News

Dietrich School Faculty Member Awarded Sculpture Space Residency
Omid Shekari, Assistant Professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Studio Arts, was awarded a two-month residency in October and November at Sculpture Space in Utica, New York. A prestigious, international residency, Sculpture Space is invitational with small cohorts of artists - no more than six at a time. Sculpture Space provides specialized space for professional artists to focus on sculpture and connect with other artists, curators, and professionals in the field.

Dietrich School Faculty Member Featured in Pitt Research Newsletter
“Books are the material form in which ideas move around,” says Adam Shear. “If we know one individual’s reading, we can see a micro-history. If we aggregate the data of what books were owned by many individuals where and when, we can see broader trends.”

Dean Adam Celebrates Long-Time Staff
On Wednesday, September 27, Dietrich School and College of General Studies Dean, Adam Leibovich, hosted a celebration at the University Club to recognize staff members from both units who’ve reached service milestones of five, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50 years.

Dietrich School Faculty Member and Assistant Dean Joins AGU LANDIng Co-hort
Rosemary Capo, associate professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, has joined the second-ever cohort of the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences (LANDInG) Academy.

Applications Invited for Provost's Diversity in the Curriculum Awards
The Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum recognizes faculty who have taught a modified course or revised curricula to strengthen diversity and inclusion, resulting in changes of impact. Any full-time or part-time Pitt faculty member at the University may apply for this award. An information session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 21. The session will include an overview of the goals of the award, eligibility, application process, and selection procedures. Attendees can participate in a Q&A session at the end of the information session. A recording of the information session will be available.

Dietrich School Faculty Member Receives NEH Grant
Alison Langmead, director of the Visual Media Workshop in the Dietrich School's Department of History of Art and Architecture, received a $66,329 NEH grant for her project Teaching Art History with AI, which will convene college and university educators and develop open education resources on the topic.

Dietrich School Professor Awarded $1.5 Million from Air Force
W. Vincent Liu, a professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded $1.5 million from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to develop models in orbital physics.

Distinguished Professor Receives $260,000 Templeton Foundation Grant
Edouard Machery, distinguished professor in the Dietrich School's Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and director of Pitt’s Center for Philosophy of Science, was awarded a grant for $260,000 from the John Templeton Foundation.

Professor Emerita Wins Inaugural Poetry Foundation Award
Toi Derricotte, professor emerita in the Dietrich School's Department of English, has been named the inaugural co-recipient of the Poetry Foundation's Pegasus Award for Service in Poetry. Derricotte and her co-recipient, Cornelius Eady, are the founders of Cave Canem, established in 1996 to remedy the underrepresentation and isolation of African-American poets in the literary landscape.

New Faculty Onboarding Approach Emphasizes Long-Term Success, Support
The Dietrich School is starting the academic year with a fresh approach to faculty onboarding and a new just-in-time workshop series for Department Chairs.

Dietrich School Faculty Member Part of Pioneering Panel on Adolescent Social Media Use
Sophia Choukas-Bradley, assistant professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Psychology, served on an American Psychological Association presidential panel that created the first advisory of its kind for adolescent social media use.

Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching, Research, and Public Service Award Nominations Due October 13
The call for nominations for the annual Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching, Research, and Public Service Awards is now open. The closing date for letters of nomination for all three awards is Friday, October 13, 2023.

Dietrich School Faculty Member Reflects on the Link Between Hair and Sprituality
In a recent Tribune-Review article, Robin Brooks, associate professor of Africana Studies at the Dietrich School, said she manipulated her natural hair pattern when she was younger. Despite growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood, she utilized chemical relaxers on her hair until she was in college. That’s when she said she had a “spiritual awakening” and decided to wear her hair naturally curly.

Dietrich School Faculty Member Helps Change the Landscape of the National Mall
For nearly three decades, Dietrich School Professor Kirk Savage has been quietly studying the impetus and impact of public monuments and memorials. Now he's part of the effort to create a more inclusive, equitable and representative commemorative landscape on the National Mall.

Dietrich School Post-Doc Says We Should Investigate Saturn
Ian Flynn, a postdoctoral fellow in the Dietrich School's Department of Geology and Environmental Science, says that Saturn’s moon Enceladus has convincing evidence of life on it