2020 Honoree Faculty

Boston University faculty frequently receive national and international recognition for their outstanding contributions to their fields. The list below reflects awards and recognitions earned by BU faculty in 2020. See all highlights from past years.

Rachel Abercrombie

Earth & Environment | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, American Geophysical Union


 Binyomin Abrams

Chemistry | College of Arts & Sciences

2021 Gerald and Deanne Gitner Family Award for Innovation in Teaching with TechnologyBoston University


Martin Amlin

Music | College of Fine Arts

Mildred P. Gilfillan Professorship of Music, Boston University


Amy Appleford

Amy Appleford

English | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies


Yves Atchade

Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, Institute of Mathematical Statistics


Jennifer Balakrishnan

Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, National Science Foundation


Joshua Barocas

Medicine | School of Medicine

Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellow, Association of American Medical Colleges


Emelia Benjamin

Epidemiology | School of Medicine

Diversity Award, Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine


Irving Bigio

Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award, Optical Society of America


Seth Blumenthal

Writing | College of Arts & Sciences

Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching, Boston University


Ksenia Bravaya

Chemistry | College of Arts & Sciences

Sloan Research Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation


Stephen Christiansen

Ophthalmology | School of Medicine

Helen L. and Sherwood J. Tarlow Chair of Ophthalmology, Boston University


Louis Chude-Sokei

African American Studies and English | College of Arts & Sciences

Kulturstiftun Des Bundes Award, German Federal Cultural Foundation


David Coleman

Medicine | School of Medicine

Robert H. Williams, MD, Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award, Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine


David Horacio Colmenares

Romantic Studies | College of Arts & Sciences

Moorman-Simon Career Development Professor, Boston University


Kathleen Corriveau

Applied Human Development | Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Grant, John Templeton Foundation


Shoumita Dasgupta

Medicine | School of Medicine

Fulbright Specialist Award, US Department of State


Chrysanthos (Chris) Dellarocas

Information Systems | Questrom School of Business

Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences


Josée Dupuis

Biostatistics | School of Public Health

Mentorship Award, American Society of Human Genetics


Manuel Egele

Electrical & Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, National Science Foundation


Theresa Ellis

Physical Therapy & Athletic Training | College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Catherine Worthingham Fellow, American Physical Therapy Association


Matthew Fox

Epidemiology | School of Public Health

Noel Weiss & Tom Koepsell Award for Excellence in Education, Society for Epidemiologic Research


Deborah Frank

Pediatrics | School of Medicine

Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service, Massachusetts Medical Society


Marco Gaboardi

Computer Science | College of Arts & Sciences

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, National Science Foundation


Roscoe Giles

Electrical & Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, African Scientific Institute


Courtney Goto

Religious Education & Practical Theology | School of Theology

Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching, Boston University


Vivek Goyal

Electrical & Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, Optical Society of America


Linda Heywood

African American Studies and History | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences


Stefan Hofmann

Psychological & Brain Sciences | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science


William Huntting Howell

English | College of Arts & Sciences

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, American Antiquarian Society


Wanzheng Hu

Physics | College of Arts & Sciences

Early Career Research Award, US Department of Energy; Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, National Science Foundation


Nicole Huberfeld

Health, Law, Policy & Management | School of Public Health; Law | School of Law

Edward R. Utley Professorship in Health Law, Boston University


Karen Jacobs

Occupational Therapy | College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Outstanding Mentor Award, American Occupational Therapy Association


Svetlana Jorstad

Astronomy | College of Arts & Sciences

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, Breakthrough Prize


Ibram X. Kendi

History | College of Arts & Sciences

Time’s 100 Most Influential People, Time Magazine; Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities, Boston University


Ahmad Khalil

Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering

Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow, US Department of Defense


Catherine Klapperich

Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science


Frank Korom

Religion and Anthropology | College of Arts & Sciences

Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity


Darrell Kotton

Medicine | School of Medicine

Elected Member, Association of American Physicians


Joseph Larkin

Biology and Physics | College of Arts & Sciences

Innovation Career Development Professorship, Boston University


Emma Lejeune

Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering

David R. Dalton Career Development Professorship, Boston University


Xi Ling

Chemistry | College of Arts & Sciences; Materials Science & Engineering | College of Engineering

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, National Science Foundation


Ching-Ti Liu

Biostatistics | School of Public Health

Fellow, American Statistical Association


Nancy Lowenstein

Occupational Therapy | College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Undergraduate Academic Advising Award for Faculty, Boston University


Alan Marscher

Astronomy | College of Arts & Sciences

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, Breakthrough Prizes


Cathie Jo Martin

Political Science | College of Arts & Sciences

Dorothy Day Award for Outstanding Labor Research, American Political Science Association


Susan Rebecca Martin

History of Art & Architecture and Archaeology | College of Arts & Sciences

Getty Scholar, The Getty Foundation


Robert Metcalfe

Markets, Public Policy & Law | Questrom School of Business

Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Ellis Island Honors Society


Joseph Mizgerd

Medicine, Microbiology, and Biochemistry | School of Medicine

2020 University Lecture, Boston University


Kimberly Nelson

Community Health Sciences | School of Public Health

Early Career Investigator Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine


Robin Newman

Occupational Therapy | College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Fellow, American Occupational Therapy Association


Sigrid Nunez

Creative Writing | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation


Uday Pal

Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science


Samantha Parker Kelleher

Epidemiology | School of Public Health

Rising Star Award, Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research


Jessica Petrick

Medicine | School of Medicine

Peter Paul Career Development Professorship, Boston University


Donna Pincus

Psychological & Brain Sciences | College of Arts & Sciences

Florence Halpern Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Clinical Psychology, American Psychological Association


Richard Primack

Biology | College of Arts & Sciences

George Mercer Award, Ecological Society of America


Curtis Runnels

Archaeology, Anthropology, and Classical Studies | College of Arts & Sciences

Gennadius Prize, American School of Classical Studies at Athens


Betty Ruth

Human Behavior in the Social Environment | School of Social Work

Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education Award, Council on Social Work Education


Emily Ryan

Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering

Scialog Fellow, Research Corporation for Science Advancement


Steven Sandage

Psychology of Religion and Theology | School of Theology

Grant, John Templeton Foundation


Adam Seligman

Religion | College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize, University of Tubingen


Benjamin Scott

Psychological & Brain Sciences | College of Arts & Sciences

NARSAD Young Investigator Grant, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation


Sarah Sherman-Stokes

Immigration Law | School of Law

Metcalf Cup & Prize, Boston University


Renee Spencer

Human Behavior | School of Social Work

Fellow, Society for Social Work and Research


Konstantinos Spiliopoulos

Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences

Fellow in Mathematics, Simons Foundation


Gianluca Stringhini

Electrical & Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, National Science Foundation


Lisa Sullivan

Biostatistics | School of Public Health

William D. Warde Statistics Education Award, Mu Sigma Rho (National Statistics Honorary Society)


Helen Tager-Flusberg

Psychological & Brain Sciences | College of Arts & Sciences; Anatomy & Neurobiology and Pediatrics | School of Medicine

Lifetime Achievement Award, International Society for Autism Research


Pamela Templer

Biology | College of Arts & Sciences

2021 University Provost’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year AwardBoston University


John Thornton

African American Studies and History | College of Arts & Sciences

Member, American Academy of Arts & Sciences


Jay Wexler

Law | School of Law

Book Award (IPPY Award), Independent Publisher


Renda Soylemez Wiener

Medicine | School of Medicine

Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation


Wesley Wildman

Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics | School of Theology

Grant, John Templeton Foundation


Joyce Wong

Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, National Academy of Inventors


Yoon Sun Yang

World Languages & Literature | College of Arts & Sciences

NEAC James B. Palais Book Prize, Association for Asian Studies


Muhammed Zaman

Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering | College of Engineering

Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation