List of proposals accepted

Here is the list of proposals selected for immediate recruitment under the first round of Chancellor David Ward’s Sesquicentennial Hires program:

Chemical Biology (three positions): This new field studies the intersection of chemistry and biology, specifically the diversity of small molecules and their interactions with cellular proteins. This proposal will increase cell biology understanding and lead to new chemical discoveries in agriculture and medicine.

Chemistry (two positions): The department, ranked in the top 10 nationally, has not hired any faculty in the past six years, while its teaching credits have increased 43 percent. Targeted areas are biological, materials, environmental and computational chemistry.

Computer Engineering (two positions): The department will hire faculty with knowledge of electrical and computer engineering and computer sciences to maximize research potential. The faculty will also teach in the new computer engineering degree program.

Computer Science (two positions): As this field becomes increasingly competitive, the department will keep pace by hiring faculty to teach and do research in graphics, networking and possibly a third area not yet named.

Cosmology (two positions): In conjunction with the $100 million AMANDA neutrino telescope in Antarctica, the proposal will hire faculty to help assume the leadership in Antarctica astrophysics and high-energy astrophysics. The astronomy and physics departments will also benefit from the hires. Project AMANDA also contains unusually strong components to enhance undergraduate education and outreach to K-12 schools for improved science education.

Cultural Studies in Global Context (three positions): The proposal will establish an institutional presence for cultural studies in the humanities. It will enhance programming, link faculty from different departments and programs and provide international visibility for this new field of humanities research.

Economic Sociology (two positions): This proposal will bolster the economic sociology program and the sociology department, ranked as one of the top three in the country by The National Research Council. Economic sociology studies political and social institutions and how their practices shape and limit the production and exchange of economic values.

Food Safety (four positions): The details of this hybrid initiative are not yet ready for announcement.

Minimally Invasive Medical Technology (three positions): This proposal would link the expertise of the College of Engineering and the Medical School in minimally invasive surgery, biomaterials/tissue engineering, biomedical computing, biomedical visualization and medical imaging.

Religious Studies (four positions): This interdisciplinary program will seek to add faculty with expertise in the following categories: Islam and Society; Chinese/Japanese Religious History and Literature; Christianity and Society in Asia, Africa or Latin America, 1500-present; Theravada Buddhism; and Religious Ethics.

Structural Biology (three positions): This proposal targets faculty with teaching and research interests in x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, atomic force microscopy, computational biochemistry and other structural biology areas.

Visiting Artist (two positions): This proposal aims at creating an interdisciplinary visiting artist program under the direction of the Arts Institute.