Tenure-Track Appointments:
Assistant Professor of Physics
Don Fahey's research centers on quantum sensing and measurement. His work develops techniques to exploit quantum resources in solid-state crystals and atomic vapors to build better sensing technology, as well as probe fundamental questions of measurement relating to entanglement and exotic quantum states. Long-lived quantum coherence and interaction in portable, room temperature systems is of particular interest, as well as extending atomic, molecular, and optical techniques to novel systems. Fahey's applied research is inherently cross-disciplinary, as new sensing modalities (such as the Quantum Diamond Microscope) enable advances in other scientific fields, e.g. rock magnetism, bio-magnetism, and condensed matter. He trained with Nobel Laureate Bill Phillips at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joint Quantum Institute, has published on a variety of topics, and was most recently a principal scientist at a deep tech startup.
Fahey's teaching revolves around cultivating curiosity and examining mental models. As a teacher-scholar, he strives for inclusivity in the classroom and lab, with the goal of making the next generation of scientists more representative.
Assistant Professor of Literatures in English
Sophia Mao's research and teaching interests include contemporary Asian American literature, 20th- and 21st-century Global Anglophone literature, affect theory, and media studies. She is working on a book manuscript entitled Feeling Onwards: Model Minority Affects in Contemporary Asian American Literature that argues that contemporary Asian American narratives surrounding upward mobility utilize unique affective strategies that sidestep, without denying, racial trauma as an origin story of Asian America.
Additional projects include one on Asian American care workers and emotional labor that asks how fictional narratives comment on the devaluation of Asian care work; another examines how Buddhist mindfulness practices produce a distinct Asian American literary form and politics. Sophia's work can be found forthcoming in The Journal of Asian American Studies and published in Amerasia, ASAP/J, and The Georgia Review.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Chaegeun Song's research focuses on developing novel statistical methods for analyzing complex, high-dimensional data of various types. Song works at the intersection of dimension reduction, statistical machine learning, and uncertainty quantification, particularly in handling mixed predictors. As data grows larger and more complex, traditional statistical approaches often fail to capture the relationships between variables or become computationally ineffective. This motivates his work on sufficient dimension reduction methods to find a lower-dimensional representation of the predictor variables that retains all the information about the response variable.
Song's teaching centers on empathy, which allows him to connect with his students by recalling his own struggles and triumphs in learning. He aims to foster statistical thinking, and strives to equip students with statistics and data science to think critically about data, make informed decisions, and communicate their findings effectively. Through a data-centered approach, Song creates learning experiences that move beyond textbook problems to real-world applications, emphasizing hands-on experience with real datasets.
Assistant Professor of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies
Benjamin Eldon Stevens (Ph.D. University of Chicago, B.A. Reed College) works on 'classical' Latin literature, especially epic and lyric poetry; Roman culture and the many sub(cultures) of the Roman Empire; 'classical reception studies,' i.e., how ancient materials are transmitted and transformed in modern genres and media, especially science fiction, fantasy, horror, film, and games; Underworld journeys and other depictions of the afterlife; and cultural histories of the senses, including silence.
Beyond scholarly articles, Stevens is the author of Silence in Catullus and co-editor of four volumes of essays on receptions: Classical Traditions in Science Fiction, Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy, Frankenstein and Its Classics: the Modern Prometheus from Antiquity to Science Fiction, Once and Future Antiquities in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Memories of Antiquity: Classical Reception and Memory Studies. He is also a published translator of literature in French and Spanish.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Eugenia Vasileiadou's research is focused on Inorganic Materials Chemistry. Her research provides novel (nano)materials for energy-conversion and energy-storage by tailoring the syntheses, crystal structures and device fabrication to extract the fundamental structure-property relationships governing the studied materials. Additionally, her work studies how to harness the stability, optoelectronic and electrochemical properties for targeted design synthesis-application. The Vasileiadou lab will use structural synthetic chemistry for the discovery of new materials to realize a sustainable energy and environmental landscape. Students will learn how to rationally design new functional inorganic materials, combining synthetic inorganic chemistry, solid-state chemistry and physical chemistry. Furthermore, students will be adept in the spectroscopic characterization of the solution-processable semiconductors and the energy-storage materials they create to develop efficient solar cells, LEDs, batteries and bioimaging contrast agents.
Vasileiadou's teaching interests are centered in the sub-areas of General, Inorganic, Materials and Environmental Chemistry that involve the topics of crystallography, renewable energy chemistry, environmental sustainability, archaeological materials chemistry and art conservation science. Vasileiadou has received formal pedagogical training over the course of three years at Northwestern’s Searle Center for Advanced Learning and Teaching in parallel to her Ph.D. training. She completed the year-long teaching certificate program, conducted an IRB-approved pedagogical research study as a graduate teaching fellow, and served as a teaching consultant for the Searle Center. Vasileiadou is passionate about pedagogically-based and data-driven DEI programming to increase the representation of women and other minorities in STEM fields, where she continues to publish and develop curricula in these areas.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Xiaogao Zhou (He/They) studies how medical knowledge around gender and sexuality transforms social institutions. His current book project examines how medical institutions in China achieve transgender inclusion by adapting and reinterpreting global medical norms. His recent research also investigates institutional changes through the experiences of gender and sexual minorities. His work has received awards from five sections of the American Sociological Association, and has appeared in journals such as Social Problems, Social Science & Medicine, and the Journal of Homosexuality.
Zhou's teaching philosophy emphasizes fostering students' sociological imagination—the ability to analyze individual experiences within the contexts of social forces in a global world. He is excited to work with Bryn Mawr students to explore how gender and sexuality shape our experiences of the world, as well as the social forces that influence communities' experiences of health and medicine.
