The College of Arts & Sciences welcomed 13 new professors this school year, in fields ranging from mathematics to bioscience, physics to English.

Professors each have different reasons for coming to teach at Drexel. Dr. Nianli Sang, professor of bioscience and biotechnology, cites diversity and academic freedom as his reason.

"I strongly believe that the combination of these two will spawn creativity, innovation, collaboration
and eventually, real contribution to the advancement of science and education," Sang said.

Other professors attribute the move to Drexel to a correspondence between their personal interests and the interests of their respective department and the faculty therein.

"For many years I have been involved in computational biophysics research on proteins associated with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases," said Dr. Brigita Urbanc, physics professor. This area of expertise is one of the main research areas of Drexel's physics department.

"Within Drexel itself a number of other faculty members I had a chance to meet have similar interests and meet regularly to exchange ideas. This unique interdisciplinary environment was one of the main reasons I joined the physics department," Urbanc said.

Dr. Daniel Marenda, professor of bioscience and biotechnology, agreed.

"One of the biggest considerations were the excellent people in the department of bioscience and biotechnology, from the faculty and staff to the graduate and undergraduate students," Marenda said. "I feel that my colleagues in the department are an extremely supportive and collaborative group of people who truly care about the research endeavors of the department, and the education of Drexel's students.  They are some of the finest scientists and educators that I have met, and I am happy to have the opportunity to work alongside them.  I believe that within such a department, the goals for my own research and teaching efforts will fit well."

Each new professor has a chance to explain his or her specialty in a Dean's Seminar. The schedule of seminars is below.

Date	Professor	Department	Title
October 15, 2008	Dr. David Ambrose	Mathematics	Surfaces and Surface Tension
October 29, 2008	Dr. Nianli Sang	Bioscience and Biotechnology	Oxygen and Life: For Better or Worse
November 12, 2008	Dr. Brigita Urbanc	Physics	The Role of Computer Simulation in Diseases Associated with Protein Misfolding
January 28, 2009	Dr. Rebecca Ingalls	English & Philosophy	The Trilemma Revised: Harry Potter and a Landscape of Moral Uncertainty
February 11, 2009	Dr. Daniel Marenda	Bioscience and Biotechnology	Flying in the Face of Human Disease: How We Learn Big Lessons about Diseases from the Little Fruit Fly
February 25, 2009	Dr. Devon Powers	Culture & Communication	What Is Hype? Circulating Popular Music from the Beatles to the Blogosphere
March 11, 2009	Dr. Frank Ji	Chemistry	Cook Nanomaterials in the Kitchen
April 8, 2009	Dr. Jennifer Yusin	English & Philosophy	Geographies of Trauma
May 6, 2009	Dr. Robert Zaller	History & Politics	The Three Deaths of Jean Amery
May 20, 2009	Dr. Luis Cruz Cruz	Physics	Geometry in the Brain: Is Order in Neuron Locations Necessary for Cognition?
June 3, 2009	Dr. Shari Moskow	Mathematics	Inverse Problems: Determining the Equation from the Solution
December 3, 2009	Dr. Eva Stoffels	Bioscience and Biotechnology	Cold Plasma Treatment: Genetic Damage and Other Safety Issues