Faculty Awards and Distinctions

We want to hear about the great work of our CMC faculty!  Please click here to notify CMC’s Strategic Communications & Marketing team about your awards for research or creative work; notable publications, exhibitions; and any other research-related achievements.

 

Lisa Cody

Professor Lisa Cody has been awarded the 2024 James L. Clifford Prize by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS). The Clifford Prize is awarded annually to an article that "presents an outstanding study of some aspect of eighteenth-century culture, interesting to any eighteenth-century specialist, regardless of discipline." Cody, an Associate Professor of History at CMC, earned the distinction for, 'Marriage is No Protection for Crime': Coverture, Sex, and Marital Rape in Eighteenth-Century England, published in the Journal of British Studies, 61.

Daniel Firoozi, professor of economics.

Daniel Firoozi

Economics Professor Daniel Firoozi and collaborators received a grant from the Ascendium Research Group, Inc. to conduct a study of noncredit workforce training programs and the impact such programs have on the job market. 

Jordan Branch, professor of government.

Jordan Branch

Government Professor Jordan Branch was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Dangers and Opportunities of Technology program. He is among only 13% of applicants who were selected for support this year. He will use the award to complete work on a new book on “Virtual Territories: War and the State in a Digital Age.” 

Rima Basu, professor of philosophy.

Rima Basu

Philosophy Professor Rima Basu was selected to participate in a 2024 NEH Summer Institute on moral psychology held at Cornell University. The summer institutes are designed to bring together faculty from across the nation to deepen their understanding of significant topics in the humanities to enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching.

Nita Kumar, Emeritus Professor.

Nita Kumar

Professor Emeritus Nita Kumar was named a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation received nearly 3,000 applications this year and only about 6% of applicants received the honor. As a Guggenheim Fellow, Professor Kumar will combine archival, oral history, and ethnographic research to craft a century-long social history of the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh through a gendered lens, the life of a woman called Suniti. 

Jeff Flory, professor of economics.

Jeff Flory

Economics Professor Jeff Flory and several collaborators have received a new grant from the Russell Sage Foundation to conduct research exploring the impact of remote work on diversity. 

Mark Costanzo.

Mark Costanzo

Prof. Mark Costanzo has been elected President of the Western Psychological Association (WPA). Costanzo, a psychological science professor,  will serve a three-year term as President-Elect in 2024, President in 2025, and Past-President in 2026. WPA was founded more than a century ago and represents California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. WPA facilitates the exchange of ideas between psychological researchers, mentors, and students interested in psychological science and practice.

Esther Chung-Kim

Religious Studies Professor Esther Chung-Kim was awarded a 2024 National Library of Medicine (NLM) Michael E. DeBakey Fellowship in the History of Medicine for her research project, “Democratization of Medicine—Access to Health Care in Early Modern Europe.”

Branwen Williams.

Branwen Williams

Prof. Branwen Williams was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Mid-Career Advancement Award. This is the second year of a new NSF program that supports mid-career faculty. The distinction will enable Williams to launch her research program at CMC’s new Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences. It will also connect the Roberts Environmental Center, which Williams directs, with collaborators at UC Irvine to learn new techniques that will further enhance our understanding of climate science.

Sharda Umanath.

Sharda Umanath

Prof. Sharda Umanath was awarded the 2023 Mentorship Award in Aging winner by the American Psychological Association’s Division 20 – Adult Development and Aging. She was selected in part thanks to the efforts of eight former CMC and Scripps students led by Madeline Valdez ’21. Umanath also received an Honorable Mention for the J. Don Read Early Career Award from the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.