News
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
In Science Paper, Dietrich School Chemists Describe New Process for Creating "Unnatural" Amino Acids
A study published in Science by a team including Dietrich School chemists describes a powerful new way to create “unnatural” amino acids, which could find use in protein-based therapies and open up novel branches of organic chemistry.
Student Chapter of Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Wins Award for Scientific Excellence
The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) student chapter at the Pitt earned the organization’s award for scientific excellence. Farjana Siddiqua, president of the chapter and a graduate student researcher in the Dietrich School's Department of Mathematics, accepted the honor for the group at the Mathematical Association of America MathFest on Aug. 4.
Dietrich School Faculty Member's Book Explores a City's Relationship with Graffiti Artists
In her forthcoming book, Caitlin Bruce, associate professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Communication, explores a Mexican city government’s shifting relationship with graffiti artists over an 18-year period. Bruce chronicles what happened when writers and officials in León, Mexico, introduced a legal graffiti program and its bearing on urban planning, local politics and gentrification.
Dietrich School Innovation in Education Winner to Create Open Educational Resource
Dietrich School teaching professor Gretchen Bender's project will create an Open Educational Resource — material available freely to other instructors in other schools — in what she calls an “anti-textbook” — “How to Talk with a Work of Art,” where “the methods of instruction are as vital as the content.” Bender is a faculty member and assistant chair in the Department of History of Art and Architecture.
Dean Leibovich Featured in Inside Research
Dean Adam Leibovich shares his thoughts about the Dietrich School’s expansive research initiatives, his goal of fostering cross-disciplinary discovery among faculty, and the important contributions made by undergraduate researchers.
Dietrich School Faculty Member Examines the Increase in Suicide Rates Among Black Youth
Kamesha Spates, William S. Dietrich II Chair and associate professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Africana Studies, recently led a team of researchers to a region of northeast Ohio where suicide rates among the local Black population had more than doubled from 2011 to 2021.