People

Grace Murray Hopper Professor of Computer Science

Joan Feigenbaum's research interests include internet algorithms, computational complexity, security and privacy, and digital copyright. She has a long-standing interest in fundamental problems in complexity theory that are motivated by cryptology and is co-inventor (with former colleagues Matt Blaze and Jack Lacy) of the security-research area of "trust management."

John K. Castle Professor in the Practice of Cognitive Science

Luciano Floridi is the founding director of the Digital Ethics Center at Yale. He is considered the founding father of the philosophy of information and one of the major interpreters of the digital revolution. He is deeply engaged with policy initiatives on the socio-ethical value and implications of digital technologies and their applications.

Professor of Astronomy and Physics

Marla Geha is an observational astronomer, primarily interested in the formation, evolution and destruction of dwarf galaxies. Her current work includes observations of ultra-faint galaxies recently discovered in the Local Group.

Sterling Professor of Physics

Steven Girvin’s research has focused on theoretical studies of quantum many-particle systems, as well as atomic physics, quantum optics and quantum computation. His academic research is currently focused on "circuit QED," the quantum physics of microwave electrical circuits using superconducting Josephson junctions as artificial atoms coupled to individual microwave photons. 

Associate Professor of Political Science

Daniel Mattingly studies the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China. He is the author of The Art of Political Control in China, which examines how the Chinese state controls protests and implements ambitious social policies. His current work examines the role of the military, nationalism, and surveillance technology in Chinese politics.

A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of Computer Science

Brian Scassellati focuses his research on building embodied computational models of human social behavior, especially the developmental progression of early social skills. Using computational modeling and socially interactive robots, he evaluates models of how infants acquire social skills and assist in the diagnosis and quantification of disorders of social development, such as autism.

Jonathan D. Spence Chair Professor of Comparative Literature & East Asian Languages and Literatures

Jing Tsu specializes in modern Chinese literature and culture and Sinophone studies, from the 19th century to the present. Her research spans literature, intellectual history, science and technology, diaspora and migration studies, and global affairs and international studies. 

Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs

Odd Arne Westad is a scholar of modern international and global history, with a specialization in the history of eastern Asia since the 18th century. He is mainly interested in researching histories of empire and imperialism — first and foremost in Asia but also worldwide — as well as how China’s late 20th-century economic reforms came into being and how their outcomes changed the global economy.