Engaged Learning

USF Welcomes New Full-Time Faculty

Thirty-one professors are joining the USF community this fall.

July 27, 2022

College of Arts and Sciences

Amrita Bhattacharyya

Assistant Professor
Chemistry
Bhattacharyya, who holds a PhD in environmental chemistry from Pennsylvania State University, researches environmental geochemistry problems that are driven by climate change. Why USF? "I particularly like how the chemistry department fosters a culture that helps the students become self-learners and creates opportunities to participate in research projects."

Cody Carroll
Assistant Professor
Data Science / Mathematics & Statistics
Carroll, who holds a PhD in statistics from UC Davis, studies the treatment of complex-structured data that diverge from existing statistical methods. Why USF? "Beyond the incredible faculty and mission of USF, another major draw is the close ties the university shares with the industry and community of San Francisco. For math and statistics educators in particular, the data science revolution of the past 10 years has created a unique opportunity to modernize and reinvigorate our curriculum — so where better to do this than in the city that served as its epicenter?"

Robert Clements
Assistant Professor
Data Science
Clements, who holds a PhD in statistics from UCLA, investigates ways to help people live healthier lives and to help make the health system work better for everyone. Why USF? "Returning to academia has long been a goal of mine, the timing seemed about right after nearly ten years of working in industry, and so I jumped at the opportunity to join the faculty in the MSDS program at USF due to its great reputation and rigorous curriculum."

Mehmet Emre
Assistant Professor
Computer Science
Emre, who is a PhD candidate in the computer science program at UC Santa Barbara, converts C programs to Rust programs with safety guarantees by studying memory-use patterns in the programs. Why USF? "University of San Francisco emphasizes one-on-one attention between the professors and the students with small classroom sizes, as well as thinking of the student as a whole person rather than focusing on only the technical education."

Mustafa Hajij
Assistant Professor
Data Science

Hajij, who holds a PhD in mathematics from Louisiana State University, studies topological and geometric deep learning, topological data analysis, and geometric data processing. Why USF? "The excellent reputation of the MDSD faculty and staff and the strategic location of the program at the heart of SF, create a unique opportunity to train the next generation of data scientists."

Chloe Hunt
Assistant Professor
English

Hunt, who recently defended her dissertation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, researches identity formation in contemporary Black literature and television. Why USF? "Given the chaos and disillusionment in our current world, I look forward to joining an intellectual community that values empathy and critical thinking."

Arman Khachiyan
Assistant Professor
Economics

Khachiyan, a PhD candidate at UC San Diego, studies neighborhoods and employees most exposed to industrial transitions, such as climate adaptation and automation. Why USF? "There is excellent alignment between my interests and the department's needs. I feel that I will fit into the campus culture well, and I am eager to set roots in SF."

Robizon Khubulashvili
Assistant Professor
Economics

Khubulashvili, who holds a PhD in economics from Pennsylvania State University, focuses on applied and empirical microeconomics — in particular, behavioral market and platform design, experimental economics, industrial organization, and applied microeconomic theory. Why USF? "Because at USF, students want to learn. I have never seen students as engaged as they were during my teaching demo class."

Wan-Jun Lu
Assistant Professor
Media Studies

Lu, who holds a PhD in media and cultural studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, studies digital platforms and media systems, particularly within the context of inter-Asian and Asian-American fans. Why USF? "As a transnational media scholar and practitioner, I am excited to join the USF community to engage with a diverse body of students and faculty as well as explore and embrace different media and cultures around the world with them."

Akshay Pattabi
Assistant Professor
Engineering

Pattabi, who holds a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, researches ultrafast magnetic phenomena in picosecond and sub-picosecond timescales by exciting magnetic thin films with short femtosecond laser pulses and picosecond electrical pulses. Why USF? "I resonate with the department’s commitment to liberal arts pedagogy in engineering, and with its mission of incorporating social justice into technology while engaging with the broader San Francisco Bay Area community."

Jalel Sager
Assistant Professor
Energy Systems Management

Sager, who holds a PhD in the Energy and Resources Group from the University of California at Berkeley, was the founding director of the Vietnam Green Building Council, helping to drive the “green” technology forward in the country. He is also the founding director of B-Hear (Berkeley Hub for Energy Access Research) and the co-founder and former CEO of New Sun Road. Why USF? "USF provides a morally anchored platform where I can accelerate my work on training, technology, and research that contributes to the energy transition, while addressing climate and equity issues."

Steve Trettel
Assistant Professor
Mathematics

Trettel, who holds a PhD in mathematics from UC Santa Barbara, studies applications of geometric deep learning and sub-Riemannian geometry in classical physics. Why USF? "I am excited to join USF to share the immense beauty I find in mathematics, and to help students apply the clarity of thought earned through mathematical training to their individual missions to improve our world."

Nour Al-muhtasib
Assistant Professor
Biology

Al-muhtasib, who holds a PhD in pharmacology from Georgetown University, studies the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain structure important for reward and drug addiction. Why USF? "Making the world a more humane and just place has always been part of my principles and it is wonderful to be part of a university that has made it theirs, too. I am excited to work and get to know all the students."

Christina Lewis
Assistant Professor
Biology

Lewis, who holds a PhD in physiology from Colorado State University, has taught at Samuel Merritt University, where she was on faculty for 11 years, and more recently at St. Mary’s College of California and the University of California, Berkeley. Why USF? "USF is a dynamic and stimulating environment with a collective community responsibility and engagement that I admire. I am honored to join this community and be a part of the excellence that USF models and upholds."

Robert Boller
Assistant Professor
Rhetoric and Language

Boller, who holds a doctorate in the organization and leadership program from the USF School of Education, conducted research with Iraqis and Near East scholars in Amman, Jordan, in January 2005, just prior to Iraq’s first democratic elections. Why USF? "USF is actualizing our mission via a widely demonstrated re-commitment to Jesuit education, which has never been more relevant. I feel professionally invigorated as my personal values are aligned with my work."

Novella Carpenter
Assistant Professor
Environmental Studies

Carpenter, an EdD candidate in the School of Education at USF, is an urban homesteader and author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and The Essential Urban Farmer. Why USF? "We have an incredible urban agriculture minor with a great roster of professors. We have a seed library on campus headed by individuals who do an outstanding job of embodying the principles of seed sovereignty, and of course our USF community garden is the place where real-world learning happens. I adore our students and am always blown away by their dedication to social justice."

Philip Choong
Assistant Professor
Rhetoric and Language

Choong, a PhD candidate in English with an emphasis on rhetoric at Indiana University, analyzes the political economy of the neoliberal university and its undermining of liberal education. Why USF? "I’ve been impressed by USF’s commitment to teaching and learning through community engagement."

Melisa Garcia
Assistant Professor
Rhetoric and Language

Garcia, who recently defended her dissertation in English language and literature at the University of New Mexico, studies linguistic justice, multimodality, alternative discourses, Central American immigration, and autoethnography. Why USF? "As a Central American-American first-generation woman of color, accepting a professor position at USF will allow me to highlight the alternative rhetorics of underrepresented communities and develop pedagogical teaching models that challenge and disrupt the standard English speaking and writing expectations traditionally placed on BIPOC communities."

Carrie Hott
Assistant Professor
Art + Architecture, Design

Hott, who holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, explores the current and historic infrastructural systems that mediate our collective experiences and perceptions. Why USF? "I am at USF because I have the honor of teaching creative, committed, and a broadly diverse group of students each year."

Robert Moses
Distinguished Artist in Residence and Assistant Professor
Performing Arts & Social Justice

Moses, who is the founder of the dance company Robert Moses’ Kin, explores topics like oral traditions in African American culture, the work of author James Baldwin, the complexities of parentage and identity, and the abstract nature of personal experience. Why USF? "In this moment as we step away from civility, now when we are so fractured, so unforgiving of others, USF’s focus on social justice and being a part of an equitable world which honors us all is in line with my humanistic and artistic goals."

Jennifer Murphy
Assistant Professor
International Studies

Murphy, who holds a PhD in peace, conflict, and development studies at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain, studies culture, identity, and social change. Why USF? "To be part of a university team — students, faculty, and staff — on the cutting edge of social justice pedagogy and practice. When an opportunity like this presents itself, you don't ask yourself ‘why now?’ — you just take it!"

Patrick Murphy
Professor
Urban and Public Affairs

Murphy, who holds a doctorate in political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and an MPA at the University of Texas at Austin, seeks ways to improve the equity and efficiency of government finance systems, with an emphasis on taxes and budgeting. Why USF? “USF is a place where not only is it OK to say out loud that we need to improve the lives of those marginalized by our economic and political systems, but that emphasis is embedded in the DNA of the school.”

Zachary Reese
Assistant Professor
Psychology

Reese, a PhD candidate in social psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researches social comparison, competition, and romantic relationships. Why USF? "At every university, students learn how to ask and answer big questions, but the knowledge we gain often remains hidden within our insular intellectual communities. I'm grateful to start this next leg of my career at USF, where we are encouraged to use our knowledge to transform minds and structures."

Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Assistant Professor
MFA in Writing

Rojas Contreras, who holds an MFA from Columbia College, has published short stories that have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Buzzfeed, Nylon, and Guernica, among others. Why USF? "USF is a vibrant place, in the middle of the city, feeding off and back into the literary community."

Mark Taylor
Assistant Professor
Media Studies

Taylor, who holds an MFA from California College of the Arts, works as a filmmaker and visual artist. Why USF? "Solid as its bricks and steel are, USF is primarily an in-between place where students of all ages meet, exchange ideas, and inspire one another to become truer versions of ourselves."

Jennifer Tripp
Assistant Professor
Chemistry
Tripp, who holds a BS in chemistry from USF and a PhD in chemistry from UC Berkeley, has developed novel separation techniques for archaeological biomolecules. She has also studied how climate change during the end of the last glacial period affected human migration and cultural development. Why USF? “As an alumna of USF, I am very excited to share my skills and experience with the next generation of students, helping them to put their values into action."

Timothy Tung
Assistant Professor
Economics

Tung, who holds an MA in economics from USF, focuses on microeconomics, principles of macroeconomics, and graduate econometrics. Why USF? "The world needs students with USF ideals, motivation, and dedication to social justice now more than ever before."

Nico Wagner
Assistant Professor
Biology

Wagner, who holds a PhD in biology from Harvard University, studies RNA, translational recoding, and structural biology. Why USF? "From the very beginning, I was amazed by the student diversity on campus. Joining now was great, as students were transitioning out of remote learning, eager to get back in the lab and classroom for in-person instruction."

School of Education

David Alexander Philoxène
Assistant Professor
Teacher Education

Philoxène, who holds a PhD in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley, focuses on critical geographies of race and violence, including how Black youth experience, locate, and practice safekeeping.

School of Management

Kelly Weidner
Assistant Professor
Marketing

Weidner, who holds a PhD in marketing from the University of Illinois in Chicago, has published research in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Product and Brand Management, among others. Why USF? "Working with USF's students to address some of the business and marketing challenges in today's society will be an exciting perk of joining the faculty of the School of Management."

Esmat (Yasi) Sangari
Assistant Professor
Business Analytics and Information Systems

Sangari, who holds a PhD in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University, researches supply chain management, operations management, omnichannel retail management, management science, and analytics. Why USF? "The location of USF provides faculty and students with an unparalleled opportunity to collaborate with a wide variety of businesses and bridge the gap between academia and industry. It is my great pleasure to teach and mentor the diverse community of students at USF and help with training the next generations of business experts."

School of Law

Luke Boso
Assistant Professor
School of Law

Boso, who holds a JD from West Virginia University, teaches Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Criminal Law, Education Law, Family Law, and Remedies. Why USF? "I sought out USF because of its diverse student body, commitment to social justice, and location in one of the most progressive cities in the world. I am so happy to be joining the tenure track at this moment in time because the U.S. commitment to both democratic norms and civil rights for historically marginalized groups is seemingly unraveling, and USF is the perfect place to train future leaders to fight for equity and justice."

Juan Carlos Ibarra
Visiting Professor
School of Law

Ibarra, who holds a JD from Columbia Law School, teaches students how to analyze legal issues in a range of subjects, including wills and trusts and community property. Why USF? "Given the many challenges faced in our world today, helping to train my students as attorneys and leaders in the legal profession is one of the most meaningful things I can do."

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USF Welcomes New Full-Time Faculty

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