Campus news

Meet UC Berkeley’s new faculty

Learn more about the newest members of the Berkeley family here.

Below, we’ll be spotlighting new faculty hires across UC Berkeley throughout the 2024-25 year. Click here if you or someone you’ve hired would like to be featured.

Photo by Kendrick J. Canizales

Name: Stephanie L. Canizales
Discipline: Sociology
Degrees: PhD 2018 University of Southern California, MA 2013 University of Southern California, 2013, BA 2011 UCLA
Research interests: Stephanie specializes in the study of international migration and immigrant integration, with particular interest in the experiences of Latin American-origin immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Over the last decade, she has focused her work on the migration and coming-of-age of unaccompanied children from Central America and Mexico in California and Texas.


Photo by Adam Lau

Name: Negar Mehr
Discipline: Mechanical Engineering
Degrees: PhD 2019 UC Berkeley, BS 2013 Sharif University of Technology
Research interests: The goal of my research is to develop algorithms that enable robots to safely and intelligently interact with humans and other robots.
Hobbies: Baking and painting are my hobbies!


Photo courtesy of ChIPs

Name: Colleen Chien
Discipline: Law
Degrees: BS and AB 1996 Stanford, JD 2002 Berkeley Law
Research interests: Innovation law and policy for advancing the safe and beneficial development of technology for all, with a focus on intellectual property and the criminal justice system.
Hobbies: Hiking, food, friends.



Photo by Allison Yin

Name: Moi Exposito-Alonso
Discipline: Biology, Genomics, Ecology, Evolution
Degrees: PhD 2018 Max Planck Institute
Research interests: Through the lens of evolution, climate change is an agent of natural selection that forces populations to change and adapt, or face extinction. Focused on plants, we bridge genomic technology, experimental ecology, and biodiversity modeling to understand whether and how species may evolve to climate change.


Photo by Chengyuan Wei

Name: Lining Yao
Discipline: Design, Mechanical Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science
Degrees: PhD 2017 MIT
Research interests: Her research explores the positive impact of active and morphing materials on sustainable design across different scales and contexts. Her work focuses on discovering and studying morphing material mechanisms, as well as algorithms for computational design and fabrication pipelines.
Hobbies: Lining Yao was born and raised in Inner Mongolia in China.


Photo by Jen Sis

Name: Asta Mønsted
Discipline: Prehistoric Archaeology
Degrees: BA 2013 MA 2016 PhD 2022 University of Copenhagen
Research interests: I aim to understand the archaeological remains better from consulting the sources of folklore. My research area being Greenland and the circumpolar north.
Hobbies: Fun fact: As a child, I participated in a dog sledge race.


Courtesy Kedrick Walker

Name: Henry Washington Jr.
Discipline: African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies
Degrees: BA 2017 Duke University, MA 2020 Stanford University, PhD 2022 Stanford University
Research interests: Broadly, I study how dominant constructions of cultural difference help justify the persistence of inequality in the era of inclusion, as well as how minorities use cultural forms to contest those constructions and produce more complex truths about Humanness.
Hobbies: I have a passion for the live theater, and initially hoped to become a professional actor.


Courtesy Winston Macdonald

Name: Francis Macdonald
Discipline: Geology
Degrees: BS 2001 Caltech, PhD 2009 Harvard University
Research interests: I am a field geologist that develops records of mountain building, extreme climate change, and the evolution of life in deep time. I use these records to test theories about feedbacks within the Earth system.
Hobbies: Exploring the outdoors, endurance sports, cooking, and eating.


Courtesy Hillel David Soifer

Name: Hillel David Soifer
Discipline: Political Science
Degrees: BA 1995 Haverford College, MA 1998 Georgetown University, PhD 2006 Harvard University
Research interests: I study state capacity or the quality of governance — its origins and its implications for individuals and for political outcomes — with a focus on Latin American countries.


Courtesy Sean Darling-Hammond

Name: Sean Darling-Hammond
Discipline: Public Health
Degrees: JD Berkeley 2014, PhD Berkeley 2022
Research interests: I seek to expand belonging by demystifying the causes and consequences of racial bias, and by elevating k-12 educational policies (like restorative practices) that can help students of all backgrounds thrive. I leverage qualitative, econometric, and experimental methods.
Hobbies: Chess, Rock Climbing, Braving the beautiful chaos of raising two active boys alongside my wonderful wife. Fun fact: During my PhD I competed on multiple seasons of American Ninja Warrior.


Headshot of Kelsey Jack

Courtesy Melissa Van De Werfhorst

Name: Kelsey Jack
Discipline: Economics
Degrees: AB Princeton 2003, PhD Harvard 2010
Research interests: Environmental and development economics. How do households make decisions about natural resources like energy, water and land?
Hobbies: I love to bike — road and gravel.


A headshot of Dana Miller-Cotto

Courtesy Dana Miller-Cotto

Name: Dana Miller-Cotto
Discipline: Educational Psychology/Human Development
Degrees: BA Lehman College 2011, MEd Temple University 2014, PhD Temple University 2017
Research interests: I examine predictors of early math achievement and learning, with a focus on how to best support early math learning in grades kindergarten to third grade. I also design learning materials to support children’s growing cognitive skills.
Hobbies: I enjoy running, reading, and trying out new recipes.


Illustration courtesy of J. Marshall Smith

Name: Ianna Hawkins Owen
Discipline:
Gender and Women’s Studies
Degrees:
BA CUNY Hunter 2008, MA UC Berkeley 2010, PhD UC Berkeley 2016
Research interests: I’m interested in how black diaspora studies and asexuality studies shape our conceptions and theorizations of care, community, and capacity.
Hobbies:
I’d like to join a floorball team.


Courtesy Adam Lau

Name: Daniel Siefman
Discipline: Nuclear Engineering
Degrees: PhD EPFL 2019
Research interests: I research computational methods in neutron transport and how experiments can be used to improve their accuracy. These experiments include reactor physics testing and applications in nuclear security.


Mariam Aly

Courtesy Mariam Aly

Name: Mariam Aly
Discipline:
Psychology
Degrees:
BSc University of Toronto 2008, MA UC Davis 2010, PhD UC Davis 2013
Research interests:
I study how attention and perception affect what we remember, and how memory can in turn guide our attention, perception, and goal-directed behavior.
Hobbies:
Fun fact: I flew a plane before I drove a car!


Courtesy Eleanor Tubman

Name: Eleanor (Ellie) Tubman
Discipline:
Physics/Nuclear Engineering
Degrees:
MPhys University of Sussex 2012, PhD 2016 University of York
Research interests:
How magnetic fields are generated and affect plasmas, astrophysical collisionless shocks, and fusion research.
Hobbies:
Sailing, backpacking and triathlons.


Christian Gaetz in a headshot

Courtesy Prof. George Bergman

Name: Christian Gaetz (he/him)
Discipline: Mathematics
Degrees: PhD MIT 2021
Research interests: Problems in the intersection of combinatorics, algebra, and geometry.
Hobbies: My hobbies include rock climbing and reading.


Madison Douglas in a headshot

Courtesy Madison Douglas

Name: Madison Douglas (she/her)
Discipline: Geology
Degrees: BS MIT 2016; MS Caltech 2019; PhD Caltech 2023
Research interests: I study the processes that shape landscapes, including river erosion, landslides, and soil movement. Much of my research focuses on integrating geochemical and erosion measurements in permafrost environments, because permafrost soils contain very high carbon concentrations that are released, causing Arctic landscapes to thaw and collapse.
Hobbies: Running, hiking, and playing the flute.