0500

Rika Mansueto, AB’91, director of the Mansueto Foundation, has been elected to the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. She began her five-year term at the May 2017 board meeting.

“Rika is a distinguished and dedicated alumna who has provided meaningful support for intellectual life and activity at the University of Chicago,” said Board Chairman Joseph Neubauer, MBA’65. “We are delighted to welcome Rika to the Board, and look forward to benefitting from her knowledge and experience as she continues her deep commitment to the University as a Trustee.”

Mansueto currently is a member of the advisory board of Teach for America of Chicago-Northwest Indiana, and serves on the executive committee of the board of Francis W. Parker School. Previously she was an editor and stock analyst at Morningstar, Inc. As an undergraduate student in the College she studied anthropology.

Mansueto and her husband, Joe Mansueto, AB’78, MBA’80, have been generous supporters of the University of Chicago. Joe Mansueto is executive chairman of Morningstar. They live in Chicago with their three children.

“Rika has a long-standing connection to the University, a deep sense of the values of the University, and clear appreciation of the importance of bringing these values into all our efforts,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “I know because of these qualities, her intelligence and her excellent judgment, that she will be a wonderful addition to the Board of Trustees.”

A gift from the Mansuetos in 2016 established the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, which will bring together programs in the social, natural and computational sciences and in the humanities to enhance the University’s strengths in urban scholarship and education. In 2008, their gift helped support the construction of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, which has become a campus icon and an essential part of the University of Chicago Library since it opened in 2011.

University announces appointments to leadership roles

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 14:10 -0500

The University of Chicago is announcing new appointments to leadership roles with responsibilities in areas that support the University’s academic mission and provide oversight for key priorities.

President Robert J. Zimmer made three appointments of Vice Presidents, and Provost Daniel Diermeier announced four additional new appointments in the Office of the Provost. All of the appointments are effective July 1. They all represent new roles for individuals who are already part of the UChicago community, and who bring deep experience to important issues that come before the University.

Darren Reisberg, Vice President and Secretary of the University since 2014, will be the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Deputy Provost. In his new role, Reisberg will provide oversight for the operation and budget of the Office of the Provost; for several academic centers and initiatives including UChicago Urban and the Urban Education Institute; for regulatory and compliance matters under the purview of the Provost’s Office; and for faculty governance. As a Vice President, Reisberg will continue to oversee certain strategic initiatives in the President’s Office, including leadership development across the University.

Katie Callow-Wright, currently Vice President and Chief of Staff, will succeed Darren Reisberg as Vice President and Secretary of the University. As Secretary, Callow-Wright will be the senior officer with direct responsibility for oversight and facilitation of governance practices at the University. She will work closely with President Zimmer to manage all activities related to the Board of Trustees, providing direct support and counsel to the President and the Trustees. She will help guide the support work for other boards, such as the Medical Center Board of Trustees and the Board of the Marine Biological Laboratory. The strategic coordination of governing activities involving national laboratories and the boards of other affiliates will also be a key aspect of her role. Callow-Wright’s responsibilities will include oversight for the Office of University Events and Ceremonies, and she will continue as Chief of Staff in the Office of the President.

Bala Srinivasan, currently the Associate Provost for International and Strategic Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the President, will become Vice President for Global Initiatives and Strategy and Senior Associate Provost. This change reflects the increasing responsibility Srinivasan has assumed within the Office of the President since he joined it in July 2016, the contributions he has made and the importance of the University’s global efforts. As Vice President, Srinivasan will now also serve as an officer of the University. In the Office of the Provost, one of his key responsibilities will be to work with faculty, deans and University administration to build academic partnerships and research collaborations with international partners, create global educational opportunities and strengthen the University’s connections to foreign institutional partners, policymakers and civic leaders.

David Nirenberg, currently Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, will become Executive Vice Provost. His responsibilities will include greater strategic, budgetary and administrative coordination, especially among the Divisions and the College. In this role, Nirenberg will work closely with the deans of the divisions and the College, and will continue to build upon cross-divisional efforts such as UChicagoGRAD. Nirenberg, the Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Distinguished Service Professor of Medieval History and Social Thought, was the founding Director of the Neubauer Collegium before becoming Dean of the Division of Social Sciences. He holds an academic appointment in the College and five academic appointments across the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions: in the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought, Department of History, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and Center for Jewish Studies.

Michael Hopkins will join the Office of the Provost as Vice Provost for Strategic Planning. He will lead the area of academic space allocation, and working with other faculty and administrative leaders will be the Provost’s Office representative in space planning, innovation and environmental sustainability. Hopkins is currently Deputy Dean of the Physical Sciences Division. In that role he assists Dean Rocky Kolb with strategic planning and overseeing the division’s undergraduate and graduate education programs. He is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, serving as chair from 2003-09.

Bridget Le Loup Collier will serve as Associate Provost and Director of the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs. Collier has served as interim Associate Provost since Jan. 24. She joined the University in May 2015 as Dean of Students and Senior Director of Student Engagement at the Graham School, where she provided innovative and strategic leadership for a variety of programs in service to students. Collier is the founder and chair of the Chicagoland Title IX Consortium, an organization of more than 40 higher education institutions that seeks to enhance knowledge, understanding and application of Title IX policies and resources to advance gender parity and reduce sexual misconduct.

Jason Merchant will become Vice Provost for Academic Affairs in Winter Quarter 2018, succeeding Ronald Thisted, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor in the Departments of Public Health Sciences, Statistics, and Anesthesia & Critical Care, and in the College, who will step down at the end of February 2018. As Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Merchant will work with the deans and chairs on faculty appointments, promotions, recruitments, and retentions. Merchant is the Lorna Puttkammer Straus Professor in the Department of Linguistics, and in the College. He served as Deputy Dean of the Division of the Humanities from 2013-16.

Kenton W. Rainey named chief of police for UCPD

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 16:15 -0500

Veteran Police Chief Kenton W. Rainey has been named the new chief of police for the University of Chicago Police Department, effective July 1.

As chief, Rainey will oversee the approximately 100 members of the full-service, professionally accredited police department and serve as the department’s representative on campus and in the neighboring communities. Rainey also will direct the UCPD’s policing initiatives, develop innovative crime prevention strategies and implement effective community policing programs.

Rainey will report to Eric M. Heath, associate vice president for the University’s Department of Safety & Security.

“One of the many valuable areas of expertise Kenton brings to the University of Chicago is his involvement with creating innovative, community-based policing strategies,” said Heath. “Throughout his law enforcement career, Kenton has worked in diverse communities, where he built strong and positive relationships with community members and successfully implemented new policing programs, resulting in effective policing efforts.”

Most recently Rainey served as the chief of police for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department until his retirement from the role at the end of last year. Rainey also has served as chief of police for the Fairfield, Calif. Police Department and commander of the airport police for the San Antonio Police Department, in addition to leadership roles with several other law enforcement agencies in California and Ohio.

"The University of Chicago is a world-class organization, and it is an honor and privilege for me to have been selected for this position,” said Rainey. “I’m excited to work with the members of the University’s police department, the University’s students, faculty and staff, and area community members so that together we can achieve our public safety mission.”

Rainey, who is originally from Chicago, is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in organizational management.

Christopher Woods appointed director of the Oriental Institute

Wed, 17 May 2017 09:30 -0500

Christopher Woods, a leading scholar of Sumerian language and writing, has been appointed director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Woods will become the 13th director of the Oriental Institute, widely considered the world’s leading interdisciplinary center for research on civilizations of the ancient Near East. Founded in 1919, the institute serves as home to a museum and extensive collection of artifacts and research materials. It sponsors archaeological and survey expeditions across the Near East including Egypt, Turkey and Israel.

Woods will begin his new role on July 1. He succeeds Gil Stein, professor of archaeology at UChicago, who has served as the institute’s director since 2002.

“Chris is an outstanding scholar who also has a deep understanding of the Oriental Institute,” Provost Daniel Diermeier said. “He will advance the institute’s important work and build on the strong leadership that Gil Stein has provided over the last 15 years.”

Woods is an associate professor of Sumerian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University. His research and writings focus on Sumerian language as well as early Mesopotamian religion, literature, mathematics and administration. He serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies and oversees the Oriental Institute’s post-doctoral scholars program.

Woods’ publications include The Grammar of Perspective: The Sumerian Conjugation Prefixes as a System of Voice and the forthcoming Materials for the Sumerian Lexicon 18. He is editor of Visible Language: The Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond. He led the launch of an interdisciplinary effort to explore early writing, entitled Signs of Writing: The Cultural, Social, and Linguistic Contexts of the World’s First Writing Systems. Sponsored by the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, the project enhanced UChicago’s role as an international center for the study of early writing.

“The opportunity to lead an institute where legends in our field have worked and to build on what Gil has done is one of the greatest honors in the field of Near East studies,” Woods said. “The Oriental Institute is the original interdisciplinary institute at the University, and I look forward to building new partnerships across campus and to developing collaborative projects that reach across fields.”

Prior to joining UChicago, Woods received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and doctorate in Assyriology from Harvard University, where he was a junior fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows.

In his announcement Diermeier highlighted the accomplishments of Stein and thanked him for his service to the institute. Under Stein’s leadership, the institute has expanded its research capabilities, opened up new areas of scholarship, and resumed field research in countries such as Iraq and Israel, where institute scholars had not worked for years. Stein’s initiatives included developing a database to turn the institute’s extensive archives into a searchable digital resource and establishing the public education department for outreach to the University community, elementary and secondary schools, and the public.

Stein will take on the new role of Senior Advisor to the Provost for Cultural Heritage, starting July 1, with the goal of planning and implementing a cross-disciplinary initiative for the preservation of cultural and archaeological heritage for the University.

Anne Walters Robertson named dean of the Division of the Humanities

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 10:30 -0500

Anne Walters Robertson, the Claire Dux Swift Distinguished Service Professor of Music and the Humanities in the College, has been appointed dean of the Division of the Humanities. President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier announced the appointment, which will begin April 1, 2017. Robertson has served as interim dean since July 2016.

In announcing the appointment, Zimmer and Diermeier wrote that Robertson has provided “vital leadership and sustained the momentum of the Division of the Humanities. We are confident that Anne will be an excellent leader for the Division of the Humanities in the years to come.”

Robertson joined the University in the Department of Music in 1984. She has held several leadership positions at the University, including serving as deputy provost for research and education and chair of the Music Department, in addition to external leadership roles, including her service as president of the American Musicological Society from 2011 to 2012.

“It has been a privilege working alongside students and faculty in the Division of the Humanities for over 30 years,” Robertson said. “And it is an honor to now serve as its dean and continue the academic advancement of the humanities.”

Robertson’s research is focused on the music of the Middle Ages and the interactions of liturgical and secular music. Her particular concentration is on 15th-century sacred polyphony, the 14th-century French composer Guillaume de Machaut, French medieval liturgical music, ceremony and architecture, and music and mysticism. Her books include The Service-Books of the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis: Images of Ritual and Music in the Middle Ages, which earned the John Nicholas Brown Prize of the Medieval Academy of America, and Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in His Musical Works, which won the Otto Kinkeldey Award of the American Musicological Society.

Robertson is the first scholar to win all three awards of the Medieval Academy of America: the Haskins Medal (2006), the John Nicholas Brown Prize (1995) and the Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize (1987). In 2008, she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2015 became a member of the American Philosophical Society. She holds a PhD from Yale University.

During Robertson’s tenure as interim dean, the College has announced several new curricular initiatives in the Humanities, including the Signature Courses and the Course Cluster initiatives, a new undergraduate major in creative writing and a new Humanities Core sequence exploring poetry.

The selection of the new dean of humanities by Zimmer and Diermeier was informed by an elected faculty search committee, chaired by Bill Brown, the Karla Scherer Distinguished Service Professor in American Culture.

Laurie Zoloth appointed dean of University of Chicago Divinity School

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 10:00 -0500

Laurie Zoloth, a leader in the field of religious studies with particular scholarly interest in bioethics and Jewish studies, has been appointed dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Zoloth serves as a Charles McCormick Deering Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University, holding appointments in the Department of Religious Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and in the Feinberg School of Medicine. President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier announced her appointment as dean, which will begin July 1, 2017.

“The University of Chicago Divinity School has a long history as a leader in the academic study of religion. It has an opportunity not only to expand and deepen this work in the coming years, but to bring this expertise to a much richer, informed, dispassionate public discourse on religion,” Zimmer and Diermeier said. “Laurie’s leadership in the field of religious studies, her scholarship in areas of Judaism and ethics, and her work on evolving issues of science and society make her an excellent choice as dean.”

Zoloth’s research explores religion and ethics, drawing from sources ranging from Biblical and Talmudic texts to postmodern Jewish philosophy, including the writings of Emmanuel Levinas. Her scholarship spans the ethics of genetic engineering, stem cell research, synthetic biology, social justice in health care, and how science and medicine are taught. As a founding board member of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning, she also researches the practices of interreligious dialogue, exploring how religion plays a role in public discussion and policy.

Zoloth is author of Health Care and the Ethics of Encounter: A Jewish Discussion of Social Justice and co-editor of five books, including Notes from a Narrow Ridge: Religion and Bioethics and Jews and Genes: The Genetic Future in Contemporary Jewish Thought.

“The Divinity School is the nation’s leading institution for theological research and education, home to creative, honest and serious scholarship,” Zoloth said. “I look forward to listening, thinking carefully and learning thoughtfully to help shape the future of the Divinity School, furthering it as a site of intellectual leadership in Chicago and around the world.”

Zoloth has been the president of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. She was the inaugural director of the Jewish Studies program at San Francisco State University and director of graduate studies in religious studies at Northwestern. She is an elected member of the Hastings Center and a life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

Her work on bioethics and health care led her to serve on the NASA Advisory Council, the space agency’s highest civilian advisory board; the International Planetary Protection Committee; the National Recombinant DNA Advisory Board, and the executive committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. She served as chair of the first bioethics advisory board at the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute and has testified in front of Congress, the President’s Commission on Bioethics and state legislatures.

Zoloth began her career as a neonatal nurse working in impoverished communities. She said those early years are central to how she views religious studies and bioethics—an approach that brings together theoretical exploration with an understanding of how arguments of theology and moral philosophy can address societal challenges.

Zoloth holds a bachelor’s degree in women studies from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of the State of New York. She received a master’s degree in Jewish studies and a doctorate in social ethics from the Graduate Theological Union. Zoloth also holds a master’s degree in English from San Francisco State University.

Zoloth served as a professor of ethics and Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University before joining the religious studies and medical school faculty at Northwestern. At Northwestern, she was founding director of the Brady Program in Ethics and Civic Life at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and founding director of the Center for Bioethics, Science and Society at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Zoloth also served as the president of Northwestern’s Faculty Senate.

Zoloth succeeds Dean Richard A. Rosengarten, associate professor of religion and literature. In a note to the Divinity School community, Zimmer and Diermeier thanked Rosengarten for his demonstrated commitment to the Divinity School.

Zoloth’s appointment follows a national search, informed by a Divinity School faculty committee chaired by Daniel Arnold, associate professor of the philosophy of religions.

The Divinity School was founded in 1892, the year that the first classes were held at UChicago, and it was the first of UChicago's six professional schools. It is internationally recognized for scholarship across many religious traditions and for scholarly and comparative perspectives on religion and public life. The school is known for research that spans disciplines, with many of its faculty members holding joint appointments in other departments or schools.

Katherine Baicker appointed dean at Harris School of Public Policy

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:00 -0500

Katherine Baicker, a leading scholar in the economic analysis of health care policy, has been appointed the next dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

Baicker serves as the C. Boyden Gray Professor of Health Economics at Harvard University, holding appointments at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Kennedy School of Government. Her appointment as Harris dean will begin Aug. 15.

“Kate is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most thoughtful and visible leaders on health care policy,” wrote President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier in announcing Baicker’s appointment. They added her “commitment to high academic standards combined with policy impact, her academic and policy leadership experience and achievements, and her belief in the great future potential of Harris” would make her an ideal leader for the public policy school.

Baicker’s experience in policy leadership includes serving as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2005 to 2007, for which she played a leading role in the development of health policy, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which provides analysis and policy advice to Congress. She has been on the faculty at Harvard since 2007, and served as chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard’s Chan School from 2014 to 2016.

“Bringing rigorous analysis to bear on pressing policy questions is more vital now than ever, and the exceptional scholarship and academic programs of Harris have positioned it as a rising leader in this crucial work,” Baicker said. “I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the enormously talented faculty, staff and students at Harris during this very exciting time for the school.”

Baicker’s research focuses on public and private health insurance, including examining its distribution and effectiveness. Her scholarship spans Medicaid, health insurance finance and the effect of health care reforms, particularly on usage and quality of care. She is one of the principal investigators of the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, a landmark policy study of the effect of expanding public health insurance on health care use, health outcomes, financial strain and the well-being of low-income adults.

Her research has been published in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2011 and the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2007, and she serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Health Economics, the American Journal of Health Economics and Health Affairs. Baicker is a member of the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisers, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an affiliate of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Before joining Harvard, Baicker was on the faculties of the University of California, Los Angeles and Dartmouth College. She also served as a visiting assistant professor at Harris in 2003. Baicker received a PhD in economics from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University.

The appointment comes as Harris is building upon numerous recent successes, including the appointment of prominent new faculty members such as University Professor James Robinson, the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; and distinguished senior fellows such as Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education. In 2015, the University launched The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts and The Pearson Global Forum, both housed at Harris, with Robinson serving as the inaugural faculty director of The Pearson Institute. The initiative was established with a landmark $100 million gift to the University from The Thomas L. Pearson and The Pearson Family Members Foundation.

Baicker’s appointment follows an international search, informed by a faculty committee co-chaired by Harris faculty members Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, the Sydney Stein Professor, and Prof. Dan Black.

In their message announcing Baicker’s appointment, Zimmer and Diermeier thanked Kerwin Charles, the Edwin and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, who is serving as interim dean of Harris for the 2016-2017 academic year. They noted his work on recruiting leading faculty to Harris and improving alumni engagement and diversity and inclusion. Diermeier served as dean of Harris before being appointed provost last year.

Madhav Rajan appointed dean of University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:30 -0600

Madhav Rajan, former senior associate dean at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where he holds the Robert K. Jaedicke Chair in Accounting, has been appointed the next dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier announced the appointment, which will begin July 1, 2017.

Rajan served as senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Stanford GSB from 2010 to 2016. That role included leadership of Stanford’s MBA program, with oversight of admissions, curriculum, the student experience and career management. He launched new joint-degree programs with Stanford’s engineering school and rolled out initiatives for tighter integration with the rest of the university.

“We sought the most outstanding candidate whose values, ambition and abilities fully comport with the distinctiveness of Chicago Booth as one of methodological rigor in its research and education, and through that commitment one of high impact on the world,” Zimmer and Diermeier wrote in announcing the appointment. “We are confident that Madhav will be an outstanding leader for Chicago Booth in the coming years.”

“The values I have in research and education are deeply valued at Chicago Booth,” Rajan said. “People come here to do rigorous, empirically based research and analysis, which provides the basis for a transformative student experience and an extremely effective MBA curriculum. We have an exciting opportunity to take Booth’s deep strengths and leverage them here and around the world. I am thrilled to have the chance to be dean at what is unquestionably the greatest academic business school.”

Rajan’s primary research interest is the economics-based analysis of management accounting issues, especially as they relate to the choice of internal control and performance systems in firms. He served as editor of The Accounting Review from 2002 to 2008 and is co-author of Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, the leading cost accounting textbook used around the world.

In 2000, Rajan won the David W. Hauck Award, the highest undergraduate teaching award at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. This April he will receive the Robert T. Davis Award for lifetime service and achievement, the highest faculty recognition awarded by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Rajan completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Madras, India. He holds a PhD and two master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. Before going to Stanford in 2001, Rajan held faculty positions at the Wharton School. He held a visiting professorship at Chicago Booth in 2007-08.

Rajan succeeds former Dean Sunil Kumar, who was named provost of Johns Hopkins University in July 2016. His appointment follows a national search, informed by a Booth faculty committee chaired by Reid Hastie, the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science at Booth.

In a note to the Chicago Booth community, Zimmer and Diermeier thanked Douglas Skinner, the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting, who served as interim dean. They noted his vital leadership on the Francis and Rose Yuen Center in Hong Kong, which is scheduled to open in 2018.

Arne Duncan appointed distinguished senior fellow at Harris School of Public Policy

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 11:00 -0600

Arne Duncan, who served as U.S. Secretary of Education and chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools, has joined the University of Chicago as a distinguished senior fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy.

Duncan will participate in seminars, conferences and student-led initiatives at Harris Public Policy, bringing to the University his significant experience in education policy. His longstanding dedication to students and their families adds an important voice to work across the University to improve education through research, engagement with education practice and policy, and helping to train the next generation of education leaders.

“The University of Chicago is committed to bringing together scholars and practitioners to confront the challenges faced by educators in Chicago and cities around the world,” President Robert J. Zimmer said. “Arne Duncan, with his wealth of experience, brings important insights into the nation’s educational challenges, with a perspective informed by his understanding of Chicago’s South Side.”

Duncan also will serve as special advisor to the dean of Harris, helping to design, organize and host two events a year at the public policy school. In addition, he will provide advice to the dean in areas of public policy related to his expertise. The three-year appointment as a distinguished senior fellow took effect Jan. 1.

“The University of Chicago and Harris are internationally recognized leaders in education and outcomes-focused research, which are passion points for me,” Duncan said. “I am pleased to join the UChicago community, with its outstanding reputation for debate and inquiry—it certainly played an important role in shaping my education as a child.”

Duncan has deep ties to Chicago and the University. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and his father, Starkey Duncan Jr., was a professor of psychology at the University. His mother, Sue Duncan, founded an after-school tutoring program on the South Side, which Arne Duncan credited with helping to inspire his career in education.

Before being appointed Secretary of Education in 2008, Duncan served for more than seven years as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools.

Duncan stepped down as education secretary at the end of 2015. He serves as managing partner of Emerson Collective, leading a comprehensive effort to develop job skills and opportunities for young people in Chicago.

The appointment of Duncan complements the University’s ongoing work in education-related research areas across campus. These efforts include the work of the Urban Education Institute, Urban Labs, the Thirty Million Words Initiative and many more.

At Harris, scholars have focused since the school’s founding on improving the lives of children and their educational achievements, including the multiple factors that can affect a child’s educational outcomes, from parenting interventions and access to sanitation to student loan debt and early childhood programs.

“Education policy has been an area of longstanding interest to Harris. The breadth and importance of his various activities in this policy sphere ensure that Arne’s addition to our community will help make Harris a preeminent place in the world for engagement with the various issues that make education at once among the most important and the most challenging of all policy areas,” said Kerwin Charles, interim dean at Harris and the Edwin and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor.

Luis Bettencourt named inaugural director of Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 10:00 -0600

Luis M. Bettencourt, a leading researcher in urban science and complex systems, has been appointed the inaugural Pritzker Director of the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation at the University of Chicago.

Under Bettencourt’s leadership, the Mansueto Institute, which launched last year with the support of a $35 million gift from alumni Joe and Rika Mansueto, will enhance the University’s strengths in urban scholarship and education and accelerate work across campus on the processes that drive and shape cities. It was founded to foster innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship, develop new educational programs, and provide leadership on the local, national and international levels to meet the challenges that cities face.

“The University of Chicago is in an exceptional position to increase understanding and develop effective practices around the most complex questions facing cities,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “Luis’s intellectual leadership will help build the Mansueto Institute into a hub for the University’s rich array of urban research, education and impact.”

The Mansueto Institute will work closely with urban-focused efforts across campus in the divisions and schools as well as entities such as UChicago Urban Labs, which develops and tests evidence-based urban policy; the Office of Civic Engagement, which collaborates with community partners in Chicago and beyond; and the Global Engagement Office, which works through University centers in China, Europe and India.

“Luis is incredibly curious and can convene people from across the sciences in ways that produce new and innovative understandings of cities and urbanization,” said Kathleen Cagney, professor of sociology and chair of the selection committee. “He thinks carefully about the fundamental principles of urban scholarship and how they can be applied in different contexts, particularly in cities across the globe.”

Bettencourt, whose appointment is effective July 1, 2017, also will be a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution and the College. He comes to the University from the Santa Fe Institute, a leading multidisciplinary research and education institute, where he is a professor of complex systems.

In his research, Bettencourt uses the growing availability of data worldwide on topics ranging from transportation to housing to understand cities in quantitative and predictive ways. He is dedicated to creating new urban theory to explain how cities thrive and the challenges they face, based on the integration of ideas from urban disciplines such as geography, economics and sociology with methodologies from the natural and computational sciences. He also focuses on understanding the role of innovation and technological change as a driver of economic growth and human development in cities, across the world and throughout history. One of his most influential research projects has helped explain the systematic association between the size of urban areas and higher rates of economic productivity and innovation, as well as higher costs of living and violent crime.

“The Mansueto Institute provides a truly novel opportunity to bring together researchers from an array of fields to understand not just the fundamentals of cities—in terms of concept and data—but also how such fundamentals can lead to new, innovative solutions to improve the lives and opportunities of their residents,” Bettencourt said. “The University of Chicago’s longstanding dedication to urban scholarship, and the sciences more broadly, provides an unmatched foundation for the institute.”

Bettencourt will lead the Mansueto Institute in supporting innovative urban research projects while providing rigorous training for the next generation of urban scholars and practitioners. His role will include making the institute a destination on campus for students, scholars and policymakers, with data and analytic tools that can be accessed virtually by researchers from around the world.

The Mansueto Institute will play a key role in the University’s comprehensive and integrative efforts to bridge urban scholarship, practice and engagement—an institutional commitment known as UChicago Urban.

Bettencourt holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from Imperial College London and held postdoctoral positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Heidelberg and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served on the 2015 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology working group on technology and the future of cities, and was a Kavli Fellow for the National Academy of Sciences’ Frontiers in Science Symposium. His work has received extensive coverage in the media, including The New York Times, Scientific American, Wired and New Scientist.

Selwyn Rogers to head UChicago Medicine's adult trauma center

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 12:00 -0600

Selwyn O. Rogers, a top surgeon and public health expert with 16 years of trauma care experience, will lead the University of Chicago Medicine’s development of the South Side’s only Level 1 adult trauma center, scheduled to open in 2018. He joined the organization on Jan. 5.

As chief of the Section for Trauma & Acute Care Surgery and founding director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center, Rogers will build an interdisciplinary team of specialists to treat patients who suffer injury from life-threatening events such as car crashes, serious falls and gun violence. He and his team will work with leaders in the city’s trauma network and at other hospitals to expand trauma care on the South Side.

“Dr. Rogers is highly qualified for this role,” said Kenneth S. Polonsky, executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Chicago. “He will provide leadership that will ensure clinical excellence and growth for the Medical Center, as well as operational leadership for trauma services.”

Rogers comes to Chicago from the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he had been vice president and chief medical officer since 2014. Prior to that, he served as chair for the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia from 2012 to 2014 and as division chief of Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from 2005 to 2012. He also served as associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School from 2008 to 2012.

His clinical and research interests have focused on the health care needs of underserved populations. While at Harvard, Rogers helped to launch the Center for Surgery and Public Health, whose mission is to understand the nature, quality and utilization of surgical care nationally and internationally. He has published numerous articles relating to health disparities and the impact of race and ethnicity on surgical outcomes.

To allow him to continue in this area, Rogers also has been appointed executive vice president for community health engagement. In this capacity he will oversee the Urban Health Initiative, which is the primary civic and community engagement arm of UChicago Medicine. Rogers and his team will help to foster programs for and leverage resources of the Medical Center and University to improve the health and well-being of neighboring communities.

Rogers’ appointment underscores the University’s work in addressing the public health challenges of the South Side. His role will complement efforts in UChicago Urban, the University’s commitment to understand urban issues and create a positive impact for Chicago and other cities worldwide.

“In this position, Dr. Rogers will collaborate with faculty across the University and members of the community to help develop a multidisciplinary approach to trauma care and health disparities that will help us better understand and address the social factors that affect victims of violence and underserved populations,” said Derek Douglas, vice president for civic engagement. “This will bring together resources of the Medical Center, University and community to develop novel approaches to achieving better outcomes for victims of trauma.”

‘Opportunity of a lifetime’

UChicago Medicine launched a national search for a trauma director after state regulators unanimously approved expansion plans in May 2016. The proposal, dubbed Get CARE, sought to increase community access to emergency, trauma and specialty care. The state’s approval allowed UChicago Medicine to move forward with plans to relocate and expand its adult emergency department, provide adult trauma care, and build a facility dedicated to cancer care and treatment. Under the plan, 188 inpatient beds also will be restored to support this growth.

“Dr. Rogers will lead the clinical direction of this new section within our department,” said Jeffrey Matthews, chairman of the Department of Surgery, who led the national search. “His most important priority in the coming months is the preparation and successful launch of the adult trauma program.”

The new emergency department is projected to treat an additional 25,000 patient visits a year by 2021. (The medical center handled about 59,300 adult ER visits in fiscal 2016.) About 2,000 adult trauma patients are expected in the first 12 months of trauma center designation. The number of physicians and staff needed to provide Level 1 trauma care will be determined in the weeks ahead. UChicago Medicine has begun taking steps to be designated a Level 1 adult trauma center in Illinois.

Rogers holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, as well as a master’s degree in public health from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“Joining UChicago Medicine is truly an opportunity of a lifetime,” Rogers said. “I look forward to working in Chicago’s South Side to help meet the clinical needs of patients while working to understand and help address the broader challenges that go beyond our hospital walls.”

Timeline of UChicago Medicine’s emergency department/trauma plans

December 2015: UChicago Medicine announces plans to open Level 1 adult trauma center at its Hyde Park campus.
February 2016: Application filed with state to increase access to emergency, trauma and specialty care.
May 2016: State regulators approve application; construction of relocated and bigger adult emergency department begins.
September 2016: Groundbreaking ceremony held for new adult emergency department, which will house four trauma bays.
January 2017: Dr. Selwyn Rogers takes helm as director of UChicago Medicine Trauma Center.
January 2018: New adult emergency department scheduled to open.
Spring 2018: Level 1 adult trauma care to begin.

James L. Skinner appointed director of Water Research Initiative at IME

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 10:00 -0600

Renowned theoretical chemist James L. Skinner has been appointed to the Crown Family Professorship and named director of the Water Research Initiative at the Institute for Molecular Engineering. His five-year term will begin Jan. 1, 2017.

Skinner joins IME after serving for 26 years as director of the Theoretical Chemistry Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and four years as chair of the Department of Chemistry. The Joseph O. and Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Professor of Chemistry, Skinner is the world leader in the theoretical and conceptual understanding of hydrogen bonding in water. Among many other accomplishments, he and his team are noted for their calculations detailing hydrogen bonding, the factor that dominates and complicates water properties.

“I’m very excited to join IME,” Skinner said of his appointment. “Its world-class researchers have accomplished a very considerable amount in a short period of time, including laying the groundwork for the Water Research Initiative. Now the initiative is ready to advance as well.”

Skinner will lead the development and expansion of the Water Research Initiative, which was launched in 2013 in collaboration with researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Argonne National Laboratory. Originally charged with using nanotechnology to create new materials and processes for making clean, fresh drinking water more plentiful and less expensive by 2020, the initiative will now broaden its scope.

“Professor Skinner is uniquely qualified to guide the Water Research Initiative through its next phase of expansion,” said Matthew Tirrell, dean and Founding Pritzker Director of IME. “His expertise and track record of academic leadership will enable him to articulate a coherent vision for the initiative, and to successfully recruit new investigators.”

Skinner said that over the past 10 to 20 years, water has become a critical issue for many reasons: availability, potability, climate change and energy. “Research on water is extremely timely,” he said, “and that’s one reason coming to IME is so exciting. We have an opportunity here to make a difference on a global scale.”

Skinner received his PhD from Harvard in 1979 and joined the faculty of Columbia after a two-year postdoc at Stanford. He became a full professor at Columbia in 1986, where he remained until 1990, when he was named director of the Theoretical Chemistry Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Skinner has published approximately 220 refereed research articles. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His many awards include the American Chemical Society Physical Chemistry Division Award in Theoretical Chemistry and the Irving J. Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics from the American Chemical Society.

Skinner is a member of the advisory board of the Midwest Integrated Center for Computational Materials, led by Giulia Galli, the Liew Family Professor at IME. In 2018, Skinner will chair the Welch Foundation’s annual conference, which will be devoted to fundamental and applied research on water.

Prof. Michael Greenstone to lead Becker Friedman Institute

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 16:15 -0600

Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor and a leading economist, has been appointed director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics.

Greenstone will build upon the work of Lars Peter Hansen, the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor and inaugural director of the Becker Friedman Institute, and Kevin M. Murphy, the George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor, who has served as co-chair with Hansen since 2014. The institute supports economic research and interdisciplinary scholarship, bringing together scholars from around the world and building programming and public outreach that draws upon the University’s strength in the field of economics.

“The Becker Friedman Institute carries on the University’s distinctive tradition of developing new ideas through intense discussion and collaboration. Michael embodies those ideals in his work, and he is the right leader to continue developing the institute’s ambitious intellectual approach,” President Robert J. Zimmer said.

“Michael is an exceptional scholar who also has a deep understanding of public policy,” Provost Daniel Diermeier said. “As director, he will further enhance the development and impact of the creative thinking and rigorous research for which the institute has become known under the leadership of Lars Hansen and Kevin Murphy.”

The research of Greenstone, who is director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), spans issues of energy and the environment, developed and developing country growth, and financial markets. He brings to the institute extensive policy experience, including serving as chief economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisors and director of The Hamilton Project, an economic policy group studying a range of policies to promote broad-based economic growth. He is currently on the Hamilton Project’s Advisory Council.

“Michael’s research has had a considerable impact on the modern study of economics, underscoring the field’s relevance for policy and people’s quality of life,” said John List, chairman of the Department of Economics and the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor. “He is a prominent voice in the field who will build importantly on the innovative insights and groundwork laid by Lars Hansen and Kevin Murphy.”

“Becker and Friedman were giants in helping to shape understanding of the world, both within economics and more broadly. It is an honor to lead an institute that aims to carry on the tradition and high bar for excellence that they have set for Chicago economics.” Prof. Michael Greenstone

Greenstone’s appointment takes effect July 1, 2017. He will continue in his role as director of EPIC, which will function as an integral part of the Becker Friedman Institute. EPIC is an interdisciplinary center that brings together the University’s research efforts on energy and the environment and translates research to maximize its impact on policy, while working to train the next generation of global energy leaders.

“Becker and Friedman were giants in helping to shape understanding of the world, both within economics and more broadly. It is an honor to lead an institute that aims to carry on the tradition and high bar for excellence that they have set for Chicago economics,” said Greenstone, a professor in Economics, the College and the Harris School of Public Policy. “Specifically, we will continue to build economic theory that deepens understanding, tests those theories with all of the modern tools available to researchers today and communicates the results in ways that are broadly accessible. I feel especially fortunate to be able to build upon the tremendous foundation that Lars Hansen and Kevin Murphy have constructed.”

Greenstone said his new role at UChicago comes at an exciting time for economic research, when a confluence of advances in techniques, computing and access to data have laid the groundwork for much deeper understanding of economics and the world. “We are entering a golden era where economic theory and empirical work are poised to make great advances that can be of tremendous value outside of academia, particularly to policymakers,” Greenstone said.

“Michael’s research is cutting-edge, practical and relevant to real-world challenges,” said Henry M. Paulson Jr., chairman of the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago who serves on the Becker Friedman Institute Council. “He combines great analytical and communications skills and is an excellent choice for this role.”

The Becker Friedman Institute was created in 2011 with the joining of the Milton Friedman Institute for Research in Economics and the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. Based in the Saieh Hall for Economics, the institute works in collaboration with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Department of Economics, the Law School and the Harris School of Public Policy.

The institute’s first chair was Gary S. Becker, AM’53, PhD’55, University Professor of Economics and Sociology, who pushed economics into new scholarly fields and policy areas, such as crime, discrimination, education and addiction. Becker died in 2014.

Before coming to the University in 2013, Greenstone served as the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an editor of The Journal of Political Economy.

In addition to serving as the chief economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 2009 to 2010, Greenstone now serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board, and continues to consult with governments around the world to develop sound economic policies. He was a member of the EPA Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee.

Greenstone has deep roots at UChicago. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and served as an assistant professor of economics at the University from 2000 to 2003. His grandmother, Erika Fromm, was on the psychology faculty at UChicago and his father, J. David Greenstone, was a professor and chairman of the Department of Political Science before his death in 1990.

Steve Coleman mentors aspiring musicians in Logan residency

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:30 -0600

Chicago-born jazz musician Steve Coleman will tell you that he’s had a handful of exceptional mentors during his decades-long career. So when the alto saxophonist and composer got a call near the end of 2014 informing him that he had received a MacArthur Fellowship, Coleman knew he wanted to do the same for the next generation.

In that spirit of mentorship and community building, Coleman, together with his Five Elements band, recently completed a two-week residency hosted by the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, with emphasis on teaching and performing the improvisational jazz that has defined his career. Coleman and bandmates Jonathan Finlayson, Anthony Tidd, Miles Okazaki and Sean Rickman led workshops for students at UChicago and worked with young musicians in the Chicago Public Schools.

Coleman and his colleagues also spent time at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, playing music and answering questions about their careers. “I think people respond better when they see people who look like them, or who maybe have come from the same type of situation,” Coleman said. “One kid told me he grew up right around where I grew up.”

Coleman first started playing music as a student at South Shore High School, not far from UChicago’s campus. That grew into a career that has spanned four decades and several continents, with Coleman in his work exploring philosophy, the relationship language has with music and improvisational computer software. He leads the nonprofit M-Base Concepts, Inc., and has received a Doris Duke Impact and a Doris Duke Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Coleman’s time at UChicago is part of an expanding set of residencies at the Logan Center that bring artists together with students, faculty and the community, often around the creation of new work. Artists-in-residence have included composer and UChicago alumnus Philip Glass, actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, and French filmmaker and artist Agnès Varda. UChicago’s Theater and Performance Studies’ residency program Chicago Performance Lab invites emerging and established ensembles to spend a month in residence at the Logan Center to develop new work and perform throughout Chicago. Jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell is currently in residence, and artist Kapwani Kiwanga’s site specific exhibition opens in January 2017 at the Logan Center.

A passion for music and helping others

Coleman first was a resident at Logan in 2015 and came back again this fall. His talents mesh well with the Logan Center, contributing to the cultural vitality of the South Side through community partnerships and through helping to grow the center’s emerging reputation as a hub for jazz, said Bill Michel, executive director of UChicago Arts and the Logan Center.

“Steve is passionate about both his music and helping others,” Michel said. “He brings a wonderful energy and willingness to explore different avenues and partnerships.”

The residency included partnering with M-Base, Free Write Arts and Literacy, Arts + Public Life at the University of Chicago, the Rebuild Foundation, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, as well as the Jazz Institute of Chicago. The Reva and David Logan Foundation provided significant support for the residency.

Coleman’s residency culminated in a performance at the Logan Center Performance Hall. Of the band’s seven public performances during the two-week period, including appearances at venues like the Arts Incubator, Stony Island Arts Bank and the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative, five were free; Coleman wanted to make sure that those who weren’t familiar with his music could have a chance to see him play.

“When you come and you try to have a sustained presence, that makes a different kind of impact than when you just come for one day and then split,” Coleman said. “If people know you’re coming back, it’s a big deal.”

Reflecting on his career, Coleman said he owes a lot to mentors of his own, like Thad Jones, Sam Rivers, Von Freeman and Doug Hammond. Community building is something he has pursued during his career, doing residencies since the mid-’90s, frequently without outside financial support. He says that a main goal of his MacArthur Fellowship is to draw attention to his outreach work, in hopes that he can keep securing financial backing to fund residencies and mentorship opportunities in the future.

During his Logan residency, Coleman said his work with youth at the juvenile detention center stood out. Coleman and his bandmates partnered with Free Write Arts and Literacy for a visit to the detention center, where they were joined by Grammy-nominated rapper and spoken-word artist Kokayi, a longtime collaborator and occasional band member with Coleman. The musicians encouraged youth to try out instruments like the drums and bass, and talked about their own lives and careers.

“At the end, they said they were really, really inspired, and they were really happy that we came,” Coleman said. “Sometimes one visit like that could change the whole thing around.”

Court Theatre establishes named directorship in honor of donors

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 08:00 -0500

Court Theatre is establishing the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director position, made possible through the support of longtime arts patrons and Court supporters David and Marilyn F. Vitale. Court created the named position in appreciation of the couple’s significant gift to the theater in June, as well as their previous giving to Court’s Center for Classic Theatre Campaign. Artistic Director Charles Newell will be named the inaugural Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre.

The naming honors Marilyn Vitale for her dedication to the theater’s mission and growth. She has served on Court’s board of trustees for more than 20 years, three as board chair, overseeing the theater’s 60th anniversary and solidifying the vision for The Center for Classic Theatre, which mounts theatrical productions and audience enrichment programs in collaboration with University of Chicago faculty. David Vitale continues to be a visionary force for arts education in Chicago, most notably through the groundbreaking Chicago Public Schools Arts Education Plan.

“Court Theatre has created an ambitious national model of what a professional theater at a major university can achieve, while providing a distinctive cultural resource for our community and the city of Chicago,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “I am deeply grateful to the Vitales for their generous support of Court’s mission, and their deep appreciation of the value of theater and its simultaneous connections to intellectual inquiry and community engagement. Marilyn’s leadership has contributed greatly to Court’s continued growth and flourishing.”

Marilyn Vitale said the gift reflects the couple’s support for outstanding artistic leadership.

“My leadership of the board helped me fully understand how critical the artistic leadership is to any theater,” Vitale said. “Our gift will provide support to the remarkably talented Charles Newell, whom I greatly admire, and I believe it will offer Court an unmatched platform to mount great productions, build a loyal audience and find new ways to serve the community.”

Newell has been the artistic director of Court Theatre since 1994. Under his artistic leadership over 22 seasons, Court Theatre has grown in size and national standing. He has directed more than 50 productions, guiding the theater toward a focus on re-envisioned classic plays that explore and add to the African American canon and American musicals. His directorial highlights at Court Theatre include “Satchmo at the Waldorf,” “Agamemnon,” “The Secret Garden,” “Iphigenia in Aulis,” “The Misanthrope,” “Tartuffe,” “Proof,” “Angels in America,” “An Iliad,” and “Porgy and Bess.”

Newell was awarded the Society of Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s Zelda Fichandler Award and the Theatre Communications Group’s Alan Schneider Director Award. He was nominated for 16 Joseph Jefferson Director Awards, winning four times. In 2012, Newell was honored by the League of Chicago Theatres with its artistic achievement award.

In addition to their support of Court Theatre, the Vitales also are actively engaged in other parts of the University. Marilyn is a member of the Women’s Board, and David continues to be involved with the Council on the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Visiting Committee to the School of Social Service Administration.

Newell noted that Marilyn Vitale’s leadership helped make the theater’s 60th anniversary season the most ambitious to date, marked by two world premieres, a reimagining of classic theater, a nod to American musicals and a commitment to the community.

“For more than 20 years, Marilyn has provided tremendous passion and loyalty for the work of Court Theatre,” said Newell. “Court Theatre grew during her tenure as board chair and will continue to thrive, thanks to her extraordinary generosity.”

Former Philadelphia mayor joins UChicago Urban Labs in new role

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 14:15 -0500

Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter is joining the University of Chicago Urban Labs to help guide strategy and growth as an executive fellow—a new role for the organization, which is dedicated to addressing challenges faced by cities through evidence-based policymaking.

Nutter was mayor of the nation’s fifth-most populous city until January 2016 when he reached his term limit. He brings more than two decades of policymaking experience to the executive fellow role, including 14-plus years on the Philadelphia City Council and a term as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“My eight years as mayor of Philadelphia gave me the opportunity to work with communities to tackle challenges ranging from poverty and education to public safety and sustainability,” said Nutter, whose new role was announced Aug. 8. “We made incredible progress, but there is still a great amount of work needed to solve the problems that cities face. Urban Labs uses science, data and evidence-based programs to inform and develop urban policy for the biggest impact possible. I’m excited to be a part of promoting the use of evidence to make cities across the country smarter, safer, healthier places to live.”

At Urban Labs, Nutter will help broaden public engagement and bring together the labs and civic leaders to generate and use evidence-based policy. Urban Labs partners with cities and communities to tackle challenges in five key dimensions of urban life: crime, education, energy & environment, health and poverty. Urban Labs uses rigorous scientific analysis to find the most effective and cost-efficient programs and policies that improve human lives.

“Mayor Nutter’s tenure in Philadelphia demonstrates how evidence-based policymaking can make a significant impact in underserved communities,” said Timothy Knowles, the Pritzker Director of Urban Labs and chairman of the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute. “We are enormously lucky to have someone with Michael’s experience and passion for using rigorous research as part of the labs’ efforts to discover what works and improve lives in cities across the nation and around the world.”

Nutter will continue to serve on Urban Labs’ national advisory council, which is composed of business and civic leaders who provide strategic guidance, perspective and recommendations to the labs.

Prof. Douglas J. Skinner named interim dean at Chicago Booth

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 15:30 -0500

Douglas J. Skinner, the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting and deputy dean for faculty, will serve as the interim dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, effective Aug. 15.

“Doug’s appointment will help sustain the momentum that has been built to further establish Chicago Booth as one of the world’s preeminent business schools while the search for the next dean is conducted,” said President Robert J. Zimmer.

A UChicago faculty member since 2005, Skinner is a leading expert in corporate disclosure practices, corporate financial reporting and corporate finance, with a focus on payout policy. His teaching topics include financial accounting, financial statement analysis, corporate finance and empirical methods in accounting research.

Prior to his appointment at Chicago Booth, Skinner was the KPMG Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

“It is a great privilege to be a member of the Booth faculty, and even more so to serve in the dean’s office for the last 16 months. I am now honored to have the opportunity to serve Booth and the University in this even more important role,” Skinner said. “Our faculty, staff, alumni and students continue to make Booth one of the world’s best business schools, and I look forward to working with all of our constituents to continue our success while preserving the school’s long-held values. I am confident that Chicago Booth will continue to flourish during this transition.”

Appointed Booth’s deputy dean for faculty in 2015, Skinner oversees the finance, operations, macroeconomics, organization and markets, and entrepreneurship faculty groups, as well as the Initiative on Global Markets, the Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Social Enterprise Initiative, and the Harry L. Davis Leadership Center.

The formal process for selecting the next dean of Booth will begin soon with the election of a faculty committee to advise the president and provost.

Skinner succeeds Sunil Kumar, the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Operations Management, who will become provost of Johns Hopkins University on Sept. 1, after serving as Booth’s dean since 2011.

Daniel Diermeier appointed provost of University of Chicago

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:26 -0500

Daniel Diermeier, an internationally recognized scholar of political institutions, the Emmett Dedmon Professor and the dean of the Harris School of Public Policy, has been named the next provost of the University of Chicago.

President Robert J. Zimmer announced Diermeier’s appointment in a letter to the campus community on March 31, noting his strong record as an academic leader as well as the breadth of his intellectual accomplishments. Diermeier’s appointment as provost is effective July 1.

Zimmer said in his message that the Harris School has made swift progress since Diermeier became dean in 2014, including growth of its faculty and student body, collaboration on redevelopment of the school’s curriculum, and the creation of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts and The Pearson Global Forum at the Harris School, supported by a $100 million gift to the University.

“Daniel has demonstrated leadership founded on the University’s values of rigorous inquiry, academic excellence and integrity, and has led Harris with energy, boldness and vision,” Zimmer wrote. “Combined with his demonstrated ability to bring various perspectives together, he brings to his new role a set of skills and experiences central to the work of the provost’s office.”

Diermeier said he is eager for the chance to collaborate with departments and offices across the University. As provost, he will serve as the University’s chief academic officer, overseeing 13 academic divisions, schools and institutes with faculty appointive powers. The provost works with the deans and faculty to ensure the eminence of the University’s research and educational programs, with responsibility for the academic appointment process, the University budget, space allocation and other areas of support for academic activities.

“The values that originally defined the founding of the University of Chicago still govern its daily life,” Diermeier said. “They provide a sense of lasting identity that allows the University to evolve, grow and reinforce its fundamental values. Serving this tremendous institution as provost is an honor and a profound responsibility. I look forward to this journey.”

Diermeier has published two books and more than 90 research articles, primarily in political science, economics and management, as well as in areas ranging from linguistics to psychology and computer science. In addition to his work on the interaction of business and politics, Diermeier is an expert in crisis and reputation management, and his 2011 book, Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset, has become a highly regarded text in academia and business. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2013 as a political scientist and game theorist. In 2014 he was named a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in recognition of his exceptional scholarship in political science.

As dean of the Harris School, Diermeier has overseen dramatic improvement in student support, facilities and placement rates, and has worked with the College to enhance the undergraduate major in public policy studies. He led planning and development for the Harris School’s new building, the Keller Center, which is scheduled to open in the 2018-19 school year.

The $100 million gift that supported creation of The Pearson Institute and The Pearson Global Forum is equal to the second-largest gift in the University’s history. Most recently the Harris School became the home of the International Innovation Corps and the Place Lab. The International Innovation Corps is a University of Chicago program that connects talented recent graduates with government organizations to work on yearlong fellowships focused on implementing innovative solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Place Lab is a collaboration between the Harris School and UChicago Arts + Public Life, devoted to studying urban redevelopment strategies and the use of the arts and culture as a catalyst to positively reshape communities.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Diermeier taught at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and taught for 17 years at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he won 13 awards for teaching and received the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award. He also held appointments in economics, political science, linguistics, and the school of law at Northwestern University. At Kellogg, Diermeier was director of the Ford Motor Company Center for Global Citizenship. He co-founded the university-wide Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems; the CEO Perspective Program, a nationally recognized development program for C-Suite business executives developed as a partnership between Kellogg School of Management, the Corporate Leadership Center and the Chicago Booth School of Business; and the Northwestern Global Health Foundation.

Diermeier earned his PhD in political science from the University of Rochester as well as master’s degrees in political science from the University of Rochester and the University of Munich, and a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

The University will begin a search immediately for the next dean of the Harris School.

Eric D. Isaacs named Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation, and National Laboratories

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 17:12 -0600

In recognition of the University of Chicago’s growing initiatives in large-scale science, engineering, computing, and numerous areas of technological and business innovation, the University is revising its leadership structure to include a new position of Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and National Laboratories. Provost Eric D. Isaacs has been named to this role, effective July 1.

The new role will replace and build upon the responsibilities of the Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, currently held by Donald H. Levy, who is retiring from the position at the end of the academic year, having completed two five-year terms in the role.

In his new position, Isaacs will be charged with integrating and overseeing numerous important endeavors in science and innovation that cut across divisions, schools and institutes, along with those initiatives’ connections to policy and industry. He will provide direct oversight of Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, the Marine Biological Laboratory and the University’s founding-partner relationship with the Giant Magellan Telescope project. He will also play a leading role in the University’s efforts in computation, data science and innovation in Hyde Park, including the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Chicago Innovation Exchange.

“Eric has deep experience, broad knowledge and a record of strong leadership in public engagement, and I am grateful that he is taking on this new challenge, which is an essential one for the University,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “His particular set of experiences make him singularly well positioned to lead this rapidly evolving set of activities.”

Isaacs, the Robert A. Millikan Distinguished Service Professor in Physics, served as director of Argonne before becoming provost in 2014. A condensed matter physicist whose work focuses on quantum materials, Isaacs joined the University and Argonne in 2003 as the founding director of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, after working for 15 years at Bell Laboratories. He said the University and its affiliated labs have an unusual opportunity to provide international leadership in a range of complex scientific activities, while fostering the development of related innovative businesses in Hyde Park and the Chicago region.

“This is an exciting time for the University in science, applied science and engineering. It is also an opportune moment to develop and foster a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship across the sciences,” Isaacs said. “I look forward to this expanded office being an advocate for and a point of entry into University collaborations with partners across campus and in industry.”

With Isaacs’ move to the new role, Zimmer said he will be seeking input and nominations from faculty to guide his selection of a new provost.

Zimmer thanked Levy for his leadership and for agreeing to serve for the next year as Senior Adviser to the President, focusing on planning for the University’s scientific infrastructure needs. Levy, the Albert A. Michelson Distinguished Service Professor in Chemistry, was appointed as Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories in 2007. He joined the UChicago faculty in 1967 and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among many other awards and honors.

“Don has been instrumental in guiding great changes in science and technology, research and computation, innovation, and in the research programs at both Argonne and Fermilab,” said Zimmer. “I am very grateful to him for his dedicated and skilled leadership in an exceedingly complex area of administration.”

“I am honored to have played a role in furthering research and innovation at the University of Chicago, my academic home for almost 50 years,” said Levy. “I’m also very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals from all three institutions during my tenure as Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories.”

UChicago faculty members receive named, distinguished service professorships

Wed, 17 Feb 2016 16:20 -0600

A total of 19 faculty members recently have received named professorships or have been named distinguished service professors. Graeme I. Bell, Philip Bohlman, Eric D. Isaacs and Konstantin Sonin have received distinguished service professorships; and Daniel Abebe, Sian Beilock, Diane Brentari, Kathryn A. Colby, Nicolas Dauphas, Justin Driver, Robert D. Gibbons, Melissa L. Gilliam, Gary Herrigel, Aziz Huq, Michèle Lowrie, David Meltzer, Andrey Rzhetsky, Amir Sufi and Gary Tubb have received named professorships.

Biological Sciences Division

Graeme I. Bell, the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, has been named the Kovler Family Distinguished Service Professor.

Bell studies the genetics of diabetes mellitus and the biology of the insulin-secreting pancreatic beta-cell. He cloned and characterized many of the genes involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism, including insulin, glucagon, glucose transporters and others.

He has won many honors in the field, including the 2013 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association for his pioneering work in understanding the role of genetics in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. In 2012, he received the Manpei Suzuki International Prize for Diabetes Research. Bell is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

As a core member of the University of Chicago Medicine’s diabetes genetics team, Bell works to personalize treatment based on a patient’s specific genetic defect. Many of these patients are children, and some can be treated with pills that compensate for the genetic defect, rather than with insulin shots. More than 1,500 patients and family members are now participating in genetic studies aimed at improving treatment through a better understanding of genetics.

Bell joined the UChicago faculty in 1986.

Kathryn A. Colby, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, has been named a Louis Block Professor.

Colby is an internationally renowned corneal surgeon, educator and researcher with expertise in a wide variety of corneal diseases, neoplastic diseases of the surface of the eye, and the implantation of artificial corneas. She has a longstanding interest in Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, the most common cause for corneal transplantation in the United States and her studies in this area have run the gamut from basic science to clinical trials and novel surgical treatments to improve patient outcomes.

In addition, she has specific expertise in the management of ocular surface tumors, including conjunctival melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Colby spearheaded efforts to improve surgical techniques for a variety of implanted eye devices, including the Boston keratoprosthesis (artificial cornea) and the implantable miniature telescope, the only FDA-approved device to improve vision for patients with advanced macular degeneration.

Colby is an active teacher, who has trained hundreds of medical students, ophthalmology residents, clinical cornea and pediatric ophthalmology fellows, many of whom are leaders in ophthalmology. Colby was the founding director of the pediatric cornea service at Boston Children’s Hospital and is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the Cornea Society.

Colby joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2015.

Robert D. Gibbons, Professor of Medicine, Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry has been named the Blum-Riese Professor.

Gibbons is a nationally recognized authority on a range of statistical disciplines, including mental health statistics, environmental statistics, item-response theory and drug safety. Gibbons has led the Center for Health Statistics since it was established in 2010. From its beginning, the center has continuously earned federal funding and acclaim for its work applying complex statistical theory to inform public policy.

Gibbons has authored or co-authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications and six textbooks. In addition, he has served on several editorial boards, including the board of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Psychiatry.

Gibbons is a Pritzker Scholar, a fellow of the American Statistical Association and cofounder of its Mental Health Statistics section. He also is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and the National Academy of Medicine. Gibbons has earned numerous important accolades, including lifetime achievement awards from the American Statistical Association, the American Public Health Association, and Harvard University, as well as two W. J. Youden Awards for outstanding contributions to statistics in chemistry.

He joined the UChicago faculty in 2010.

Melissa L. Gilliam, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, has been named the Ellen H. Block Professor in Health and Justice.

Gilliam is section chief of family planning and contraceptive research at the University and serves as dean for diversity and inclusion for the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences Division.

As an authority on contraception and adolescent health, Gilliam addresses the gynecologic needs of girls and adolescents, especially youth of color, sexual minorities and young people at risk for poor sexual and reproductive health. Gilliam says her work focuses on “marginalized populations, reduction of health disparities through community-based interventions and efforts to increase diversity and improve health policy.” She heads the University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health, also known as Ci3. She cofounded the Game Changer Chicago Design Lab, which develops games and digital media interventions for youth.

In October of 2015, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine, which honors those who have made major contributions to the fields of health and medicine and demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Gilliam joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2005.

David Meltzer, Professor of Medicine, Economics and Public Policy, has been named the Fanny L. Pritzker Professor.

Meltzer’s research explores problems in health economics and public policy with a focus on the theoretical foundations of medical cost-effectiveness analysis, and the cost and quality of hospital care. In his research, Meltzer uses economic analysis to address problems in health economics and public policy, focusing on the cost and quality of care, especially in teaching hospitals.

He is a national leader in the study of the relatively new specialty of hospital medicine. He heads the Hospitalist Scholars Program at UChicago, which provides training in this field and examines the economic forces that have fueled growth of this specialty. Meltzer also pioneered the development of the Comprehensive Care Physician model, in which physicians provide inpatient and outpatient care for patients who are at an increased risk for hospitalization. The model is designed to leverage the power of the doctor–patient relationship and improve outcomes while controlling costs.

Meltzer also directs the Center for Health and the Social Sciences, and chairs the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science. Meltzer also is director of the University of Chicago Urban Health Lab. In October of 2015, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Meltzer joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1996.

Andrey Rzhetsky, Professor of Medicine, has been named the Edna K. Papazian Professor.

Rzhetsky is a pioneer in the development of novel computational strategies that shed light on the complex genetic, molecular and environmental interactions involved in human health and disease.

His research utilizes powerful approaches to extract insights from big data. To harvest as much information as possible, his group runs data-mining projects that involve mathematical modeling and analysis of disparate datasets, such as electronic medical records, scientific texts and high-throughput experimental data. His models require dynamic collaboration with a range of experts in disease phenotypes, genetics, statistical modeling, epidemiology and the sociology of science. Rzhetsky also developed in invented the first automated literature extraction program for the prediction of molecular interactions.

Rzhetsky is the director of the Conte Center for Computational Neuropsychiatric Genomics, and is a senior fellow of both the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and the Computation Institute.

He serves as associate editor for numerous high-profile journals, including Nature Scientific Reports and PLoS Computational Biology.

Rzhetsky joined the UChicago faculty in 2007.

Humanities Division

Philip Bohlman, the Mary Werkman Distinguished Service Professor of Music and in the College, has been named the Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in Jewish History.

An ethnomusicologist, Bohlman studies a wide range of topics related to music and modernity, with a focus on Jewish music and the politics of religion and race in the music of the Middle East and South Asia. His other research interests include Song Loves the Masses (2016) a translation of the musical writings of the 18th-century philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder and the Eurovision Song Contest.

Bohlman is the author of Revival and Reconciliation: Sacred Music in the Making of European Modernity (2013), Focus: Music, Nationalism, and the Making of the New Europe (2011), Jewish Music and Modernity (2008), and World Music: A Very Short Introduction (2002). He also edited The Cambridge History of World Music (2013).

An active performer as well as a scholar, Bohlman is the artistic director of the New Budapest Orpheum Society. The eight-member Jewish cabaret troupe is the ensemble-in-residence of the Division of the Humanities at the University.

The group’s recent projects include As Dreams Fall Apart (2014), a CD that draws on music from Yiddish and German-Jewish films from the 1920s to the post-Holocaust generation of the 1950s, and for which the ensemble received a 2016 Grammy Award nomination. Bohlman and the New Budapest Orpheum Society were the recipients of the 2011 Noah Greenberg Award for Historical Performance from the American Musicological Society.

Bohlman joined the UChicago faculty in 1987.

Diane Brentari, Professor of Linguistics and in the College, has been named the Mary Werkman Professor.

Brentari, PhD’90, studies sign languages from around the world to better understand their similarities and differences and to illuminate the properties that all languages share. Her work has included projects on phonetics, phonology, morphology and prosody. She has developed the Prosodic Model of sign language phonology.

Currently, her work addresses cross-linguistic variation, particularly the differences and similarities among sign languages. She is also interested in the emergence of language, and is engaged in studies of the cognitive, social and cultural aspects of gesture, homesign systems and well-established sign languages.

Brentari is the author of Sign Languages: A Cambridge Language Survey (2010) and A Prosodic Model of Sign Language Phonology (1998), and editor of Foreign Vocabulary in Sign Languages: A Cross-linguistic Investigation of Word Formation (2001) and Morphology and its Relation to Syntax and Phonology (1998).

She is the director of the Sign Language Linguistics Laboratory and co-director of the Center for the Study of Gesture, Sign, and Language.

Brentari joined the UChicago faculty in 2011.

Michèle Lowrie, Professor of Classics and in the College, has been named the Andrew W. Mellon Professor.

A literary scholar with interests in ideology and forms of expression, Michèle Lowrie traces the history of political concepts and their transmission by figurative means. Her research focuses on Roman literature and political thought and ancient Rome’s continued resonance in modernity.

Her current projects include: the emergence of security as a concept in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Republic; the Roman tradition of representing civil war, in collaboration with Barbara Vinken; the exemplum and exceptional politics from Cicero to Augustus; “Thinking through Tropes,” a faculty seminar funded by the Neubauer Collegium that examines the representational methods for structuring traditions; and transformations in the public sphere between Cicero and Horace.

Lowrie has written two monographs and numerous articles, as well as edited four volumes. She is a recipient of the Burkhardt Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies, a visiting research professorship at the Warburg-Haus in Hamburg, a fellowship from the Research Center for Cultural Theory and Theory of the Political Imaginary at the University of Konstanz, and fellowships from the Center for Advanced Studies at Ludwig-Maximilian’s University in Munich. Lowrie is currently in residence at the American Academy in Berlin as the Dirk Ippen Berlin Prize Fellow. Her sabbatical has received additional funding from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship.

Lowrie, who will become deputy dean for the Division of the Humanities on July 1, joined the UChicago faculty in 2009.

Gary Tubb, Professor of South Asian Languages and Civilizations and in the College, has been named the first Anupama and Guru Ramakrishnan Professor.

A leading Sanskrit scholar, Tubb examines the tradition’s poetics, grammatical forms and commentarial traditions. In addition to his scholarship of Sanskrit language and literature, Tubb studies the literary, religious and philosophical traditions of India.

Tubb is the author of Scholastic Sanskrit: A Handbook for Students (2007). He is an editor and primary contributor in the book Innovations and Turning Points: Toward a History of Kavya Literature (2014). Another book, On Poets and Pots: Essays on Sanskrit Poetry, Poetics and Philosophy, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Alongside his teaching and research, Tubb is the faculty director of the University of Chicago Center in Delhi.

He joined the UChicago faculty in 2007.

Physical Sciences Division

Nicolas Dauphas, Professor of Geophysical Sciences and in the College and the Enrico Fermi Institute, has been named a Louis Block Professor.

A leading isotope geochemist, Dauphas draws upon the analytical and modeling methods of his training as an engineer to develop novel strategies for solving important scientific questions using naturally occurring isotope variations. He founded and directs UChicago’s Origins Laboratory to examine questions pertaining to the early evolution of the Earth and what meteorites reveal about the formation of planets, asteroids and comets.

His research has included an examination of how the rapid formation of Mars makes it more akin to a planetary embryo than a fully grown planet, and the discovery of microscopic remnants in a meteorite of a nearby supernova that exploded before the solar system was formed.

Just last year, a paper Dauphas published was named an Editors’ Choice by Science Magazine. The paper addressed a longstanding problem regarding the origin of Earth’s depletion in silicon and the origin of Earth’s core density deficit. His research bridges the gap between planetary sciences and astrophysics, as attested by his invitation to deliver the 2015 Spitzer lecture in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University.

Dauphas has received the American Geophysical Union’s Macelwane Medal, the European Association for Geochemistry’s Houtermans Medal, and the Meteoritical Society’s Nier Prize. He also is an American Geophysical Union fellow and a David and Lucile Packard Foundation fellow.

Dauphas joined the UChicago faculty in 2004.

Eric D. Isaacs, Provost and Professor of Physics and in the College, has been named the Robert A. Millikan Distinguished Service Professor.

Isaacs’ distinguished research career as a condensed matter physicist has focused on quantum materials. His early research in developing synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques continues to play an important role in nanoscale scientific research.

Isaacs served as director of Argonne National Laboratory from 2009 to 2014. Under his leadership, Argonne researchers focused on solving the grand scientific and engineering challenges of our time—particularly the vital national priority of developing game-changing sustainable energy technologies. During that period he also played key roles in the creation of the Institute for Molecular Engineering and expanding the impact of the Computation Institute—two joint efforts of the University and Argonne.

From 2003 to 2008 he served as founding director of Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials.

Isaacs has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers and presentations. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and has served on multiple national scientific advisory committees, including the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee.

Isaacs joined the UChicago faculty in 2004 and became University provost in 2014.

Social Sciences Division

Sian Beilock, Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and Professor of Psychology and in the College, has been named the Stella M. Rowley Professor.

Beilock, whose research focuses on topics at the intersection of cognitive science and education, explores the cognitive and neural substrates of skill learning as well as the mechanisms by which performance breaks down in high-stress or high-pressure situations.

Beilock is one of the world’s leading experts on the brain science behind “choking under pressure” and the many factors influencing all types of performance: from test-taking to public speaking to one’s golf swing. In her laboratory, the Human Performance Lab, Beilock employs a wide range of methods such as measures of performance, physiological measures of stress, and neuroimaging techniques. She also conducts studies in the classroom with students from early elementary school through college.

She has authored two books: How The Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel (2015) and Choke: What The Secrets Of The Brain Reveals About Getting It Right When You Have To (2010).

Beilock joined the UChicago faculty in 2005.

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Amir Sufi, the Chicago Board of Trade Professor, has been named the first Bruce Lindsay Professor of Economics and Public Policy.

In his research, Sufi focuses on finance and macroeconomics. His recent research on household debt and the economy has been profiled in The Economist, the Financial Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He also has presented this work to policymakers at the Federal Reserve, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs, and the White House Council of Economic Advisors. This research forms the basis of his book co-authored with Atif Mian: House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again, which was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2014.

Sufi also is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and he serves as an associate editor for the American Economic Review and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. His articles have been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Finance and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Sufi graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. As a PhD student in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he received the Solow Endowment Prize for Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching and Research.

He joined the UChicago faculty in 2005.

The College

Gary Herrigel, Professor of Political Science and in the College, has been named the Paul Klapper Professor.

Herrigel’s research interests include comparative political economy and alternative forms of governance in economic process and regulation throughout the developed and developing world. A common thread in his work has been an interest in the changing boundaries of firms and the political arrangements that govern them in Europe (particularly Germany), the United States and Japan.

Herrigel’s most recent book, Manufacturing Possibilities: Creative Action and Industrial Recomposition in the U.S., Germany and Japan, applies pragmatist theories of creative social action to contemporary industrial transformation processes.

Currently, he is completing a book on recursivity and governance in the globalization of German manufacturing. He also is beginning a project to explore the intersection of public and private governance architectures in environmental, health and safety regulation in the Norwegian offshore oil industry.

In the face of pessimism regarding the future of manufacturing in developed countries, Herrigel aims to understand and identify possibilities for continued growth and employment by conceiving of contemporary manufacturing in a globally interactive way.

In addition to the books Herrigel has authored and co-edited, he has written numerous articles and book chapters and has edited a special issue of the journal Enterprise and Society.

Herrigel joined the UChicago faculty in 1989.

Harris School of Public Policy Studies

Konstantin Sonin, Professor of Public Policy, has been named the John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor.

A prominent scholar of Russian, Sonin’s research interests include political economics, development and economic theory and political economy. In recent years Sonin has focused on applying behavioral microeconomic concepts to an array of social and political phenomena, including corruption, dictatorship and the inequitable distribution of property.

His academic work has earned him three medals from the Global Development Network, best economist awards from the Russian Academy of Science in 2002-03, and the 2008 Ovsievich Memorial Prize in Mathematical Economics, given annually to a distinguished Russian scholar under 40.

Sonin’s papers have been published in leading academic journals of economics such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies and political science such as the American Political Science Review and American Journal of Political Science.

Sonin joined the UChicago faculty in 2015.

University of Chicago Law School

Daniel Abebe, Professor of Law, has been named the Harold J. and Marion F. Green Professor of Law.

Abebe’s research interests focus primarily on the relationship between the constitutional law of U.S. foreign relations, public international law and international politics; international courts and the structure of international organizations; and cyber warfare and presidential power.

He has taught foreign relations law, public international law, conflict of laws, international trade law, legal issues in international transactions, and refugee and asylum law, among other courses and seminars.

He is a contributor to a forthcoming book Why Comparative International Law Needs International Relations Theory, (Oxford University Press 2016) and two of his papers, “Cyber War, International Politics and Institutional Design” and “International Human Rights Law in Africa: Are Courts Effective,” will be published in the University of Chicago Law Review and the Virginia Journal of International Law respectively.

Abebe’s articles have appeared in the Chicago Journal of International Law, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Stanford Journal of International Law, the Supreme Court Review, and the Michigan Journal of International Law.

Abebe clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

He joined the UChicago Law School faculty in 2008.

Justin Driver, Professor of Law, has been named the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law.

Driver’s principal teaching and research interests include constitutional law, constitutional theory, education law and the intersection of race with legal institutions.

His writing has appeared in publications such as the University of Chicago Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Supreme Court Review, Harvard Law Review, and the New Republic.

His paper, “The Constitutional Conservatism of the Warren Court” (published in the California Law Review), was awarded the 2012 William Nelson Cromwell Article prize for the best article in American legal history published by an early career scholar.

Driver served as a law clerk to Judge Merrick B. Garland, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Driver joined the University of Chicago Law School faculty in 2014.

Aziz Huq, Professor of Law, has been named the Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law.

Huq’s teaching and research interests include constitutional law, criminal procedure, federal courts and legislation. His scholarship concerns the intersection of institutional design and individual rights and liberties.

He has been published in both leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals. His recent research articles have won the Association of American Law Schools’ Junior Scholars Paper Competition Award in Criminal Law and have been selected for the Harvard/Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum. His co-edited volume “Assessing Constitutional Performance” is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press this year.

Prior to UChicago, Huq litigated cases in both the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court. He also was a senior consultant analyst for the International Crisis Group, researching constitutional design and implementation in Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.

He clerked for Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Huq joined the UChicago faculty in 2009.

Ramakrishnan Professorship to support study of Sanskrit

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:00 -0600

As the University of Chicago prepares to celebrate two major anniversaries in South Asian studies, a new gift will help to ensure UChicago’s continued leadership in the study of the Indian subcontinent.

The Anupama and Guru Ramakrishnan Professorship in Sanskrit Studies, established by a $3.5 million gift from Guru and Anupama Ramakrishnan, supports a faculty member whose work focuses on the ancient classical language. Gary Tubb, professor in South Asian Languages and Civilizations and faculty director of the University of Chicago Center in Delhi, will be the first scholar to hold the new position.

The announcement of the Ramakrishnan Professorship comes as the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations celebrates its 50th anniversary, and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies marks its 60th year. An April 28-30 conference, “Sites of South Asian Studies,” will bring together top scholars in the field, including many distinguished UChicago alumni. A related exhibition, “Envisioning South Asia: Texts, Scholarship, Legacies,” is on view in the Library’s Special Collections Research Center throughout Winter Quarter.

“The University of Chicago is world renowned for its excellence in the scholarship of South Asia,” said Martha T. Roth, the Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor and dean of the Division of the Humanities. “Guru and Anupama Ramakrishnan’s generosity allows us to sustain that tradition and makes possible continued rigorous study of the cultural heritage of South Asia through its literary, religious and philosophical texts.”

Sanskrit is the language of the scriptures of the Hindu religion, as well as much of the literature of the Jains and Buddhists. In addition, many important works of poetry, philosophy, science, history, law, political theory, medicine and aesthetics were written in Sanskrit, the oldest literary language of South Asia. Sanskrit is also the longest continuously taught South Asian language at UChicago, having been offered since the first classes were held at the University in 1892.

Tubb first encountered Sanskrit as an undergraduate at Harvard University. He said he was attracted to the language because it provided “access to a long and rich history of human thought. Sanskrit really stands out among the world’s languages—alongside other classical languages—as being a single language that provides access to an extraordinarily broad range of texts and histories.”

A leading Sanskrit scholar, Tubb examines the tradition’s poetics, grammatical forms and commentarial traditions, and draws insights across the culture’s philosophy, religion and literature. Tubb is the author of Scholastic Sanskrit: A Handbook for Students. He is an editor and primary contributor in the book Innovations and Turning Points: Toward a History of Kavya Literature (Oxford University Press, Delhi). Another book, On Poets and Pots: Essays on Sanskrit Poetry, Poetics and Philosophy, is also forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Tubb praised the Ramakrishnan family for its support of Sanskrit scholarship. “It’s fortunate this professorship carries the name of people who have serious interest in and respect for the way Sanskrit is studied,” he said.

The Ramakrishnans’ gift is part of The University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact, which will raise $4.5 billion and engage 125,000 alumni by 2019. To date, the campaign has raised $2.82 billion and engaged more than 59,000 alumni.

Guru Ramakrishnan, MBA’88, is a founding partner at Meru Capital Group; Anupama Ramakrishnan is on the advisory board of the Agastya Foundation, a Bangalore-based NGO that funds and operates educational programs in rural India. The couple also supports a scholarship program for Indian students at Chicago Booth, the Guru and Anupama Ramakrishnan Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“We are delighted to fund this chair in Sanskrit—one of the oldest languages that has given the world the Vedas, Upanishads and other exceptional works of spirituality, poetry, music and dance. We are thrilled that Professor Tubb will be the first chair, especially in light of his lifelong dedication and passion for Sanskrit. Most importantly, the University of Chicago’s long-term commitment to scholarship in Sanskrit made it our institution of choice to partner with on this important initiative,” the Ramakrishnans said.

The University of Chicago is home to a rich array of resources for the study of the Indian subcontinent, including its Center in Delhi. Currently, more than 60 faculty members are engaged in the study of South Asian history, culture and language. The University offers instruction in nine modern and two classical Indian languages, including advanced instruction in less commonly taught languages such as Marathi and Telugu.

In 2012, a gift from the Indian Ministry of Culture established an annual one-quarter visiting professorship, the Indian Ministry of Culture Vivekananda Visiting Professorship, which brings to campus distinguished scholars in subjects such as Indian philosophy, politics and social movements.

The University of Chicago Library’s Digital South Asia Library provides access to research and reference materials on South Asia worldwide, and its celebrated South Asia collection holds more than 720,000 volumes.

Data science specialist Michael Franklin to lead computer science at UChicago

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 09:18 -0600

As part of a plan to greatly increase the scale, scope and impact of computer science research and education across the University community, the University of Chicago has appointed prominent data science scholar Michael Franklin to chair its Department of Computer Science and to serve as senior advisor to the provost on computation and data science.

Franklin will provide leadership for a major expansion in faculty, education programs and scientific directions of the computer science department, building upon ongoing data science projects and catalyzing the development of new collaborations within the University and with partners outside the University. Within UChicago these opportunities include the application of computation to biomedical sciences, the physical sciences, social science, applied social sciences and public policy; the Institute for Molecular Engineering, and the Computational and Applied Mathematics Initiative.

Data science is an expanding area of research among the University’s affiliated institutions, including Argonne National Laboratory, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., and the campus-based Toyota Technological Institute of Chicago. The University also is exploring new opportunities for innovation in data science, in collaboration with entrepreneurial and industrial partners across the region.

Franklin is ideally suited to lead these efforts, with more than 30 years of experience in the fields of database, data analytics, data management fields and distributed systems as an academic and industrial researcher, laboratory director, faculty member, entrepreneur and software developer. He is currently the Thomas M. Siebel Professor of Computer Science and chair of the Computer Science Division of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He directs Berkeley’s Algorithms, Machines and People Laboratory (AMPLab), a leading academic big data analytics research center, and serves as an executive committee member for the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, a campus-wide initiative to advance data science environments.

“Computation in its multiple forms continues to emerge as a powerful intellectual discipline and is increasingly essential for many new opportunities in research, education and impact across a wide range of fields. It has likewise become a key driver of entrepreneurial innovation,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “Mike’s outstanding scholarly work, his applied experience, his record of leadership and the ambition he brings make him a perfect fit for this new role. He will be a powerful advocate for computer science across disciplines within and beyond the University.”

“Mike’s appointment as chair and senior advisor to the provost on computation and data science reflects our commitment to sustain an ambitious, University-wide approach to computation and data science, which is increasingly critical for many disciplines,” said Provost Eric D. Isaacs. "His vision and broad experiences in research, education and innovation will help shape the University’s directions in computation and data science in the years ahead.”

Data science has become an integral part of innovation at universities and in other areas of society, Franklin said.

“UChicago is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in the emerging computational and data-driven world, due to its broad strengths and excellence across the spectrum of sciences, policy, business and medicine, and in recognizing the importance of collaboration and cross-fertilization across these domains,” he said. “These strengths, combined with its commitment to invest in the continued growth of the computational and data science fields on campus, lead to some truly transformational opportunities.”

An energetic entrepreneur in addition to his academic work, Franklin founded and became chief technology officer of Truviso, a data analytics company later purchased by Cisco Systems. He currently serves on the technical advisory boards of various data-driven technology companies, including Databricks, an AMPLab spinout based on the popular Apache Spark analytics framework that was developed at the lab.

AMPLab, which has 30 active industrial partners, including founding sponsors Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM and SAP, has received a National Science Foundation “Expeditions in Computing” award, which was announced as part of the White House Big Data Research Initiative in 2012. AMPLab has produced industry-changing open source software, including the Berkeley Data Analytics Stack—a set of software tools to help researchers and others make use of big data.

Franklin received his bachelor’s degree in computer and information science from the University of Massachusetts, his master of software engineering from the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies and his PhD in computer science from the University of Wisconsin.

Franklin is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and a two-time recipient of the ACM SIGMOD (Special Interest Group on Management of Data) “Test of Time” award. Among many other honors, he also has received the outstanding advisor award from Berkeley’s Computer Science Graduate Student Association.

The University already has major initiatives underway related to data science, and plans to expand and develop more such activities. Current significant initiatives include:

The Computation Institute, a joint effort with Argonne National Laboratory. Under the direction of Ian Foster, the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor, the institute has effectively undertaken a variety of large-scale computational projects such as Globus, which provides powerful tools that help researchers solve problems involving data-intensive research.
The NCI Genomic Data Commons, which will be launched by the National Cancer Institute to store and harmonize genomic data generated through NCI-funded research programs, is being built and will be maintained by the University.

The Computational and Applied Mathematics Initiative, launched by the Department of Statistics, brings sophisticated methods to the handling of large data sets in numerous scientific disciplines, including the study of protein dynamics and computational neuroscience.

“Mike Franklin brings the experience and the vision to further grow computer science into one of the top departments in the country, to expand computer science and computational science educational offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and to establish a vital computational culture throughout the University,” said Edward “Rocky” Kolb, dean of the Physical Sciences Division.