To help introduce new members of the university's faculty to the Cornell community, the Cornell Chronicle is publishing brief new-faculty profiles through December.

Andronicos

Bean

Brainerd

Chen

Chusid

Cohen

Estroff

Fiskesjö

Gao

Gillespie

Givan

Heffetz

Howie

Huang

Kalnins

Lamarre

Lichter

Liu

March

McLeod

Nichols

O'Brien

Park

Reyna

Roberts

Thom

Turvey

Yehuda

Yuan

Zemke

Chris Andronicos, associate professor, earth and atmospheric sciences
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Structural geology and tectonics.
Previous position: Assistant professor, University of Texas-El Paso.
Academic background: Ph.D., geology, Princeton University, 1999; B.S., geology, University of New Mexico, 1995.
Last book read: "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov.
In his own time: Hiking, mountain climbing, cooking and eating.

Rachel Bean, assistant professor, astronomy
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Cosmology.
Previous position: Research associate, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 2002-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., 2002, and M.S., 1999, both in physics, Imperial College, London; B.A., Cambridge University, England, 1995.
Last book read: "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler (again!)
In her own time: Hiking.

Charles J. Brainerd, professor, human development
College: Human Ecology
Academic focus: Brainerd's research focuses on human memory and decision-making, statistics and mathematical modeling, psychological assessment, learning, intelligence, cognitive development, learning disability, child abuse, cognitive neuroscience, false memory and forgetting, judgment and decision making, psychology and law.
Previous positions: Professor of psychology, University of Texas, 2004-05; professor of surgery, University of Arizona, 2001-04; professor of educational psychology, University of Arizona, 1997-2004; professor of special education, rehabilitation and school psychology, University of Arizona, 1987-97; visiting professor, Southern Methodist University, 1986-87; Henry Marshall Tory Professor and director, Center for Research in Child Development, University of Alberta, 1983-86; professor, University of Western Ontario, 1976-83; visiting professor, University of Minnesota, 1980-81; associate professor, University of Alberta, 1973-76; assistant professor, University of Alberta, 1971-73; assistant professor, University of Windsor, 1970-71.
Academic background: B.S., psychology, 1966; M.A., psychology, 1968, Ph.D., experimental and developmental psychology, 1970, all from Michigan State University.
Last book read: "Hyperspace" by Michio Kaku.
On his own time: "Three outside interests: opera, opera and opera."

Peng Chen, assistant professor, chemistry and chemical biology
College: Arts & Sciences
Academic focus: Single molecule imaging studies of bioinorganic systems.
Previous position: Postdoctoral student, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 2004-05.
Academic background: B.S. Nanjing University, China, 1997; Ph.D., chemistry, Stanford University, 2003.
Last book read: Sorry, don't remember.
On his own time: Watching movies, reading novels about Chinese martial arts masters, trying different types of food and traveling.

Jeffrey Chusid, associate professor, historic preservation
College: Architecture, Art and Planning
Academic focus: Research interests include the fate of historic resources in areas of cultural exchange and conflict; social, economic, political and technological narratives found within built examples of California Modernism; conservation of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright; the protection of cultural landscapes, especially in established urban contexts; contemporary design and existing buildings.
Previous positions: Assistant professor and director, Historic Preservation Program, School of Architecture, University of Texas-Austin, 1997-2005; adjunct associate professor, School of Architecture, University of Southern California, 1983-97; architect in private practice engaged in design and preservation, 1985 to present.
Academic background: B.A., environmental design, 1978, and M.Arch., 1982, University of California-Berkeley.
Last book read: "The Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester.
On his own time: Chamber music, photography, road trips and other forms of travel.

Itai Cohen, assistant professor, physics
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Physics of soft condensed matter.
Previous position: Postdoctoral associate, Harvard University, 2001-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., physics, University of Chicago, 2001; B.S., physics, University of California-Los Angeles, 1995.
Last book read: "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene - but plans to read "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling next.
In his spare time: "I love making sculptures. I love playing squash, tennis and handball. I love watching really bad science fiction movies. I also enjoy reading fiction (my favorite author is Vinita Prabhakar ... my wife)."

Lara Estroff, assistant professor, materials science and engineering
College: Engineering
Academic focus: Estroff is interested in bio-inspired materials synthesis. She learns from biological materials such as seashells, teeth and bone and applies the strategies nature uses to materials synthesis in the lab. She also develops systems in the lab that can help answer questions about how nature creates the unusual structures such as sea urchin spines. Her work is a combination of organic synthesis, crystal growth, biology and materials science.
Previous position: National Institutes of Health-funded postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University in the laboratory of Professor George Whitesides in 2003-05.
Academic background: B.S., chemistry, Swarthmore College, 1997; After spending a year at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, she received her Ph.D. in chemistry at Yale University in 2003.
Last book read: "The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
On her own time: Gardening (mainly for food but also flowers and houseplants), hiking, camping, canoeing.

Magnus Fiskesjö, assistant professor, anthropology
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Historical and political anthropology, archaeology, China and Southeast Asia.
Previous position: Director, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden, 2000-05.
Academic background: B.A., Lund, Sweden, 1986; joint Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's departments of anthropology and East Asian languages and civilizations, 2000.
Last book read: "Sold for Silver: The Autobiography of Janet Lim."
On his own time: Enjoys spending time and exploring the world from the perspective of his son, who will soon turn 1.

Oliver (Huaizhu) Gao, assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering
College: Engineering
Academic focus: Transportation systems engineering, environment/energy and transportation systems.
Previous positions: Quantitative analyst, The Rohatyn Group, LLG, N.Y., April -June 2005; Postdoctoral researcher, University of Connecticut, 2004-05; Post-graduate researcher, University of California-Davis, 1999-2004.
Academic background: Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, University of California-Davis, 2004; M.S., agricultural and resource economics, and M.S., statistics, University of California-Davis, 2004; M.S., civil engineering, Tsinghua University, 1999; B.S., civil engineering, B.S., environmental science; Tsinghua University, 1996.
Last book read: "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century" by Thomas L. Friedman. "I love this book."
In his own time: Music, sports (tennis, swimming), outdoors (hiking, mountaineering) and cooking.

Tarleton Gillespie, assistant professor, communication (with an affiliation with the information science program)
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Controversies concerning copyright and the Internet, investigating the historical contestation over the nature of authorship and ownership, the character and characterization of new technologies and the regulation of communication through the arrangement of material technologies, legal constraints and political and economic institutions. Broader interests include peer-to-peer file-sharing debates, the mobility of technological metaphors and the critical discourse around technology, animation and children's media and the cultural implications of the First Amendment.
Previous positions: Visiting assistant professor, science and technologies studies with an affiliation with the information science program, Cornell, 2002-04.
Academic background: M.A. and Ph.D., both in communication, University of California-San Diego, 1997 and 2002, respectively; B.A., English, Amherst College, 1994.
Last book read: "The Anarchist in the Library" by Siva Vaidhyanathan.
In his own time: Shotokan karate, running, hiking with his wife and dogs, reading Salon.com, and movies.

Rebecca Givan, assistant professor, collective bargaining
College: School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Academic focus: Public sector employment, particularly in the United Kingdom; health-care reform and health-care providers.
Previous positions: Lecturer in employment relations, Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom, 2005; research officer, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, 2002-04.
Academic background: B.A., Oberlin College, 1993; Ph.D., Northwestern University, 2004.
Last book read: "Changing Places," by David Lodge.
In her own time: Knitting, reading fiction, following the fortunes of Newcastle United Football Club.

Ori Heffetz, assistant professor, economics
College: Johnson Graduate School of Management
Academic focus: The social and cultural aspects of economic behavior. Heffetz is interested in the use of consumption as a language to convey meaning and has explored phenomena such as the purchasing of goods to gain social status. His work examines how predictions about the behavior of economic agents change once the observation that economic decisions are always made in a cultural context is incorporated into models.
Previous positions: Lecturer, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, and teaching and research assistant, Princeton's Department of Economics.
Academic background: Ph.D., economics, 2005, Princeton University; M.A., economics, 2002, Princeton; and B.A., physics and philosophy, Tel Aviv University, 1999.
Last book read: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
In his own time: Travel (has been to 25 countries, five continents), exploring, listening or dancing to music, chilling and sipping coffee in a cafŽ with a good book, conversation or a Wi-Fi connection.

Cary Howie, assistant professor, Romance studies
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Medieval French and Italian literature, especially with regard to bodies, God and things that sparkle.
Previous position: Mellon postdoctoral fellow, Romance studies, Cornell, 2004.
Academic background: B.A., literature, Bard College, 1997; M.A., Ph.D., comparative literature, Stanford University, 1999, 2003, respectively.
Last book read: "XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits" by Timothy Greenfield-Saunders.
On his own time: Shopping, travel -- preferably to California or the Mediterranean -- and blasting music from the speakers of his little car.

Ming Huang, professor, finance
College: Johnson Graduate School of Management
Academic focus: Behavioral finance, in particular, the applications of cognitive psychology to understanding the pricing of financial assets. Huang also has worked on credit risk and derivatives, on the effects of illiquidity on asset prices and on the application of auction theory to takeovers.
Previous positions: Associate professor of finance, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, 2002-05; visiting professor of finance and associate dean, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, Beijing, 2004-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., finance, Stanford University, 1996; Ph.D., theoretical physics, Cornell, 1991; B.S., physics, Beijing University, 1985.
Last book read: "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis (a book he wishes Fred Wilpon, owner of Huang's favorite team, the New York Mets, could read and learn from).
In his own time: Enjoys wine, traveling and reading history books.

Arturs Kalnins, associate professor, strategic management
College: School of Hotel Administration
Academic focus: Hospitality, franchising and small business strategy with an emphasis on geographical issues. Specific projects include analysis of impact, agglomeration and immigrant-entrepreneur business groups in the lodging industry, franchisee selection and intra-brand competition within fast-food chains and development commitments in master franchising ventures.
Previous position: Assistant professor, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.
Academic background: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1988; MBA, Lehigh University, 1991; Ph.D., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 1998.
Last book read: "Glue" by Irvine Welsh.
On his own time: Swimming, bicycling, listening to classical, jazz, rock and world music.

Thomas Lamarre, associate professor, Asian studies
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: History of media and thought of Japan; writing of the Nara and Heian periods; ritual theory and practices; cinema, visual culture and novels of Meiji and Taish™ eras; history of science and radical empiricism; animation and new media; mass culture in relation to colonialism and cosmopolitanism.
Previous position: Associate professor, McGill University.
Academic background: M.A. and Ph.D., East Asian studies, University of Chicago, 1987 and 1992; M.S. and Ph.D., oceanology, Universite d'Aix-Marseille II, 1982 and 1985; B.S. biology, Georgetown University, 1981.
Last book read: "Ra ra ra kagaku no ko" by Yahagi Toshihiko.
In his own time: Swimming, diving and brushwork (calligraphy).

Daniel T. Lichter, professor and Ferris Chair, policy analysis and management, and director, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center
College: Human Ecology
Academic focus: Current research focuses on the long-term consequences of childhood poverty and family instability; patterns of mate selection and cohabitation; immigrant adaptation and assimilation and welfare policy.
Previous positions: Professor of sociology, Robert F. Professor in Population Studies, Ohio State University, 1999-2005; assistant to full professor of sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1981-99.
Academic background: Ph.D., sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981; M.S., sociology, Iowa State University, 1977; B.A., sociology, South Dakota State University, 1975.
Last books read: "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson; "Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration" by Richard Alba and Victor Nee.
In his own time: Bicycling and reading.

Petrus Liu, assistant professor, comparative literature
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Marxian economics, gendered subjects in (post-) colonial cultures, 19th- and 20th-century Chinese literary and intellectual thought, and popular culture of the Cold War.
Academic background: Ph.D., comparative literature (Chinese, Latin and German), University of California-Berkeley, 2005.
Last book read: "Shijian nuzi" by Su Weizhen
In his own time: Reading, writing and going to the gym.

John C. March, assistant professor, biological and environmental engineering
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: March's research focuses on metabolic signal transduction. Cellular populations respond to their environments through almost instantaneous signaling cascades, which can completely change cellular metabolism and physiology. March's lab is working to understand cellular metabolism and signaling and to use these systems to develop novel technologies.
Previous positions: Graduate research assistant, Center for Biosystems Research, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 2000-05; project biological engineer, American Technologies Inc., Aiken, S.C., 1996-2000; investigator, Enzyme Engineering, University of Georgia, 1993-96.
Academic background: Ph.D., chemical engineering, University of Maryland, 2005; M.S., biological engineering, 2000; B.S. biological engineering, 1996; B.A. English, 1991, all at the University of Georgia.
Last book read: "Plainsong" by Kent Haruf.
In his own time: Hiking, running, biking, camping, attending plays, writing, gardening and fishing with his wife and sometimes with his two very senior dogs.

Poppy McLeod, associate professor, communication
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: McLeod's research focuses on decision-making, communication and management of work teams, with particular emphasis on the role of technology.
Previous positions: Associate professor, organizational behavior, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 1997-2005; visiting assistant professor, communication, Cornell, 2004; Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration, Finland,1993-2000; associate professor, organizational behavior, University of Iowa Business School, 1992-97; visiting professor, Scuola di Direzione Aziendale dell'Università Commerciale, Luigi (SDA Bocconi), Italy, summer 1990; assistant professor, organizational behavior , University of Michigan Business School, 1985-92.
Academic background: B.S., psychology, Syracuse University, 1979; Ph.D., social psychology, Harvard University, 1985.
Last book read: "Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit" by Michael Ruhlman.
On her own time: Knitting, Argentine tango.

D. Craig Nichols, assistant professor, accounting
College: Johnson Graduate School of Management
Academic focus: Teaching interests are in all areas of financial accounting, particularly in financial statements analysis. His research interests include financial reporting and the role of accounting information in capital markets. Nichols is particularly interested in market efficiency, asset pricing, and the use of accounting information for predicting stock returns. He is a certified public accountant.
Academic background: bachelor's degree in commerce and business administration in accounting, 1997, and master's degree in tax accounting, 1998, University of Alabama; master's degree in business, Indiana University, 2003; Ph.D., accounting, Indiana University, 2005.
Past positions: Research assistant, Indiana University 2000-05; tax compliance and consulting, Arthur Andersen, LLP, 1998-2000.
Last book read: "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron" by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind.
On his own time: Spending time with wife, Molly, and daughters Hannah, 6, Kayleigh, 4, and April, 2.

Kimberly O'Brien, associate professor, nutritional sciences
College: Human Ecology
Academic focus: Current research focuses on mineral homeostasis, specifically that of calcium and iron metabolism in infants, children and pregnant and lactating women. Several studies are focused on maternal/fetal nutrient partitioning and the role of the placenta in nutrient transfer. These studies are undertaken in both developed and developing countries. Other interests include work addressing the impact of weightlessness on calcium metabolism and bone turnover during space flight.
Previous positions: Associate professor, Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1995-2005; National Research Service Award fellow, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Houston, 1993-95; Institutional Research Training Award fellow, metabolic analysis and mass spectrometry, National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1991-93.
Academic background: B.S., biology, University of New Hampshire, 1985; Ph.D., nutritional sciences, University of Connecticut, 1991.
Last book read: "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
On her own time: Reading, hiking and spending time with her family.

Travis Park, assistant professor, education
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Teacher education and leadership, particularly school-based agricultural education teaching methods.
Previous positions: Agricultural education instructor, Tri-County High School, Wolcott, Ind., 1997-2002; lecturer, teaching assistant and lab instructor, instructional planning, oral communication, agricultural and vocational education, University of Florida-Gainesville, 2003-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., agricultural education, University of Florida-Gainesville, 2005; M.S., 2002, and B.S., 1996, both in agricultural education, Purdue University.
Last book read: "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell.
In his own time: Reading, day trips and Cubs baseball.

Valerie Reyna, professor, human development
College: Human Ecology
Academic focus: Memory, judgment and decision-making.
Previous positions: Director, Center for Psychological Science, Law and Security and professor of psychology and of biomedical engineering, University of Texas-Arlington, 2003-05; director, Division of Learning, Technology and Assessment of Arizona Research Laboratories, director of the Informatics and Decision-Making Laboratory of Arizona Health Sciences Center, and professor of surgery, medicine, public health, biomedical engineering and of Mexican-American studies, women's studies, educational psychology, 1987-2003; senior research adviser to the assistant secretary for research, U.S. Department of Education, 2001-03.
Academic background: Ph.D., experimental psychology, Rockefeller University, 1981; B.A., psychology, Rockefeller University, 1976.
Last book read: "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius" by A. Scott Berg.
In her own time: Enjoys reading, meals and conversation with friends and family, and the excellent local ice cream.

Kenneth M. Roberts, professor, government
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Latin American politics, comparative political economy, party systems, labor and social movements.
Previous position: Associate professor, University of New Mexico
Academic background: Ph.D., Stanford University, 1992; B.A., Eckerd College, 1981.
Last book read: "The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta," by Mario Vargas Llosa.
In his own time: Hiking, traveling and watching his kids play soccer.

Julia Thom, assistant professor, physics
College: Arts and Sciences
Academic focus: Experimental high-energy physics
Previous position: Research associate at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Illinois, 2002-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., University of Hamburg, Germany, 1997. Research conducted at the Deutsches Electron Synchroton, Hamburg, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
Last book read: "Das ist die feinste Liebeskunst. 12 Shakespeare-Sonette" by Wolf Biermann.
In her own time: Music (violin), reading, poetry, painting (mostly oils, some pastels).

Calum Turvey, W.I. Myers Professor, applied economics and management
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Turvey's research focuses on agricultural finance, corporate finance, risk management, agricultural policies, agricultural business and science and technology. He is currently working on projects related to agribusiness finance, risk management, food policy, nutrition and obesity and agroterrorism.
Previous positions: Director of the Food Policy Institute, professor and chair, agricultural, food and resource economics, Rutgers University, 2002-05; assistant professor to full professor, University of Guelph, Canada, 1988-2002.
Academic background: Ph.D., agricultural economics, Purdue University, 1988; M.S., agricultural economics, and B.S., agricultural business, 1983, both at the University of Guelph.
Last book read: "John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics" by Richard Parker.
In his own time: Wilderness canoeing, scuba diving, reading and traveling.

Nir Yehuda, assistant professor, accounting
College: Johnson Graduate School of Management
Academic focus: Research is in the area of accounting information and capital markets, with a focus on the accounting for alliances and joint ventures. Teaching interests include financial accounting, financial statement analysis and equity valuation.
Academic background: Ph.D., accounting, Columbia University, 2005; MBA (summa cum laude), 2000, and B.A., accounting and economics (magna cum laude), 1994, Bar-Ilan University.
Last book read: "The Broker" by John Grisham.
In his own time: Running, swimming, reading and listening to old records.

Connie Yuan, assistant professor, communication
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Her research focuses on organizational knowledge management and social capital. Her current projects include studies of the use of communication technologies to facilitate group collaboration and the development of social capital within and across group boundaries. Her future research will examine the co-evolutionary dynamics between knowledge and social networks using both empirical data and agent-based modeling.
Previous positions: Visiting assistant professor, communication, Cornell, 2004-05.
Academic background: B.A., English and American literature, Beijing University, 1995; M.A., marketing communication, University of Connecticut, 1998; Ph.D., organizational communication, University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication, 2004.
Last book read: "My Life" by Bill Clinton.
On her own time: Cooking, home decoration and social dance.

Dina Zemke, assistant professor, hospitality
College: School of Hotel Administration
Academic focus: Hospitality facilities construction, management and renovation; the influence of the physical surroundings on human behavior. Teaches the course Hospitality Facilities Operations.
Previous position: Assistant professor, University of New Hampshire, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Department of Hospitality Management, 2003-05.
Academic background: Ph.D., University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 2003; MBA, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, 1990; B.S., Cornell, School of Hotel Administration, 1985.
Last book read: "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James.
In her own time: Travel