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Next STEPS

Meet Our Team

Current Committee Members


Next STEPS Committee Chair
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mahony Lab Website

 


Associate Professor of Physics


Associate Professor, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cindy Yuexing Gulis's faculty web page

As a member of the Next STEPS committee, Cindy Gulis is interested in improving diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM education. Her research focuses on the formation, evolution, and properties of galaxies and black holes by combining numerical simulations and multi-wavelength observations.

 


Associate Professor of Statistics
Ephraim Hanks' personal website

 

astro mahadevan
Suvrath
Mahadevan
Verne M. Willaman Professor
Email:
Phone:
814-865-0261
Interests:
Exoplanets, Astronomical Instrumentation, Large Scale Surveys , Astrophotonics, Astrobiology, Precision Measurements in Astrophysics

Professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

 


Assistant Professor, Psychology
Assistant Professor, Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Jes Matsick's faculty web page

As the Director of the Underrepresented Perspectives (UP) Laboratory, Jes Matsick’s research incorporates feminist perspectives into the social psychological study of stigma, with an emphasis on improving psychological outcomes for marginalized groups. She joined the Next STEPS committee to apply her knowledge and expertise to diversity-focused initiatives in ECoS, and she very much values the interdisciplinary partnerships created through this committee.

Jes is a recipient of Penn State's Graduate Mentoring Award in Psychology and the Academic Achievement Award from Penn State's Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, and she also advises Penn State's unique dual-title Ph.D. program in Psychology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the College of the Liberal Arts.

 


Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Timothy Meredith's faculty web page

Tim Meredith is excited to be part of the Next Steps committee, and is particularly interested in understanding best practices for equity, inclusivity, and excellence as it relates to the tenure-track faculty hiring and retention. Tim's research is focused on understanding microbial cell envelope structures, and their role in bacterial physiology and detection by immune system receptors.

 

schaak
Raymond
Schaak
DuPont Professor of Materials Chemistry and Associate Department Head for Research
Email:
Phone:
(814) 865-8600
Interests:
Inorganic, Materials, Nanoscience, Catalysis, Synthesis, Solid State

Dupont Professor of Materials Chemistry

Moriah Szpara.
Moriah L.
Szpara
Professor of Biology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Email:
Phone:
814-867-0008
Interests:
Neurovirology, Genomics of Pathogen Variation, Neuron-Virus Relationships, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology & Infectious Disease

Professor in the Department of Biology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Moriah Szpara lab website

 

Former Committee Members

  • Dave Hunter, Professor, Statistics, 2018-2024
  • Chad Hanna, Professor, Physics, 2021-2024
  • Tim Jegla, Associate Professor of Biology, Associate Department Head of Graduate Education, Biology, 2020-2024
  • Nate Brown, Professor, Mathematics, 2018-2021
  • Santhosh Girirajan, Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2018-2021
  • Jan Reimann, Associate Professor, Mathematics, 2018-2021
  • Sarah Shandera, Associate Professor, Physics, 2018-2021
  • Chuck Fisher, Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Senior Scholar, Biology, 2018-2019
  • Katriona Shea, Professor, Biology; Alumni Professor, Biological Sciences, 2018-2020
  • Bekki Dawson, Shaffer Career Development Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2018-2021
  • Lingzhou Xue, Professor, Statistics
  • Miriam Freedman, Professor, Chemistry