Shannon Wanless to direct University Center for Social and Urban Research
After a national search, Shannon Wanless has been appointed director of the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), effective July 1.
Wanless joined Pitt as a faculty member in 2011 and currently serves as executive director of the Office of Child Development in the School of Education. Since her directorship began in July 2018, Wanless has secured more than $20 million in competitive grants and $4.5 million in contracts for the office while building a strong sense of culture among her staff.
Wanless is a longstanding executive member of the American Educational Research Association’s Social Emotional Learning Special Interest Group and an Aspen Ascend Fellow as well as an invited advisor on the Office of Head Start’s National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement. She is part of the Community Engagement Centers’ internal advisory board and led the CECs’ first evaluation process.
Wanless earned her PhD in human development and family sciences from Oregon State University, her master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Michigan and her bachelor’s degree in sociology, anthropology and psychology from Denison University.
In her role leading UCSUR, Wanless will report to Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Joseph McCarthy, with a dotted line relationship to Vice Chancellor for External Relations Lina Dostilio. She will continue her appointment as an associate professor in the School of Education.
Sarah J. Swerdlow awarded by American Society of Microbiology
Sarah J. Swerdlow, assistant professor of biology at the Pitt-Greensburg, was awarded the 2025 Peggy Cotter Travel Award from the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) and Allegheny Branch of ASM.
The Peggy Cotter Awards, fully funded by ASM, are named in honor of Peggy Cotter, past president of ASM, to recognize her commitment to mentoring and training of early career scientists. Awardees use the award to partially defray the costs for registration, accommodation and travel associated with attending ASM Microbe, the largest microbial sciences gathering in the world.
Swerdlow has been recognized for implementing the SEA-PHAGES program at Pitt-Greensburg, and has also been accepted into the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s SEA-GENES program. Under Swerdlow’s leadership, Pitt-Greensburg will be the first campus in the University of Pittsburgh system to offer the SEA-GENES program in fall 2025.
Fernando Tormos-Aponte wins early career award from American Sociological Association
Fernando Tormos-Aponte, a Pitt assistant professor of sociology, has won an Distinguished Early Career Award from the American Sociological Association (ASA).
He was honored in the ASA’s Collective Behavior and Social Movement section, which focuses on the study of emergent social forms and behaviors — including crowds, social movements, disasters, riots and fads.
Along with his role in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Tormos-Aponte is a Kendall Fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He earned his PhD in political science from Purdue University and a BA from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. He has been at Pitt since 2022. Tormos-Aponte’s research focuses on how social movements cope with internal divisions and gain political influence.
— Nick France
Lucas Hill appointed executive director of Pitt PERU
Pitt's School of Pharmacy has appointed Lucas Hill as executive director of the Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU), effective Dec. 1, 2024.
Hill brings to PERU extensive experience in research and education related to substance use, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and harm reduction. He previously directed the Pharmacy Addictions Research and Medicine (PhARM) Program at The University of Texas at Austin and led Texas Targeted Opioid Response projects addressing the opioid crisis.
This appointment aligns with the School of Pharmacy’s strategic plan, which emphasizes excellence in education, impactful research and improving health through service.
“It is an honor to join the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and lead PERU,” Hill said in a School of Pharmacy announcement. “Substance use challenges continue to threaten the health of people who use drugs in our region and across the U.S., and PERU is a recognized leader in addressing this crisis through research and education. I am excited to build on that record of success by expanding engagement of pharmacists and harm reductionists in our work.”
Hill earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Missouri — Kansas City and completed a residency and faculty development fellowship at UPMC, where he contributed to implementing the first naloxone co-prescribing program in the system. Hill has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and he has received several national honors, including the American College of Clinical Pharmacy New Educator Award and the American Pharmacists Association Generation Rx Award of Excellence. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction and on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
“We are very excited that Dr. Hill has joined our school. I look forward to the impact of his expertise and the continued strength of PERU to advance Pitt Pharmacy's excellence in service, research and teaching while transforming care,” said Amy Seybert, dean of the School of Pharmacy.
2 Pitt English faculty win Spencer Foundation grant
Two faculty members in Pitt’s Department of English, Jialei Jiang and Xiqiao Wang, have earned a $60,000 grant from the Spencer Foundation.
Jiang, a teaching assistant professor, and Wang, an assistant professor, will study new approaches to translingual research by way of Asian international students’ digital counter-storytelling practices.
Both faculty members teach writing and composition courses in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Jiang’s research interests include digital writing, multimodal composition and affect studies. Wang’s research examines, in part, multilingual and multimodal writing processes across formal, informal and digital contexts.
4 Pitt-Greensburg faculty receive President's Distinguished Awards
Four faculty members at Pittsburgh-Greensburg will be awarded with President’s Distinguished Awards for their efforts in teaching, service and professional development.
Bryan McCarthy, visiting assistant professor of philosophy, and Pilar Herr, associate professor of history, have been awarded this year’s President’s Distinguished Award for Teaching for excellence in encouraging students’ development, introducing innovative teaching methods and demonstrating special skills in communicating subject matter.
The President’s Distinguished Award for Professional Development will be presented to Paul S. Adams, associate professor of political science. The honor recognizes excellence in compiling a substantial and continuing record of outstanding professional development.
Kayla Heffernan, associate professor of mathematics, is the 2025 recipient of the President’s Distinguished Award for Service. Also a recipient of a 2025 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, she’s recognized for sustained service activity which provides campus, University, community, regional, state, national or international benefit.
The award recipients will be recognized at this year’s Pitt-Greensburg Honors Convocation at 4 p.m. April 11 in the Ferguson Theater in Smith Hall.
— Nick France
4 Pitt faculty win Provost’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring
The Provost’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring, which recognizes outstanding mentors who substantially impact Pitt students seeking research doctorate degrees, held a reception to honor this year's awardees and nominees on March 26 in the O’Hara Student Center First Floor Ballroom.
The honor, presented annually by the Office of the Provost to up to four faculty members, includes a $2,500 prize.
The 2025 recipients are:
• Heidi Donovan, School of Nursing and School of Medicine
• Burcu Savun, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
• Vanitha Swaminathan, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
• David Vorp, Swanson School of Engineering
6 Pitt people named Pittsburgh Business Times Women of Influence
Six Pitt staff and alumnae have been named Women of Influence by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
The annual award “honors the region's most impactful businesswomen who are helping to lead their organizations into the future, making significant change in the region and getting involved in their communities.”
This year’s winners will be recognized in a special edition of the magazine on May 16 and during a ceremony at Acrisure Stadium on May 21.
The Pitt-affiliated winners are:
Rhonda Carson-Leach, director of the entrepreneurial fellows class and the Urban and Community Entrepreneurship Program at Pitt’s Innovation Institute
Alyssa Cholodofsky, CEO of 412 Food Rescue (A&S ’89, GSPIA ’95)
Amy Coles, partner and co-chair of Blank Rome LLP’s Pittsburgh office (LAW ’02)
Rosa Davis, CEO of the Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery (SOC WK, ’86G)
Susheela Nemani-Stanger, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (GSPIA ’07)
Susie Shipley, Pennsylvania, Ohio Valley and Mahoning Valley regional president of Huntington National Bank (BUS '88G)
— Nick France
Lise Vesterlund to receive honorary doctorate from Copenhagen Business School
Lise Vesterlund, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Economics in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, will receive an honorary doctorate from Copenhagen Business School.
Vesterlund is a co-author of the critically acclaimed book “The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work.” Her research in behavioral and experimental economics focuses on gender in the workplace, including how women are often assigned low-status tasks and overlooked for leadership roles.
In addition to this work, Vesterland is also the director of Pitt’s Behavioral Economics Design Initiative as well as the Pittsburgh Experimental Economics Laboratory.
As part of the honorary degree, she will present a lecture at Copenhagen Business School on March 21.
— Nick France
Alumnus Yvon Woappi will speak at Pitt-Bradford’s May 4 commencement
Yvon Woappi (UPB ’11), who researches wound healing and regeneration in his lab at Columbia University, will address the Pitt-Bradford Class of 2025 during commencement exercises on May 4. Woappi will also receive the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association’s Alumni Award of Distinction.
“Yvon embodies the incredible potential of a Pitt-Bradford education,” Pitt-Bradford President Rick Esch said. “I have been following his remarkable career and achievements over the years, and it’s truly exciting to welcome him back to campus. We are absolutely thrilled to have him here to inspire our graduates as they embark on their own journeys.”
Woappi is director of the Synthetic Regeneration and Systems Physiology Laboratory, which he founded in 2022, and an assistant professor of dermatology in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University.
The Woappi Lab is studying new ways to treat extensive injuries to tissues and organs. He and his team are looking for natural substances in the body that help wounds heal faster. They also are developing artificial gene therapies to boost tissue regrowth and studying how the body’s immune system reacts to wounds.
Woappi’s research accomplishments have earned distinctions, prizes and awards, including the MIT Rising Star Award and designation among “1000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America” by Cell Press News and the Community of Scholars. He is also an inaugural recipient of the NIH MOSAIC fellowship from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which has provided the necessary mentoring, support and funding to set up and run his own research lab.
Woappi was born in Douala, Cameroon, and immigrated to the United States during middle school. He was introduced to research as a biology undergraduate at Pitt-Bradford, where he worked with Om Singh, who taught biology at the campus from 2008 through 2016.
“My story couldn’t be possible without Pitt-Bradford,” Woappi said. “It was there that I had the opportunity to grow and experience the impact of faculty and administrators who so genuinely cared about their students. They taught me the value of academic rigor, community, and ambitious dreams. I’m immensely grateful for this enduring gift.”
Woappi says his undergraduate research experience is one reason he prioritizes mentoring researchers in his own lab. After receiving his Bachelor of Science from Pitt-Bradford, he earned a doctorate in biomedical sciences from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in systems dermatology at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children and going on nature walks. He is an equally avid chess player.
Learn more by visiting Pitt-Bradford’s commencement site.
— Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
Annette Vee to pen newsletter series on AI and teaching
Annette Vee, associate professor of English in Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, is partnering with publisher W.W. Norton and Company to write a new series of newsletters, “AI and How We Teach Writing.”
Twice a month, Vee will write about a contemporary aspect of artificial intelligence and its relevance to teaching college writing. She will explore concepts like how to cite AI, how students use AI and how professors may resist AI in their classes, to name a few.
“We didn’t ask for this disruption, but we’re all in it together,” Vee wrote in the introduction to the newsletter. She plans to use the platform to offer professors and teachers at all grade levels something that can be adapted to their own styles of teaching.
Subscribe and read the first piece in the series, which discusses critical AI literacy, or “the ability to understand, apply, and assess AI operations, uses, and outputs.”
— Nick France
Alumna Susan Silvestri will receive Pitt-Bradford’s Presidential Medal of Distinction
Susan H. Silvestri (A&S ’76), who attended Pitt-Bradford in the early 1970s and has been an active and loyal supporter of her alma mater, will receive a Presidential Medal of Distinction, the University’s highest honor.
Pitt-Bradford President Rick Esch will present the medal to Silvestri during the campus’ commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. May 4.
“Sue has been instrumental in shaping and strengthening our campus community,” Esch said. “Through her exemplary volunteer service, financial support and invaluable expertise, she has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to Pitt-Bradford’s growth and success over many years.
“Her significant contributions have not only enriched the campus community but served as a shining example of the impact that engaged and passionate alumni can have on their alma maters. We are profoundly grateful for the legacy Sue continues to build.”
Silvestri, who attended Pitt-Bradford from 1972 to 1974, has a long history of supporting her alma mater, which has taken many forms over the years.
She is a longstanding member of the executive committee of Pitt-Bradford’s Advisory Board and is chair of the board’s athletics council. Silvestri also was a founding member of the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association (PBAA) and has served in many capacities, including as president and as chair of the PBAA scholarship committee.
“It is a great honor to receive the Presidential Medal of Distinction,” Silvestri said. “It has been a privilege to work with so many talented alumni, faculty, staff and students. It has always been my goal to help the University connect with the community, establish scholarships and engage alumni in volunteer activities that benefit students.”
In 2000, Silvestri became the second person to receive the PBAA Distinguished Volunteer Award, which was created to recognize a Pitt-Bradford graduate who has enriched the life of the University and the Alumni Association through volunteer efforts.
She and husband Greg (A&S ’77), who also attended Pitt-Bradford between 1973 and 1975, established the PBAA/Gregory and Susan Silvestri Scholarship to benefit students majoring in several academic programs, including criminal justice, human relations, sociology and psychology. Since the fund was established in 1996, 50 students have received scholarships.
They are both also members of Pitt-Bradford’s Founders’ Society, which is composed of alumni, faculty, staff and friends who have made the regional campus part of their estate planning.
When Silvestri attended Pitt-Bradford in the early 1970s, the campus did not offer four-year degrees, so she completed her undergraduate studies in political science at the University’s campus in Pittsburgh. She earned a master’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1992.
Before retiring in 2019, Silvestri was the aging care management supervisor at the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging.
— Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
American Chemical Society honors distinguished chemistry Professor David Waldeck
David Waldeck received the 2025 Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. Waldeck is a distinguished professor of chemistry and academic director of the Petersen Institute of Nanoscience and Engineering at Pitt.
His research program uses methods of spectroscopy, electrochemistry and microscopy to investigate primary processes in the condensed phase and in nanoscale assemblies. He and his research group are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to our understanding of electron transfer and the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Although the fact that electrons’ carry charge is widely known, they also act like spinning tops that have magnetic moments. Waldeck’s team is exploring how to quantify the spin selectivity more precisely and how CISS might be used to improve the selectivity and efficiency of redox reactions.
Office of the Provost appoints 2 new faculty fellows
Pitt's Office of the Provost at recently announced the appointment of two new faculty fellows: Shelome Gooden and David Sanchez.
Sanchez, associate director of Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, began the fellowship effective Feb. 1.
In the role, the associate professor of civil and environmental engineering will lead efforts to strengthen faculty mentorship and enhance academic advising, ensuring all students receive the support they need to navigate the vast array of opportunities available at Pitt.
As part of the University’s Academic Advising Coordination initiative, he will work with Pitt’s Undergraduate Studies team to engage faculty and staff advisors across campus to identify best practices, foster a strong mentoring community and ensure students benefit from comprehensive guidance throughout their academic journey. Additionally, he will lead the faculty mentoring subcommittee of the University Undergraduate Advising Committee, providing a structured forum to enhance faculty engagement.
Gooden, Pitt’s first assistant vice chancellor for research in the humanities, arts, social sciences and related fields, began her fellowship effective Feb. 24.
Over the next two years, she will contribute to strategic planning and initiatives aligned with the Plan for Pitt 2028, with a focus on amplifying research in the humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) and advancing faculty and leadership development.
As assistant vice chancellor, Gooden plays a critical role in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and research synergies beyond laboratory and clinical settings. She also serves as ex-officio on the University Research Council, working to develop institutional-level funding to support research in these disciplines.
Along with serving as chair of the Department of Linguistics in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences for six years, Gooden is a 2022 research leader fellow of the APLU Council on Research. In 2023, she co-created the national Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Research Leaders Network (HASS-RLN).
Amir Alavi named editor-in-chief of new Nature Portfolio journal
Amir Alavi, associate professor and B.P. America Faculty Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, has been appointed editor-in-chief of npj Metamaterials, a new Nature Portfolio journal.
Nature’s npj series is a group of discipline-specific journals led by experts in the field. The npj Metamaterials editorial board includes Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London and Federico Capasso from Harvard, both regarded as pioneers in the discipline. It also features leading scholars such as Katia Bertoldi from Harvard University, Julia Greer from the California Institute of Technology and Nikolay Zheludev from the University of Southampton, along with many other distinguished experts.
“We are privileged to have some of the most exceptional talents in the field of metamaterials on our editorial team. I believe this journal has significant potential for growth and will become an excellent platform for high-quality research in this area,” Alavi said.
In his lab, Alavi’s primary focus is on exploring novel engineered material systems. He and his team are dedicated to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics and electronics of these material systems across multiple scales. His vision is to take metamaterials to the next level through the deep integration of multifunctionality, sensing, electrical actuation, communication and information processing as well as leveraging data-driven designs.
In 2023, he led a perspective paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, with colleagues from University of California, Berkeley; University of Pennsylvania; Johns Hopkins University and Zhejiang University. In Mechanical Metamaterials and Beyond, the group provided a road map for the design and discovery of next-generation active and responsive mechanical metamaterials.
He has since been working on developing such materials; in January of this year, Alavi published a paper in Materials Today that outlined a paradigm for creating intelligent metamaterial implants that can wirelessly transmit self-generated electrical signals without relying on integrated electronics or external power sources. This concept has the potential to reshape the field of intelligent implants by eliminating bulky wireless interrogation circuits while offering unparalleled mechanical tunability through the properties of metamaterials.
Alavi’s research and innovation have led to multiple accolades. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including an NSF CAREER Award, NIH Trailblazer Award and ASME Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering Award.
— By Brandie Jefferson
Associate Professor of English Angie Cruz wins recent literary prizes
Angie Cruz, associate professor of English in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, won the 43rd Dos Passos Prize for Literature and was named a 2025 United States Artists (USA) Fellow.
The Dos Passos Prize for Literature is given annually by Longwood University to a talented American writer who experiments with form, explores a range of voices and merits further recognition. Cruz will receive an honorarium and medal and visit Longwood’s campus this spring to receive the award and read her work at a public ceremony.
Of this year’s 50 USA Fellows, only seven are writers. Cruz will receive a $50,000 unrestricted grant to use “for any purpose, whether that be creating new work, paying rent, reducing debt, obtaining health care or supporting their families.”
Along with directing Pitt’s Writing Program, Cruz is a novelist and editor whose most recent novel, “How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water,” was named to the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2022. Her 2017 novel “Dominicana” was also heavily awarded, including being the inaugural book pick for Good Morning America’s GMA Book Club and the winner of the ALA/YALSA Alex Award in fiction. She is also the author of two other novels and editor-in-chief of Aster(ix) Journal.
— Nick France
Pitt is among top 50 universities at producing research that leads to patents
Pitt is not only a leading research university, it’s also a world leader when it comes to putting research findings to work in the real world. That’s according to analytics company Clarivate, which earlier this year published its list of the top 50 universities powering global innovation — Pitt came in at No. 43.
The list is an accounting of universities that produce work that informs new inventions. It identifies the universities named on academic papers that received the highest number of citations from patents granted to organizations on Clarivate’s 2023 Top 100 Global Innovators list, which features companies and organizations worldwide at the forefront of global innovation.
“Innovation rarely occurs in isolation; many groundbreaking inventions draw heavily on the foundational work of academics, whose findings are disseminated through journal publications,” the authors of the list wrote in the introduction.
Overall, Pitt accounted for 1,210 citations for 787 unique inventions on the Global Innovators list patents.
Pitt also ranked No. 19 in the National Association of Inventors’ list of universities granted the most utility patents in 2023, with 114 U.S. patents issued in that calendar year, up from 105 in 2022. And two dozen Pitt faculty were featured in another of Clarivate’s lists detailing the most highly cited researchers.
— By Brandie Jefferson
Kamesha Spates invited to speak at the Association for Addiction Professionals
Kamesha Spates, William S. Dietrich II Chair and associate professor in the Department of Africana Studies in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, was an invited speaker at the Association for Addiction Professionals.
Formerly the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (and still known as NAADAC), the organization is the professional hub for 100,000 addiction counselors, educators and other health care professionals in the United States, Canada and abroad.
As part of the NAADAC’s Feb. 6 Engagement in the Black Community Summit, Spates joined a panel of social work, medicine and psychology experts on addressing and understanding suicide in the Black community. More than 700 professionals attended.
Pitt-Bradford honors 18 faculty and staff for their years of service
Several faculty and staff members from Pitt-Bradford, whose combined service totals 366 years, were honored at a special recognition dinner Feb. 13.
Five members of the Pitt-Bradford community were honored for dedicating more than 30 years of service to the University:
Bill Kline, director of computing, telecommunications and media services (41 years)
David Soriano, associate professor of chemistry (40 years)
Karen Strotman, enrollment services assistant (40 years)
Hashim Yousif, professor of physics (35 years)
Bob Dilks, assistant vice president of enrollment management (35 years)
Those who were recognized for more than 20 years of service were:
James Baldwin, vice president for enrollment management (25 years)
Stephen Robar, associate professor of political science (25 years)
Alex Nazemetz, associate vice president of enrollment management (25 years)
Denise Perkins, administrative assistant in the Office of Residence Life and Housing (20 years)
Laurie Dennis, an administrative assistant in the Division of Biological and Health Sciences (20 years)
Employees reaching the 10-year service mark were Zach Foster, head baseball coach; Melissa Odorisio, laboratory administrator; Jonathan Prosser, maintenance worker III; and Angie Wolfe, associate dean of experiential learning and leadership.
Finally, those marking five years of service were Drew Flanagan, assistant professor of history; Matt Lovell, sport information director, Chelsea Schwab, head coach for the men’s and women’s swimming teams; and Michelle Therminy, executive scheduler.
Physics Professor Evan Schneider named Sloan Research fellow
Evan Schneider, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, earned a 2025 Sloan Research Fellowshipfrom the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The prestigious fellowship recognizes promising early-career research scientists for their creativity, innovation and research accomplishments.
Schneider uses supercomputers, including the world’s first and fastest exascale supercomputer, to understand the processes responsible for shaping galaxies. The code she developed, called Cholla, was used to perform early tests on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s exascale Frontier supercomputer before it was officially deployed.
In 2022, her Cholla code, which models galaxies over a nearly unfathomable range of time and distance scales, earned Schneider a Packard Fellowship, making her the first Pitt faculty member to earn the distinction in 25 years, and the first woman at the University to ever do so.
Schneider developed Cholla as part of her thesis at the University of Arizona. She continues to keep the GPU-based hydrodynamics code free and open source on GitHub.
She is particularly interested in gas dynamics when it comes to galaxy formation. Her code models star formation, supernova explosions and other astrophysical phenomena in order to answer fundamental questions about galaxy formation, growth and evolution.
The Sloan Research Fellowship is awarded annually to 126 non-tenured professors. It comes with a $75,000 grant that can be used over two years to support research activities.