Several faculty members have been appointed to named professorships. All appointments are for a three-year term and became effective on July 1 unless otherwise noted.
Appointed to five-year Ford Foundation International Professorships were Professors Abhijit Banerjee of economics, John Dower of history and Barry Posen of political science. The Ford professorships were established to encourage research and scholarship in the international aspects of such areas as political science, economics, history, management and urban studies.
Assistant professors Pablo Boczkowski of the Sloan School of Management and Nergis Mavalvala of physics are Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professors. The chairs were established by the late Cecil Green (S.B. and S.M. 1924) and his wife, who were longtime friends and benefactors of MIT.
Lera Boroditsky, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, is the new Class of 1942 Career Development Professor.
Assistant Professor Vladimir Bulovic of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) has been named to the KDD Career Development Professorship in Communications and Technology. The chair was established in 1983 by the Kokusai Denwa Co., Ltd. of Tokyo as part of its 30th anniversary celebration.
Isabelle de Courtivron, professor of French studies in the foreign languages and literatures section and a 2003 McVicar Faculty Fellow, will hold the Ann Fetter Friedlaender Professorship in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS) for five years. The chair, established in 1992 in honor of former Dean Nan Friedlaender, traditionally rotates among the most deserving faculty in SHASS.
Olivier L. de Weck, assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems, has been named to the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professorship. The chair was established to promote manufacturing, in particular the Leaders for Manufacturing program, following Noyce's death in 1991.
Michael D. Ernst, assistant professor of EECS, has been named to the Douglas T. Ross Career Development Professorship of Software Technology. The chair was established with a gift from Ross (S.M. 1954).
Paula Hammond, associate professor of chemical engineering, is the newest Mark Hyman Jr. Career Development Professor. The chair was created in 1998 with a bequest from Hyman (S.M. 1939).
Assistant Professor Keith Hampton of urban studies and planning has been named to the Class of 1943 Career Development Professorship.
Henry Jenkins, professor of comparative media studies and literature, is the next holder of the John E. Burchard Chair for a five-year term. The chair was established with funds provided by the Arthur J. Conner (1988) Trust and named for Burchard (S.B. 1923), an architect who designed Hayden Library and the first dean of the School of Humanities, serving from 1948-64.
Assistant Professor Amy Keating of biology has been named the Robert A. Swanson Career Development Professor. The chair was established in 1986 by Swanson (S.B. 1969, S.M.) co-founder and CEO of Genentech, Inc.
Associate Professor of Literature Christina Klein is the next holder of the Mitsui Career Development Professorship for a two-year term. The Mitsui chairs were established in 1980 through a gift from the Mitsui Group, one of the largest and oldest industrial organizations in Japan.
Assistant Professor Leonid Mirny of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology has been selected to hold the Samuel A. Goldblith Career Development Professorship. The chair was created with a gift by friends of the late professor of food science and technology.
Erika Naginski of architecture has been selected to hold the Alfred Henry and Jean Morrison Hayes Career Development Professorship. The chair was created with a bequest from Alfred Hayes (S.B. 1929, S.M.) and his wife.
David Perreault, assistant professor of EECS, is the newest Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering. The chair was established by MIT in 1975 in honor of Soderberg's 80th birthday. Soderberg, who taught at MIT from 1938-1960, is noted for his pioneering work in the design and development of turbine engines.
Jonathan Rodden, asssociate professor of political science, was named to the Ford Foundation International Career Development Professorship. The chair was established by the Ford Foundation to encourage research and scholarship primarily in the areas of economics, political science and history, and is based in SHASS.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 24, 2003.
