The following are among the new faculty members on the Hilltop Campus. Others will be introduced periodically in this space.
Douglas Chalker, Ph.D., joins the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. He received a bachelor's degree in biology in 1986 from the University of California, Riverside, and a doctorate in 1992 from the University of California, Irvine's Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. His research interests are in the study of DNA rearrangement and the understanding of non-Mendelian inheritance providing insights into biological questions related to chromosome structure. He has received a number of honors for his work, including recognition from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Research Service Award, a post-doctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (1993-96); the University of California Statewide Biotechnology Research and Education Program Fellowship at the University of California, Irvine (1990-1991); and the National Institutes of Health Training Grant, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine (1987-1990).
Lingchei Letty Chen, Ph.D., joins the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. She received a bachelor's degree in English and American literature in 1984 from Tamkang University in Taiwan, a master's degree in English literature from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., a second master's in modern Chinese literature in 1993 from Columbia University, and a doctorate in comparative literature and modern Chinese literature in May 2000, also from Columbia University. Her research is in the area of modern and contemporary literature of mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and she has a particular interest in postmodern and postcolonial theory. She is co-founder of the Research Group for Taiwanese History and Culture, and has served as the coordinator for the research group's annual international conferences on the history and culture of Taiwan, which have been held since its founding in 1995.
Matthew C. Erlin joins the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. He received a bachelor's degree in international relations in 1990 from Stanford University and a master's degree in German in 1994 from the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently a Ph.D. candidate. His research interests include German literature, literary and intellectual history of the Enlightenment, early Romanticism, urban culture, philosophies of history, critical theory and pedagogy. His grants and awards include Phi Beta Kappa and a University of California, Berkeley, Humanities Research Grant.