Since the end of the last academic year, promotions of 15 members of the faculty from associate professor with tenure to full professor have been reported to the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation. All are effective July 1, 2001 unless otherwise noted.
Twenty-three assistant professors were also promoted to associate professor without tenure.
Those promoted to full professor are:
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Dr. Jung-Hoon Chun in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Professor Chun is internationally known for his innovative work in materials processing technologies such as droplet-based manufacturing, mixalloy process, X-ray CT detection of solidification front in metal casting, extrusion coating of photoresist on silicon wafers in a solvent-mediated environment and chemical mechanical planarization, all of which have been adopted by industry.
He is the architect of 2.891 (Management for Engineers), a popular elective, and of the undergraduate core course 2.008 (Design and Manufacturing II). He also serves as co-director of the Manufacturing Institute and is active in the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA).
Professor Chun received a bachelor of science degree from Seoul National University in 1976, a master of applied science degree from University of Ottawa in 1980 and the PhD from MIT in 1984. He joined the MIT faculty as an assistant professor in 1989 after serving as a vice president in industry from 1984-89.
Dr. David G. Cory of the Department of Nuclear Engineering. A member of the department's Radiation Science and Technology program, Professor Cory and his colleagues work to advance the methodology, instrumentation and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). An example of recent interest is using NMR as a testbed for quantum information processing, a joint effort with Dr. Timothy Havel and Professor Seth Lloyd. Professor Cory received the BA (1981) and the PhD (1987) from Case Western Reserve University. He came to MIT in 1991 as a lecturer in nuclear engineering. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1992, associate professor in 1996 and associate professor with tenure in 1998. He is collaborating in efforts to restructure the undergraduate curriculum and has introduced a new hands-on laboratory subject (22.058, Principles of Imaging) with Professor Derek Rowell of mechanical engineering.
Dr. M. Frans Kaashoek in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Professor Kaashoek, regarded as one of the top young researchers in computer systems, builds high-performance, reliable and working systems. Current projects include SFS, a secure, decentralized global file system; Chord, a scalable peer-to-peer system; and RON, a resilient overlay network.
A dedicated lecturer and mentor, Professor Kaashoek has reshaped with Professor Emeritus Jerome Saltzer one of the department's largest undergraduate courses, 6.033 (Computer System Engineering) and is developing a new graduate subject with colleague Robert Morris. In 2000, Professor Kaashoek won the MIT IEEE award for undergraduate advising. He received graduate and PhD degrees from Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands in 1988 and 1992. He joined MIT as an assistant professor in 1993.
Dr. Anne M. Mayes in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Author or co-author of more than 50 publications and six patents or patents pending, Professor Mayes conducts research in self-organizing polymer systems with special emphasis on block copolymers and polymer surface modification. Her educational and research activities extend across the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the Program in Polymer Science and Technology, and the Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Health (BEEH).
Among other inventions, Professor Mayes developed a way to dramatically enhance the performance and lifetime of water filtration membranes and also to give those membranes additional applications. For example, her team has made biodegradable porous membranes that encourage the attachment of living cells -- a key requirement for tissue engineering -- in collaboration with Linda Griffith, associate professor in BEEH. Professor Mayes earned the SB from MIT in 1986 and the PhD from Northwestern University in 1991. She joined MIT as an assistant professor in 1993.
Dr. Gareth H. McKinley, the Lord Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. A highly respected scholar in fluid mechanics and rheology, Professor McKinley came to MIT as an associate professor with tenure in 1997. He was an assistant and associate professor of natural sciences at Harvard University from 1991 until July 1997.
He conducts research on the properties of non-Newtonian fluids and on hydrodynamic instabilities that develop at very low Reynolds numbers due to the elastic nature of the polymeric material. Combining fundamental concepts from fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, constitutive modeling and rheology with modern electro-optical diagnostic techniques, Professor McKinley performs quantitative investigations of a wide variety of non-Newtonian flows. Additional interests include the extensional rheology and spinnability of biological fluids, adhesives and foodstuffs. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in 1985 and 1986 from Cambridge University in England and the PhD in 1991 from the Program in Polymer Science and Technology at MIT.
Dr. Ian Waitz of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Professor Waitz is interested in aeronautical propulsion, as well as the environmental impact of aircraft and the development of appropriate policy recommendations for noise and atmospheric pollution relating to aircraft. In particular, he has developed methods for making aircraft engines quieter, and has contributed to understanding processes in engines that lead to the emission of pollutants. His pioneering work in microcombustion helped lay the foundation for a new technology of microheat engines.
Professor Waitz holds the BS (1986) in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University, the MS in aeronautics (1988) from George Washington University and the PhD in aeronautics (1991) from the California Institute of Technology. He was appointed to the MIT faculty in 1991 as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in 1997 and received tenure in 1998.
Dr. Jackie Y. Ying, the St. Laurent Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. An internationally recognized expert in the synthesis of inorganic nanostructured materials and in the application of these materials as catalysts in chemical processes, Professor Ying has built a research program that has produced exciting new materials.
These include nanocrystalline catalysts for environmental catalysis and energy generation, novel nanoporous catalysts for fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals synthesis, nanocomposites for thermoelectric and magnetic/optical applications and nanocomposites of bioceramics for orthopedic implants. She has introduced new reaction engineering experiments into the core undergraduate laboratory subjects. She led the creation and serves as the chair of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) Program on Molecular Engineering of Biological and Chemical Systems.
Professor Ying received a bachelor of engineering degree (1987) from Cooper Union in New York City, and master's (1988) and PhD degrees (1991) in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She joined MIT as an assistant professor in 1992.
HARVARD/MIT DIVISION OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Dr. Elazer R. Edelman of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), effective July 1, 2000. Dr. Edelman has been associated with HST since 1989, serving in many different capacities, most recently as director of the Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center. He is an internationally recognized expert in vascular biology and bioengineering who integrates skills as an engineer, biologist and clinician in studying mechanisms of arteriosclerosis and vascular repair. He holds four degrees from MIT -- SBs in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and in applied biology, both in 1978; the SM in EECS in 1979; and the PhD in medical engineering and medical physics in 1984 -- as well as the MD from Harvard (1983). He did his residency in internal medicine and held a fellowship in cardiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Professor Edelman is also now an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician within the Cardiovascular Division of Brigham and Women's and its coronary care unit.
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Sabine Iatridou of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Professor Iatridou, a leading researcher in syntax, morphology and semantics, works in a field that she has helped to invent. Described as the "world's first morphosemanticist," she is also a leader in Greek and Balkan linguistics. Professor Iatridou received the DDS from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki in 1982 and the PhD in linguistics from MIT in 1991. She came to MIT as an associate professor of linguistics in 1997. Previously, she was an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania (1991-97).
Dr. Stephen Yablo of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Professor Yablo's fields of research are metaphysics and epistemology, philosophy of mind and philosophical logic. A member of the editorial review board for Philosophical Studies, he has served as a referee for a dozen different philosophical journals and for the MIT Press, Cambridge University Press and Harvard University Press. He has written influential papers on a wide range of metaphysical problems. Professor Yablo received the BSc in mathematics and philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1979, a degree in philosophy from the University of Pune, India, in 1980 and the PhD in philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. He was assistant professor (1986-92) and associate professor (1992-98) at the University of Michigan. He came to MIT as an associate professor in 1998.
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
Dr. Nancy Kanwisher of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Professor Kanwisher studies mechanisms of visual cognition in the human brain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), she has shown that high-level object recognition is a modular process, and has demonstrated the existence of two key modules -- the fusiform face area (FFA), which responds to faces, and the parahippocampal place area (PPA), which is specialized for recognition of spatial layout. Professor Kanwisher received the BS in biology from MIT in 1980 and the PhD in cognitive psychology, also from MIT, in 1986. After teaching for four years at UCLA, she joined the Harvard University faculty in 1994. Professor Kanwisher came to MIT as an associate professor in 1997. She received the NAS Troland Research Award in 1999, the NIMH FIRST Award (1988-92) and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1986-88). She was recently appointed an investigator in the McGovern Institute for Brain Research.
Dr. Robert D. van der Hilst, the Kerr McGee Associate Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and associate director of the Earth Resources Laboratory, effective January 16, 2001.
A seismologist whose research bridges geodynamics, tectonics, geochemistry and laboratory experimentation, Professor van der Hilst's research has had a major impact on understanding the dynamical processes in the Earth's mantle and core.
Professor van der Hilst received master's degrees in geology (1982) and geophysics (1986) and the PhD (1990) from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He joined MIT as an assistant professor in 1996, was promoted to associate professor in 1998 and received tenure in 1999. He received the 1997 Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and a 1998 Packard Fellowship, and was named a Fellow of the AGU in 1997. In 1996, he received the Doornbos Memorial Prize from the International Association of Seismology and the Physics of the Earth's Interior.
SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Dr. Erik Brynjolfsson. Professor Brynjolfsson, a leading researcher on the economics of information technology and the Internet, is codirector of the Sloan School's Center for eBusiness@MIT. He explores how advances in information technology contribute to organizational change and performance, and he developed a new pricing model for information goods sold on the Internet. In a related project, he is assessing how investments in computers and networks affect organizational structure, labor demand and business performance. His research has been re-cognized with nu-merous awards, including the John D.C. Little Award for Best Paper in Marketing Science and the WISE award for Best Paper in Information Systems and Economics. Professor Brynjolfsson received the AB in applied mathematics and the SM in decision science from Harvard University (both in 1984), and the PhD in managerial economics from the Sloan School in 1991. He joined the MIT faculty as an assistant professor in 1990. In 1995 he was promoted to associate professor, receiving tenure in 1997.
Dr. Steven Eppinger, the GM LFM Professor of Management in the Sloan School and the Engineering Systems Division. Dr. Eppinger is director of the Center for Innovative Product Development and has been named codirector of the Leaders for Manufacturing Program/System Design and Management Program (LFM-SDM) effective July 1. His research, which focuses on improving product development processes for complex products such as automobiles and airplanes, has been put to use in MIT's International Motor Vehicle Program, the Ford-MIT Alliance and the Lean Aerospace Initiative. He received an award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his research in design theory and methodology, and teaching awards from the Sloan School and the Graduate Student Council. Dr. Eppinger earned three degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT: the SB in 1983, SM in 1984 and ScD in 1988. He became an assistant professor of management in 1988 and was promoted to associate professor in 1993, receiving tenure in 1996.
Dr. Wanda J. Orlikowski. Professor Orlikowski received two degrees from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa: the BComm in business information systems in 1978 and the master's in 1982. She received the PhD in information systems from New York University in 1988. She joined the MIT faculty in 1989 as assistant professor of information technologies and became the Gordon Y Billard Career Development Associate Professor in 1994, receiving tenure in 1996. She was awarded the Eaton-Peabody Chair in Communication Sciences in 1999. Professor Orlikowski's work has made substantial contributions to the understanding of the relationship between organizational change and information technology, articulating its dynamic, context specific and reciprocal nature. She is now leading a five-year project on the social and economic implications of Internet technologies, funded by the National Science Foundation.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 25, 2001.
