Research, Publications, Awards, and More: Highlights from a Semester of Faculty Achievements
By Bowdoin NewsThrough new books, papers published in journals, media appearances, and more, Bowdoin faculty members complemented their time in the classroom during the fall semester with a variety of scholarly and artistic contributions.
Assistant Professor of Economics Martin Abel’s paper, "Are Women Blamed More For Giving Incorrect Financial Advice?" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Margaret Boyle has teamed up with Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans to create Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook, which was at the heart of the “Hanukkah Mexicana!” event at the Chocolate Church in Bath. Boyle was a guest on the podcast America the Bilingual discussing the book and the Multilingual Mainers program.
Edward Little Professor of English and Cinema Studies Aviva Briefel spoke about the role of servants in the horror film genre, the subject of her latest book project, Labors of Fear: The Modern Horror Film Goes to Work, with Slate journalist Josh Rivera on the NPR podcast It’s Been a Minute.
Marvin H. Green Jr. Assistant Professor of Computer Science David Byrd was one of eight invited speakers at Columbia University as part of the Bloomberg-Columbia Machine Learning in Finance conference, where he presented his research on normative guidance for autonomous trading agents.
Assistant Professor of Theater Germán Cárdenas-Alaminos did the set design for the play Conscience by Joe DiPietro about Margaret Chase Smith’s Declaration of Conscience speech in 1950. The play ran Sept. 25–Oct. 13 at Portland Stage Company.
Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Nadia Celis launched the podcast One Hundred Years of Solitude Together, an eight-episode bilingual series about Gabriel García Márquez's classic novel. Celis was a guest on BBC World’s Newshour along with the co-director of the Netflix adaptation of the book.
The podcast Dead Writers: A Show about Great American Authors and Where they Lived, cohosted by Associate Professor of Africana Studies and English Tess Chakkalakal and A. Leroy Greason Professor of English Brock Clarke won Signal’s bronze award for best cohost team and a listener’s choice award.
Chakkalakal’s latest book, A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt is to be released February 4, 2025, with a launch event at Print Bookstore in Portland the same day.
Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Cinema Studies Allison Cooper co-edited (with Joel Burges) "Alterity Onscreen: A Gen-X Mediascape,” part of a cluster of video essays by film and television scholars exploring their personal and academic relationships to moving images. These works originated at a Bowdoin-hosted workshop held in July 2023, some images from which are below.
Professor of Government Mike Franz recorded a TEDx talk around how informed voters ensure a strong democracy. He discusses the question: How can democracy thrive if citizens are not engaged and educated about relevant political issues?
Rasuli Lewis Assistant Professor of Sociology Jamella Gow traces the development of race, capitalism, and Blackness in the Caribbean in her article “From Colonial Subjects to Black Nations: Racializing the Caribbean within Global Blackness” in the journal Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power.
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Jennifer Honeycutt has been awarded the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Award for Fostering Diversity and Inclusivity.
Roux Distinguished Scholar Ayana Elizabeth Johnson made a big media splash with the launch of her book, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, a compilation of essays and conversations that are infused with data, poetry, and art through which Johnson guides the reader through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice.
Assistant Professor of Digital Music Badie Khaleghian developed brain-computer interfaces for real-time interactive experimental data visualization of brain activity during the performance, combining elements of music, neuroscience, and multimedia art.
The Shaker community once had thousands of followers, says Assistant Professor of English Jordan Kisner; now there are only two of them left. Kisner writes in a New York Times Magazine article about Brother Arnold Hadd.
Instructor of Piano Gulimina Mahamuti performed as part of Duo Mundi George & Guli with Artist in Residence George Lopez at the North Texas International Piano Symposium’s Gala Concert in October.
Professor of Sociology Ingrid Nelson’s new book, Yet Another Costume Party Debacle, explores how the policies of elite colleges allow racially themed parties to continue by perpetuating the status quo.

Jeanne d’Arc, published in Figaro Illustre, by Albert Lynch, 1903. [Wikimedia Commons]
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Amnon Ortoll-Bloch published a paper in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics about his investigation into the role of the ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride as a crystallization additive in the hydrothermal synthesis of the metal–organic framework MIL-53(Al).
Associate Professor of English Maggie Solberg’s essay, "The Bowl Truth: On Joan Of Arc’s Much Maligned and Forgotten Haircut," appears on the History News Network.
Associate Professor of Economics Dan Stone argued that choosing to vote for neither of the main candidates in the presidential election could well be a mistake. His insights were published in news outlets including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, and Yahoo News.