Diamond continues to shine

Physics Professor Giuseppe Strangi, PhD, co-led the discovery of new properties in diamond semiconductors. The research could pave the way for new types of biomedical and quantum optical devices.

A new way to detect inflammation

Chemistry Professor Greg Tochtrop, PhD, led the development of a method to detect inflammation using antibodies. The work could potentially lead to blood tests for disease-specific biomarkers, such as for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and various cancers.

New short-story collection melds Afrofuturism and horror

Religious Studies Professor Michele Tracy Berger, PhD, wrote Doll Seed (Aunt Lute Books), a short-story collection that dives into science fiction, contemporary fantasy, magical realism and horror.

A million light-years and still going

Tobias Mistele, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Astronomy, pioneered a revolutionary technique using “gravitational lensing” to delve into the enigmatic realm of dark matter. He found that the rotation curves of galaxies remain flat for millions of light-years with no end in sight.

National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award supports new book on souvenirs across centuries

Professor Maggie Popkin received a $60,000 grant to support her work on a book titled, I Came, I Saw, I Collected: A History of the Souvenir, to be published by Reaktion Books. She is exploring the cultural significance of souvenirs from antiquity to the present.

Sharing campus stories

Nearly 20 students collaborate on “Just in Case: A CWRU Podcast.” The wide-ranging content includes faculty interviews, student spotlights, tips for students and discussions about events on campus and around Cleveland.

Shipwreck Camp returns in July for teens to learn about field science and expedition planning

Activities for campers ages 12-16 include building remotely operated vehicles for underwater exploration in Lake Erie and gaining navigational skills.

A go-to religious-studies expert on the Vatican and the legacy of popes

Associate Professor Jonathan Tan, PhD, is an expert quoted in a broad range of media outlets from TIME magazine to Singapore’s Channel News Asia about the impact of Pope Francis and the selection of Pope Leo XIV.

Discover the cognitive impact of puzzles

Vera Tobin, PhD, an associate professor of cognitive science, explains the benefits of using brain teasers to sharpen our minds and to think more critically.

Doctoral student receives a NASA award

Mai Rashwan was the 2025 winner of a Best Presentation at NASA’s Thermal & Fluids Analysis Conference.

To read more news, visit The Daily or College of Arts and Science news.

art/sci, etc.

Elizabeth Bolman, PhD, chair of the Department of Art History and Art, co-organized a Byzantine Studies Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., showcasing a growing field of scholarship focused on the contributions of people in Africa to the Byzantine world. Separately, Reed O’Mara, a doctoral student in the department, co-organized a conference to extend the narrative involving art and architecture made by or for Medieval Jewish communities. It was held in May at a University of London college in England.

Lauren Calandruccio, PhD, a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, received a 2025 Excellence in Diversity Award from the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders Excellence in Diversity Award. She was recognized for developing and directing the Innovative Mentoring through Professional Advancement and Cultural Training (IMPACT) program with Jessica Sullivan, PhD, an associate professor at Hampton University, who shared the diversity award with Calandruccio.

Daniela Calvetti, PhD, is one of 50 Simons Fellows in Mathematics. Calvetti, the James Wood Williamson Professor, will take a sabbatical during the 2025-26 academic year to investigate the  theoretical and computational connections between two types of mathematical models—classical Tikhonov regularization and the prior-based Bayesian inversion. These techniques are the foundation for computational tools used, for example, in X-rays or MRI machines to help “see” inside the human body or to check that pillars supporting bridges and buildings are solid.

Pavel Fileviez Pérez, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Physics, received a prestigious Simons Fellowship from the Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics in Italy. His research focuses on neutrino masses and dark matter.

Karen Potter‘s aerial duet, Into the Wind, is being presented in New York in June as part of the Fly-by-Night Dance Theater’s 10th NYC Aerial Dance Festival at the Manhattan Movement Arts Center. Potter, MFA (GRS ’89, dance), is chair and a professor in the Department of Dance. Performers will include Richard Oaxaca, MFA (GRS ’16, contemporary dance), an assistant professor of dance.

Maddalena Rumor, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Classics, wrote Perplexing Remedies in Ancient Medicine: >Dreckapotheke< in Mesopotamia and the Graeco-Roman World (De Gruyter Brill). In the book, Rumor identifies cases of transmission of medical knowledge from Babylonia to the Greco-Roman world, which she said “prove for the first time the existence of a clear (although probably indirect) connection” between the two medical cultures.