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Cindy Fox Aisen
School of Science at IUPUI
caisen@iupui.edu
317-274-7722

Last modified: Monday, September 20, 2010

Record number of new faculty at IUPUI's School of Science

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 20, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- With increasing student interest in the life, mathematical, physical and psychological sciences, the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has opened its doors to sixteen new faculty members, including new department chairmen in biology and earth sciences.

IUPUI Science

The new faculty comes to the School of Science from posts at prestigious institutions as diverse as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, Yale and Harvard Universities, Colorado School of Mines, Indiana University School of Medicine, and eBay Research Labs.

Six of the School of Science's seven departments have named new faculty -- five in psychology, three each in biology and in math, two each in chemistry and in computer science and one in earth sciences.

This is a second year in a row the School of Science has recruited a record number of new faculty. During the 2009-10 academic year, thirteen were hired.

"We conducted rigorous national searches and received a large number of applications from extremely outstanding applicants. We are pleased to welcome all sixteen of these scientists whom our department chairs have selected to classrooms and laboratories throughout the school," said Bart Ng, dean of the School of Science and Marvin L. Bittinger Professor of Mathematical Sciences.

The new hires include individuals at the assistant professor, associate professor and professor rank. They are teaching undergraduates and graduate students as well as conducting research in laboratories in which they mentor students.

Among the new faculty are Simon Atkinson, chairman and professor of biology. He is an internationally respected researcher and teacher working in the field of kidney failure and the holder of several National Institutes of Health grants.

Joining the faculty as earth sciences department chair is Kevin Mandernack. He is a highly regarded scholar and teacher who works in a variety of critical areas including climate change, deep ocean drilling, water quality, and the changing biochemical processes impacting the geological record. He receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.

New junior faculty include analytic chemist Rajesh Sardar, who studies the fundamental properties of a wide range of nano-materials in work that could help in the discovery of alternative energy sources; computer scientist Gavriil Tsechpenakis, whose work in the area of respiration and brain function is aimed at helping to uncover potential therapies for disorders such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); and psychologist Elizabeth Poposki, who examines how social and demographic factors influence the process of balancing work and non-work goals.

Also among the new faculty are biologist Jason Meyer, whose work focuses on cell lines developed to study diseases of the retina; applied mathematician Giovanna Guidoboni, who studies mathematical modeling of blood flow in arteries; and psychologist Adam Hirsh, who develops novel technology employing virtual humans to investigate how healthcare providers assess pain and make decisions about its treatment. To learn more about the research of the new School of Science faculty go to https://www.science.iupui.edu/people/2010-2011-faculty.

"Our students and our faculty will benefit greatly from the talents these individuals bring to the School of Science. And their influence will be felt far beyond the school as they educate undergraduate and graduate students who will go out into the world, mentor postdoctoral candidates and faculty junior to themselves, develop collaborations on our campus and around the world, obtain patents, and expand knowledge," said Ng.

The School of Science at IUPUI

The School of Science at IUPUI is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service in the biological, physical, behavioral and mathematical sciences. The School is dedicated to being a leading resource for interdisciplinary research and science education in support of Indiana's effort to expand and diversify its economy. For more information visit https://www.science.iupui.edu.