Board approves 16 faculty appointments

The Princeton University Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of 16 faculty members, including three full professors, two associate professors and 11 assistant professors.

Professor

Sharon Hammes-Schiffer, in chemistry, specializes in quantum chemistry. She comes to Princeton from Yale University, where she been a professor of chemistry since 2018. She was previously on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Notre Dame.

Hammes-Schiffer has published more than 350 journal articles, and her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy and others. Among her many awards, she has received a Sterling Professorship from Yale University, the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry Bourke Award and the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science Medal. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the American Physical Society, as well as an honorary fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Hammes-Schiffer holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and she is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton. Her appointment is effective Jan. 16, 2024.

Todd Hyster, in chemistry, specializes in organic synthesis and biocatalysis. He comes to Princeton from Cornell University, where he has served as an associate professor since 2021. He was previously an assistant professor at Princeton from 2015 to 2020. 

Hyster has published more than 30 journal articles since 2016, and his research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, among others. His many awards include the Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award for Creative Work, Arthur C. Cope Early Career Scholar Award, Amgen Young Investigator Award, NSF CAREER Award, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship.

Hyster holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State University and a B.S. from the University of Minnesota. His appointment is effective July 1.

Peter Schiffer, in physics, specializes in magnetic systems. He comes to Princeton from Yale University, where he has served as served as a professor of applied physics and physics since 2017. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Notre Dame.

Schiffer has published more than 200 journal articles, and his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Army Research Office, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and others. Among his awards are an NSF Early Career Development Award and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society. Since 2020, he has also served as a senior fellow with the Association of American Universities.

Schiffer holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.S. with distinction from Yale University. His appointment as professor of physics and dean for research is effective Aug. 28.

Associate professor

Anuj Shah, in psychology and public affairs, is a specialist in cognitive and social psychology. He received a Ph.D. from Princeton. Shah will join the faculty next summer.

Garry Sparks, in religion, is a specialist in religions of Latin America and Native American religions. He received an M.Div. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Sparks will join the faculty this fall.

Assistant professor

Alexandra Amon, in astrophysical sciences, is a specialist in astronomy. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Amon will join the faculty this summer.

Carolyn Choi, in American studies, is a specialist in Asian American studies. She holds a master’s from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Choi will join the faculty this summer.

Liane Feldman, in religion and Judaic studies, is a specialist in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. She holds master’s degrees from Boston College and Yale University Divinity School and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Feldman will join the faculty this fall.

Dimitrios Fraggedakis, in chemical and biological engineering, is a specialist in electrochemical processes. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT. Fraggedakis will join the faculty next summer.

Alice Kunin, in chemistry, is a specialist in spectroscopy/physical chemistry. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley. Kunin will join the faculty in Jan. 2024.

José Roque, in chemistry, is a specialist in catalysis. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley. Roque will join the faculty this summer.

Andrew Rosen, in chemical and biological engineering, is a specialist in computational materials design and discovery. He holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Rosen will join the faculty in Aug. 2024.

Karthik Sastry, in economics and public affairs, is a specialist in macroeconomics. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT. He is a Princeton graduate. Sastry will join the faculty in this summer.

Michael Skinnider, in the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and Ludwig Princeton Branch, is a specialist in computational biology and computational chemistry. He holds an M.D/Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Skinnider will join the faculty this fall.

Erin Stache, in chemistry, is a specialist in organic chemistry. She holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. Stache will join the faculty this summer.

Junko Yamazaki, in East Asian studies, is a specialist in Japanese film and media studies. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Yamazaki will join the faculty this summer.