Northeastern welcomes new faculty by News@Northeastern - Contributor September 6, 2017 Share Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Northeastern welcomes an impressive group of new faculty across many disciplines for the 2017-18 academic year. Here, we profile some of these professors and highlight their research, teaching, and journeys to Northeastern. Christoffer Holmgård Bots for play: Professor uses AI to design video gamesAssistant professor Christoffer Holmgård, who joined Northeastern’s faculty this semester, is using artificial intelligence to study and improve how video games are designed and played. Read more Aron Stubbins Carbon expert studies Earth’s coldest rivers to understand a warming globeNew faculty member Aron Stubbins studies how carbon moves off the land into rivers, where it eventually gets converted into carbon dioxide-a greenhouse gas that’s causing global warming. Read more Samuel Scarpino Professor puts research into action to stop spread of diseaseWhen comparing chefs to scientists, most people associate the former with being “creative” and the latter with being “rigorous.” But Samuel Scarpino doesn’t buy it. He’s a scientist with a passion for cooking, and he sees parallels between the two occupations. The fall, he joined the faculty in the College of Science.” Read more Joshua Gallaway The battery whispererJoshua Gallaway, an electrochemist who joined the faculty this fall. Understanding how batteries work—and what will make them run better and longer—is the crux of his research. Read more Shalanda Baker Professor finds passion in energy justice lawIn 2009, Shalanda Baker left her job as a project finance lawyer at a big global law firm and booked a one-way ticket to Latin America. If not for this bold move, she might not have been named professor of law, public policy, and urban affairs at Northeastern this fall. Read more Ang Li Architecture professor explores ‘alternate endings’ for buildings, materialsIn a world that can be messy and chaotic, new faculty member Ang Li looks for loops and loopholes. That is, loops in the life cycle of buildings and building materials, and loopholes where architects like her can intervene to make the process more sustainable, equitable, and community-centric. Read more Samuel Chung Professor seeks ‘flashes of insight’ in regeneration research, innovative opticsSamuel Chung, a newly appointed assistant professor of bioengineering, will pursue two research tracks in his ISEC lab: neurogeneration and optics. “The long-term goal of my research,” he says, “is to look for ways to stimulate central nervous system regeneration in people with spinal cord injuries.” Read more Benita Bamgbade Removing stigma from the patient-pharmacist relationshipBenita Bamgbade knew what the medical literature said. Pharmacists don’t counsel patients with mental illness as often as they counsel others. But Bamgbade, an assistant professor who joined Northeastern’s faculty this fall, says the problem can be overcome. Read more Meg Heckman Journalism grad returns to Northeastern to train next generation of digital storytellersMeg Heckman spent more than 10 years working at a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in New Hampshire. But her drive to train the next generation of journalists to excel in the digital age compelled her to seek out a career in higher education. She landed at Northeastern this fall, when she joined the faculty in the School of Journalism’s Media Innovation program. Read more Ted Landsmark For public policy leader, ‘caring about other people is intrinsic to the work we’re doing’Ted Landsmark joined Northeastern this year as Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the new director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. His diverse career has included everything from blacksmithing to lawyering. The guiding principle over the years, though, has been his passion for social justice and equality. Read more Woodrow Hartzog The evolving laws and rules around privacy, data security, and robotsWoodrow Hartzog, who joined Northeastern’s faculty this fall, studies the problems that arise when personal information is collected using new technologies. “Information is power, and when other people collect it they have power over us and that leaves us vulnerable,” he says. Read more Ajay Satpute Exploring emotion in the brainBeauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what role does the brain play in shaping subjective experience? Ajay Satpute, assistant professor in the College of Science, explores this puzzle through the interplay of psychology and neuroscience. Read more Lichuan Ye Trailblazing the way to a better night’s sleepMost guidelines suggest adults get six to eight hours of sleep each night. Lichuan Ye, associate professor in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, thinks about sleep for much longer than that each day. Indeed, her research focuses on promoting better sleep, and managing sleep disorders. Read more Charn McAllister From the Army to academia: One professor’s journeyCharn McAllister enrolled at West Point in July 2001, just two months before 9/11. During a tour of duty in Iraq, a phone call from his wife changed his professional ambitions. Now, nearly a decade after that call, he’s a newly appointed faculty member in the D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Read more