Nikhil Bajaj receives NSF CAREER Award
Nikhil Bajaj, assistant professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, has spent much of his career on nonlinear systems — the kind whose behavior shifts sharply once a threshold is crossed.
Many of those systems depend on devices that exhibit bifurcation behavior, reading inputs and turning them into outputs in ways that can sharpen sensitivity or ease of use. And those similarities turn up across disciplines.
Bajaj has been awarded a $649,684 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to help him flip the usual design process on its head. Rather than building a system and asking what it will do, his goal is to start with a desired behavior and work backward to engineer the system that produces it, an approach he calls behavior-first design. The framework targets nonlinear systems such as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), including ultrasensitive gas-leak detectors capable of sensing hazardous compounds at parts-per-billion levels as well as energy harvesters and aerospace structures.
In a system with bifurcations, a quantitative change results in a qualitative change — that is, a change in the value of the input results in a change of the type of outcome. Once a certain threshold is met, the system doesn’t do more of what it was doing; it instead does something different. For example, a somewhat flexible column loaded with heavier and heavier weights will compress more and more, but once a specific load is placed on it, it will move in a different way, bulging out to one side or buckling.
Today, researchers can characterize these kinds of systems using a lot of trial and error and analogies to previous systems. “Say I’m building a car, and I want it to have 400 horsepower,” Bajaj said. If he didn’t know how to hit that number, he might take any engine and keep tweaking it — tightening something here, disconnecting a part there — until it worked. And horsepower is an easy case, a smooth dial you can turn up or down. The challenge multiplies when the goal is a threshold behavior: getting a system to switch into a new kind of motion at exactly the right input, and not a moment before.
“Designing in bifurcation behavior can feel a bit like working in the dark,” Bajaj said. Even so, the field has made remarkable progress. Across nonlinear systems, libraries of relationships have accumulated for many decades as researchers test inputs and observe outputs via theory and experiment. They’ve found that systems with bifurcations of all kinds — a wing vibrating erratically at speed, a material buckling under pressure, a neuron firing in the brain —seem to be governed by similar principles. The equations aren’t identical, but when systems engineers compare notes, they find meaningful similarities behind the different variables and outputs.
“We play the same mathematical games, just on different fields,” Bajaj said. At a nonlinear dynamics conference, he might have a specific engineering question on his mind. “But then I could run into someone doing the same thing on a biological system and I think, ‘I can use their method to apply to my problem.’”
Bajaj will use his CAREER Award to develop a unified computational framework for designing nonlinear systems from a desired behavior, rather than discovering their behavior through trial and error. “I want to pick all my parameters, all the knobs I can turn, so that it does the things I want it to do and not necessarily the things that are undesirable.” The framework is intentionally general; he will demonstrate the approaches on small and large scales — from MEMS gas sensors on the micrometer-scale to flutter in aircraft wings.
— Brandie Jefferson
Maureen Lichtveld again named a National Academy of Medicine councilor
Maureen Lichtveld, dean and Jonas Salk Chair in Population Health at Pitt's School of Public Health, was selected to serve a second term as a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) councilor starting July 1. She is among five people chosen by NAM members to serve a three-year term on the academy’s governing and oversight body. Councilors provide essential oversight and advice to guide strategic decision-making across NAM.
The independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization is composed of the nation’s top scholars, innovators and business leaders committed to scientific excellence and public service. The organization informs policy and advances science with the goal of achieving optimal health for all Americans.
In addition to serving as a NAM councilor, Lichtveld serves on the boards of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Board on Global Health and the One Health Action Collaborative. She is also part of the advisory committee for the National Academies’ Climate Communications Initiative and chairs Pennsylvania’s One Health Consortium.
Lichtveld’s research is on national and global environmental health research examines the cumulative impact of chemical and nonchemical stressors on communities facing environmental health threats, disasters (including pandemics) and health disparities. An internationally recognized environmental health scientist, Lichtveld’s research spans environmentally induced disease, climate and health, disaster preparedness and community resilience.
Jonathan Fuller named a 2029 Greenwall Faculty Scholar
The Greenwall Foundation has named Jonathan Fuller, associate professor in the Dietrich School's Department of History and Philosophy of Science, one of its 2029 Greenwall Faculty Scholars for his work to improve diagnoses for diseases like Alzheimer’s.
His project, Bioethics of Diagnostic Error and Diagnostic Excellence, uses a novel philosophical theory about the aims of diagnosis to develop concepts of diagnostic error and excellence, as well as standards for achieving excellence, and measures of overdiagnosis.
Fuller will use these concepts, standards and measures to make bioethical recommendations for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease based on the presence of biomarkers.
“By improving how we evaluate and measure diagnostic excellence and error, we can provide more ethical, higher-quality diagnosis for diseases like Alzheimer’s,” Fuller said.
The director of the University’s Research Ethics Consultation Service, Fuller also holds a secondary position as an associate professor of medicine and a core faculty member of the Institute for Bioethics.
The Greenwall Foundation’s program is intended to help build the next generation of bioethics leaders by supporting innovative research by early-career faculty. Since 2002, the Foundation has supported more than 75 scholars from more than 40 institutions.
11 Pitt educators earns a Nancy Tannery Grant for Open Educational Resources
Pitt’s Office of the Provost has announced 11 awardees of the 2026 Nancy Tannery Grant for Open Educational Resources, an initiative that supports faculty as they adapt, adopt or create open educational resources for use in an existing course.
The grants have been offered since 2018 and save students money on course material and aid faculty in customizing their courses. Their namesake, Assistant Provost Nancy Tannery, was a passionate advocate for open educational resources at Pitt.
This year’s awardees include a modular resource for responsible academic writing with AI, a guide for flipping an organic chemistry classroom and resources for memoir writing.
A full list of winning projects can be found on the Office of the Provost website.
Justin Dandoy named director of PittServes
Justin Dandoy will join the University of Pittsburgh Division of Student Affairs as the new director of PittServes, effective May 25.
In his most recent role as director of community affairs in Pitt’s Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, Dandoy (EDUC ’20G) has led the University’s Be A Good Neighbor initiatives, facilitated the Oakland Neighborhood Commitment, and built strong partnerships with community organizations throughout Oakland, the Upper Hill District and the Greater Pittsburgh area. In that role, he has served as a close collaborator with Student Affairs, partnering regularly with PittServes staff and connecting students and student organizations with meaningful community-based opportunities.
Dandoy brings more than 15 years of progressive higher education experience spanning community engagement, student conduct, diversity and inclusion programming and sustainability leadership. Before joining Pitt, he served as associate director of student affairs at Penn State Greater Allegheny, where he oversaw cocurricular community engagement, launched identity-focused programs like the Young Black Leadership Storytelling Series and supported cross-cultural dialogue through the Unity Talks and Crossing Bridges initiatives. Prior to that, as director of community engagement at Washington and Jefferson College, he successfully elevated volunteer programming into a standalone Office of Community Engagement within the Division of Student Affairs, secured grant funding and developed service-learning partnerships with faculty and community organizations.
Dandoy earned his Doctor of Education in higher education management from the University, where his dissertation focused on partnership and place-based community engagement competencies. He holds a Master of Arts in student affairs in higher education from Slippery Rock University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Clarion University. He currently serves as national chairperson of NASPA’s Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Knowledge Community and is a lead editor and research fellow for Campus Compact’s forthcoming competency model for community engagement professionals.
“Justin’s deep roots in the Pittsburgh community, his scholarship in the field and his passion for creating transformational student experiences through civic engagement make him an outstanding addition to our team,” said Carla Panzella, vice provost for student affairs, in a May 4 announcement.
Chenits Pettigrew receives Education Vanguard Award
Chenits Pettigrew (EDUC ’76G) received the 2026 Education Vanguard Award from NEED, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit college access program providing scholarships, grants and mentoring to underrepresented, low-income youth.
Marcia Sturdivant, president and CEO of NEED, said the association dean for student engagement and enrichment is an authentic example of supporting aspiring students to achieve their goals
“Dr. Pettigrew’s professional and personal legacy of community contributions have boldly reinforced the commitment to educational equity and empowerment, ensuring that aspiring students of all backgrounds receive the resources and guidance needed to thrive,” she said.
Pettigrew received a political science degree from Westminster College, a Master of Education from the University of Pittsburgh and PhD in education from Pepperdine University. In 2011, the Dr. Chenits Pettigrew Jr. Fund for Diversity Affairs in the School of Medicine was established in his honor.
— Nichole Faina
Mohammed Bamyeh earns Kuwait Prize in sociology
Mohammed Bamyeh, professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology, was awarded the 2025 Kuwait Prize in economic and social sciences for sociology by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
Awarded annually since 1979, the Kuwait Prize is one of the Arab world’s most prestigious scientific honors, recognizing distinguished contributions across fields including the natural sciences, social sciences and the arts. The prize carries an award of roughly $100,000, along with a gold medal and certificate of recognition.
Bamyeh’s scholarship spans sociology, religion, knowledge and social transformation, with a particular focus on revolutions and the Arab world. He is the author and editor of 12 books, including “Lifeworlds of Islam,” “The Ends of Globalization” and “The Social Origins of Islam,” and previously served as editor of the journal International Sociology Reviews.
Bamyeh previously was awarded an Einstein Fellowship in 2024 at the Free University of Berlin.
Atilla Soran recognized by National Lymphedema Network
Atilla Soran, clinical professor of surgery in Pitt’s School of Medicine and breast surgical oncologist at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, was featured as the March 2026 National Lymphedema Network (NLN) Community Champion for his work in prevention and surgery for the chronic condition.
Lymphedema is characterized by swelling in the arms or legs, most commonly occurring in cancer patients whose lymph nodes have been removed or damaged during treatment. Soran is among a small number of physicians in the U.S. using lymphatic mapping with indocyanine green dye during and after cancer surgery to identify and preserve arm lymphatics, enabling early intervention. His research shows 96% of his patients remain free of clinical arm lymphedema over three years.
He also serves on the NLN’s Medical Advisory Committee, which guides national best practices for lymphedema diagnosis and treatment, and was named president-elect of the Senologic International Society in November 2025.
3 Pitt faculty honored by American Association of Immunologists
Three faculty members in Pitt's School of Medicine were recently honored by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI).
Distinguished Professor of Immunology Dario A.A. Vignali, who also serves as chair of the Department of Immunology, and Gerald P. Rodnan Professor Sarah Gaffen were named 2026 Distinguished Fellows — one of the highest honors bestowed by the organization.
The award, which recognizes AAI members for distinguished careers, outstanding scientific contributions and exemplary service to both association and the broader immunology community, is reserved for active, long-term members with 25 or more years of cumulative membership who have demonstrated excellence in research, exceptional leadership or notable distinction as educators. Vignali and Gaffen were honored on April 15 at the AAI IMMUNOLOGY2026 meeting in Boston.
Other AAI Distinguished Fellows from Pitt include JoAnne Flynn, Mark Shlomchik, Anuradha Ray and Olivera “Olja” Finn, who was awarded AAI’s 2026 Excellence in Mentoring Award in recognition of her exemplary career contributions to a future generation of scientists.
The Distinguished Professor of Immunology was also previously awarded the AAI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and formerly served as the association’s president.
“Of all the awards I have received, this one is by far the sweetest,” said Finn. “It means a lot because it recognizes that you didn’t get to this point in your career alone. Science is a family business.”
She was presented with the award during the president’s symposium at AAI’s IMMUNOLOGY2026 meeting on April 18.
L. Dade Lunsford in School of Medicine publishes memoir
L. Dade Lunsford, Lars Leksell and Distinguished Professor of Neurological Surgery in the School of Medicine, published a memoir chronicling his groundbreaking career.
The book, “Brain Surgeon Without a Scalpel: Memoir of a Stereotactic Radiosurgery Pioneer” (McFarland Publishing), is centered on four themes: mentorship and collaboration, the fusion of advanced imaging with surgical technology, the development of Gamma Knife radiosurgery and navigating leadership at a major academic medical center.
Lunsford’s scholarship has been instrumental in advancing minimally invasive neurosurgical techniques that improve patient outcomes globally. Beyond his clinical innovations, Lunsford has trained hundreds of neurosurgeons and other medical specialists and has amassed more than 1,300 publications and 18 edited or co-edited books.
Lunsford graduated from the University of Virginia in 1970 and from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1974. He completed his internship in surgery at the University of Virginia Hospital and his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Following a one-year fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, he joined the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Neurological Surgery faculty in 1981.
Karen Arndt named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Karen Arndt, professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Biology, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the society announced on April 22.
The academy, chartered in 1780, is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges. Arndt joins nearly 252 members elected in this year’s class, who have distinguished themselves in academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science.
Arndt, a National Institutes of Health Outstanding Investigator Award recipient, studies the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes through the actions of transcription elongation factors, epigenetic modifications of chromatin and their interplay. She is passionate about mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers alike and received a Departmental Impact Award from Pitt’s Department of Biological Sciences in 2024. Arndt received a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and completed her postdoctoral studies in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.
She joins 27 other esteemed University of Pittsburgh colleagues previously elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, including Chancellor Joan Gabel, Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg, Avinoff Professor of Biological Sciences Jeffrey L. Brodsky, Distinguished Professor of Pathology Yuan Chang, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology Graham Hatfull and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Patrick S. Moore.
“We celebrate the achievement of each new member and the collective breadth and depth of their excellence — this is a fitting commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Laurie Patton, president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. “The founding of the nation and the academy are rooted in the inextricable links between a vibrant democracy, the free pursuit of knowledge and the expansion of the public good.”
The 2026 inductees will be honored in October in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
AAMC recognizes Pitt Medicine people for curriculum innovation
Three people in Pitt School of Medicine’s Office of Medical Education have been recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) as a Promising Practice for their work supporting staff during the rollout of Pitt’s Three Rivers Curriculum.
Katie Maietta, assistant dean for education administration; Greg Null, director of program evaluation; and Allison Serra, assistant dean for accreditation and CQI, were featured for introducing feedback sessions using the After Action Review framework, a structured approach to real-time problem-solving that encourages reflection on what went well and what needs improvement. These sessions gave staff a structured, psychologically safe space to bring up concerns and work collaboratively during the curriculum change.
The Three Rivers Curriculum, which launched in August 2023, is Pitt Medicine's redesigned medical education program. Its goal is to move away from traditional lecture-based learning toward case-based study, hands-on clinical experience and long-term relationships between students and patients with chronic illnesses.
The AAMC’s Promising Practices program selects submissions from medical schools across the country based on novelty, demonstrated outcomes and sustainability. The model is now available as a national reference for other schools to replicate.
Read more about how the curriculum is evolving in Pitt Med magazine.
— Donovan Harrell
Molly Warsh receives Leopold-Hidy Award
Molly Warsh, associate professor in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and associate director of Pitt's World History Center, earned the Leopold-Hidy Award from the editors of the journal Environmental History. The annual award is bestowed on the author of the journal’s best article of the year.
For the winning article, “Seasonal Harvests: Migration, Reproduction, and Religion in the Early Modern Spanish Tuna Fisheries,” judges said Warsh “brilliantly navigates the shifting relationships between species, habitats (land, sea and littoral), and social groups across the local, regional and transnational scales.” Judges praised Warsh's work as “evocative and a wonderful example of compelling storytelling.”
Warsh’s first book, American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire 1492-1700 considers the global repercussions of patterns of human and environmental resource management established in the sixteenth-century Spanish Caribbean pearl fisheries. Her work in progress, a book entitled, Servants of the Seasons: Itinerant Labor and the Making of the Modern World explores early modern Atlantic history and world history. She is also the editor of the Journal of Early Modern History.
Pitt ranks in top 50 universities building job-ready technical talent, per CodeSignal
Pitt has been named in the top 50 for building job-ready technical talent in CodeSignal’s University Ranking Report.
Pitt debuted at No. 49 on the list, which assesses schools according to how well their students performed on the General Coding Assessment, an industry-standard certified assessment taken by more than 75% of U.S computer science grads. It’s the same evaluation Meta, Netflix, Capital One and Dropbox use to hire entry-level engineers. Now in its sixth year, the report is one of the most comprehensive skills-based analyses of university outcomes in the country.
Pitt has long been a standard-bearer for students’ success and is lauded by both national and international institutions. The University is ranked in the top 50 on Time magazine and Statista’s Best Colleges for Future Leaders list. Additionally, Pitt ranked in the top 100 universities worldwide across several categories, including life sciences and medical and health, according to a new ranking by Times Higher Education. And the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 edition of its National Universities Rankings named Pitt as one of the top 35 public universities.
Olga Klimova re-elected as president of the American Council of Teachers of Russian
Olga Klimova, director of the Russian program in the Dietrich School's Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, was re-elected as president of the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), one of the leading national organizations in the field. She first assumed the role in 2024, following service as vice president and earlier work on the ACTR Board of Directors.
Klimova’s teaching excellence has been recognized with major awards, including the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2025, the Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award in 2023, the Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum in 2022 and the 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages.
From 2017 to 2025, Klimova served as director of the federally funded STARTALK Russian Program for high school students — also offered for college students as of 2025 — where she led curriculum design, faculty training and student recruitment. Her national leadership extends across multiple organizations, including the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators and the American Councils for International Education. Through her work, she continues to shape the future of language education at both institutional and national levels.
Alumnus Jared Lemus awarded for debut short story collection
Jared Lemus (A&S ’22G) is the 2026 recipient of the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection for his book, “Guatemalan Rhapsody.” The award honors a work of significant literary merit and bestows a $25,000 prize earmarked to support a subsequent creative project.
The PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize judges described Lemus’ short story collection as “written with tenderness and lithe prose intertwined with humor …” and “... rare is the debut that arrives fully rendered and delivers a writer whose voice and talent promise even greater things to come.”
Lemus’ stories have appeared in publications including The Atlantic, The Kenyon Review, Story, PANK, Cleaver and Joyland. His novel, “Magic in the Land of Eternal Spring,” is forthcoming with Ecco-HarperCollins in spring 2027.
Jay Hornack honored for decades of community service
Joseph “Jay” Hornack, an adjunct professor at Pitt's School of Law, received the Dorsey/O'Brien Award for community impact from the Steel Valley Authority. The award recognizes individuals with more than 40 years of dedicated community service.
The Steel Valley Authority is a Pittsburgh-area economic development organization founded in 1985 in response to deindustrialization in the region. Hornack, an employment law attorney who has been at Pitt for more than 22 years, directs the Human Resources Law Online Graduate Certificate Program and teaches disability discrimination law.
Hornack also sits on the legal committee for Disability Rights Pennsylvania and previously chaired the Allegheny County Bar Association's Law and Disability Committee.
Christy Ruffner named to the NAPAHE board of directors
Christy Ruffner, chief of staff at Pitt-Bradford, was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education (NAPAHE) for a three-year term beginning in 2026.
Ruffner, who has been at Pitt for 11 years, is one of six newly elected members joining the board this year. NAPAHE is the premier professional community for individuals who support senior leaders in higher education, offering programming, networking and professional development to chiefs of staff, presidential assistants and other executive office professionals at colleges and universities.
Pitt Police’s Urban picked for Special Olympics torch run
Sgt. Jessica Urban was selected for the 2026 Final Leg Torch Run Team for the USA Special Olympics Games in June in Minneapolis, Minn.
Urban is a patrol sergeant in the Motorcycle Unit, and has been with Pitt Police for three years.
A group of police officers and Special Olympics athletes were selected from the United States to be on the team which is broken into two sections (western and eastern sides of the country).
The Final Leg Torch Run will help raise awareness about individuals with intellectual disabilities, inclusion, and the Special Olympics USA Games. The last day of the run, the team will light the cauldron at Opening Ceremonies to kick off the USA Games.
The team will meet up in New Jersey on May 31, and over the course of a few weeks, will travel to Liberty Island, N.Y.; Point Pleasant, N.J.; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pa.; Clevland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; Madison, Wisc.; and end in Minneapolis on June 21.
6 projects earn Dietrich Innovation Institute funding
Six projects earned funding through the Dietrich Innovation Initiative (DI2), a program in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and College of General Studies designed to empower faculty and staff to enrich research, student learning and community engagement at the University.
Three different awards are given: Launch Support, for short-term projects with budgets of $5,000 or less; Major Development, with budgets up to $20,000; and Moon Shot, for major innovative efforts with budgets up to $100,000.
The winning projects and faculty are:
Launch Support
Cement City (Season 2): A Documentary Podcast About “One Forgotten Town”
Erin Anderson
Major Development
Infrastructure of Innovation in “Left Behind” Regions — Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and County Durham, UK
Michael Glass
Uncovering the Legacy of Slavery in Pittsburgh’s Religious Institutions and Build Environment
Brock Bahler
Community-Engaged Outreach, Research and Teaching in the Churchill Valley Greenway
Sarah Moore and Patrick Shirey
Pitt Summer Chemistry Academy
Susan Maleckar
Moon Shot
Illuminating Student Innovation Pathways Through a Chemical Biology Research-Teaching Ecosystem
Seth Childers and Liu Lingfeng