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Charles M. Stang is Professor of Early Christian Thought at Harvard Divinity School and Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, positions he has held since joining the faculty in 2008 and becoming director in 2017 respectively. His academic home is firmly within Harvard University's religious studies ecosystem, where he has established himself as a leading scholar in ancient Christian thought and Mediterranean religious history. His educational background includes an AB from Harvard College, an MDiv from the University of Chicago, and a ThD from Harvard Divinity School. This rigorous training across prestigious institutions has equipped him with interdisciplinary perspectives that inform his boundary-crossing scholarship. Stang's research interrogates the intersections of early Christian thought with broader Mediterranean philosophical traditions, with particular emphasis on apophatic theology, Gnosticism, and Syriac Christianity. His work consistently challenges reductionist approaches to religious studies, advocating instead for what he terms an 'expansive anthropology, ontology and epistemology' that recognizes religion's capacity to transcend mundane frameworks. He has developed a distinctive theoretical framework around 'transcendence and transformation'—concepts he argues should form the core of religious studies in the contemporary academy. His publications reveal a trajectory from focused historical studies of early Christian texts toward more expansive theoretical interventions in religious studies methodology. While his early work centered on figures like Dionysius the Areopagite and Evagrius Ponticus, his recent scholarship increasingly engages with contemporary questions about religion's role in the humanities and the urgent need for what he calls 'superhumanities' that acknowledge dimensions of reality beyond conventional academic frameworks. Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise (2013) for Apophasis and Pseudonymity in Dionysius the Areopagite As Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, Stang has launched the 'Transcendence and Transformation' initiative, positioning the center as both a scholarly hub and a conceptual beacon for reimagining religious studies. His vision frames religious studies not as a marginal discipline but as essential to revitalizing the humanities through its unique capacity to engage with dimensions of reality that conventional academic frameworks often overlook. The Center functions as what Stang describes as 'a beacon, a harbour, and a record' for this reconceptualization of religious inquiry.

• Early Christian Thought
• Christianity in Late Antiquity
• Philosophy of Religion
• +6 more

Dennis W. Duke is a Professor of Physics at Florida State University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Physics within the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Computational Science. He has been a faculty member at FSU since 1979, progressing from Visiting Assistant Professor to his current position as full Professor since 1992. Duke has also held significant leadership roles including Director of the Supercomputer Computations Research Institute (1993-1998) and Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (1996-1997). Duke's research spans multiple disciplines with primary focuses on the history of ancient astronomy, computational physics, and high-performance computing. His work in ancient astronomy includes detailed studies of Greek, Babylonian, and Indian astronomical traditions, with particular emphasis on planetary models, trigonometry development, and historical measurement techniques. In computational science, he has made contributions to nonlinear dynamics, chaos theory, and statistical process control. Duke is particularly known for creating educational computer animations of ancient planetary models that have become valuable teaching tools. Analysis of Duke's 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on historical astronomy, with approximately 75% of his work dedicated to analyzing ancient astronomical systems from Greek, Babylonian, and Indian traditions. The remaining publications address statistical methods and computational techniques. His historical research often combines mathematical analysis with historical scholarship to reconstruct and understand ancient astronomical practices. COFRS Award, The Florida State University (1985) COFRS Award, The Florida State University (1986) Developing Scholar Award, The Florida State University (1986) President's Continuing Education Award, The Florida State University (1992) Duke has been extensively involved in professional service, serving on numerous national committees related to supercomputing and organizing major conferences including multiple Supercomputing 'XY events from 1988 through 2006. His teaching extends beyond traditional academic boundaries through public outreach initiatives such as chairing the Board of Directors for Tallahassee Free-Net, Inc. and serving on the Leon County Schools Information Services Advisory Board. He has supervised numerous graduate students in computational physics and the history of science, though specific student names are not documented in the provided materials. Duke maintains an active research laboratory focused on computational ancient astronomy, where he develops mathematical models and computer animations to visualize historical astronomical concepts. His team has created an extensive collection of interactive animations demonstrating planetary models from Ptolemy through Copernicus, which are widely used in educational settings. Current projects include further analysis of ancient star catalogs and the development of more sophisticated visualization tools for historical astronomical concepts.

• History of Ancient Astronomy
• Computational Ancient Astronomy
• High Performance Computing
• +5 more

Alexander Jones is a Professor of the History of the Exact Sciences in Antiquity at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW). He holds a Classics degree from the University of British Columbia and a PhD in the history of ancient mathematical sciences from Brown University. Previously, he served for sixteen years at the University of Toronto in the Classics Department and the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. His research focuses on the history and transmission of mathematical and astronomical knowledge across ancient cultures, with particular emphasis on Babylonian, Greek, and Roman contexts. Key areas include the Antikythera Mechanism, Ptolemaic astronomy, and the cultural exchanges between Mesopotamia and the Greco-Roman world. He has curated major exhibitions such as Before Pythagoras (2011) and Time and Cosmos in Greco-Roman Antiquity (2016-17). Education: B.A. Classics, University of British Columbia PhD History of Mathematical Sciences, Brown University His publications include groundbreaking editions of ancient scientific texts, such as Pappus of Alexandria's commentary on geometrical methods and fragments from the Oxyrhynchus papyri. His current research involves reconstructing ancient Babylonian chronology through the NEH-funded Shanati project. Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship Francis Bacon Award in the History of Science Membership in the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences As Principal Investigator of the Shanati project, he leads efforts to synchronize Babylonian calendars with the Julian calendar. His work bridges material culture and textual analysis, often involving interdisciplinary collaboration with archaeologists and historians of technology.

• History of Science
• Ancient Astronomy
• History of Mathematics
• +3 more

Dennis Duke is a Professor of Physics at the Florida State University (FSU), affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Scientific Computing. His academic career spans over four decades, with roles including Director of the Supercomputer Computations Research Institute (SCRI) and leadership in numerous national and international computing initiatives. He holds a B.S. from Vanderbilt University (1970) and a D.Phil. from Iowa State University (1974). His research focuses on High Performance Computing, Computational Ancient Astronomy, and Nonlinear Dynamics. Notable contributions include reconstructing ancient astronomical models (e.g., Ptolemaic planetary systems) and analyzing historical star catalogs. He has authored over 150 publications, including seminal work on Babylonian-Greek mathematical transmission and Indian astronomical traditions. Awards include multiple COFRS Awards (1985, 1986) and the President's Continuing Education Award (1992). Duke has organized major supercomputing conferences (e.g., SC98) and served on committees for DOE supercomputing initiatives. His work bridges computational science with historical scholarship, exemplified by animations of ancient planetary models and statistical analyses of precession effects. Professional affiliations include the American Physical Society and Sigma Xi.

• High Performance Computing and Networking
• Computational Ancient Astronomy
• Nonlinear Time Series
• +3 more

Gabriele Boccaccini is a Professor of New Testament and Second Temple Judaism in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan since 2002. He holds a Ph.D. in Judaic Studies from the University of Turin (1991) and has held visiting professorships at BIBLIA (Italy), Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (Detroit), Ecumenical Theological Seminary, and Waldensian Faculty of Theology. His research focuses on Second Temple Judaism Jewish-Christian relations Apocalyptic literature Dead Sea Scrolls Rabbinic origins Jewish intellectual history He has received numerous awards including the LSA Excellence in Education Award (1999), University of Turin Post-Doctoral Grant (1992), and the Italian Doctoral Grant in Judaic Studies (1987). His work spans over 50 publications, including monographs on Middle Judaism and edited translations of key biblical scholarship. As a leader in interfaith dialogue, Boccaccini has served on the founding committees of the Camaldoli Conferences Italian Ecumenical Association Greater Detroit Interfaith Round Table and contributed extensively to journals like Henoch and Amicizia Ebraico-Cristiana .

• Second Temple Judaism
• Christian Origins
• Jewish-Christian Relations
• +4 more

Abraham Winitzer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. His scholarship focuses on ancient Near East languages (Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew) and the cultural/intellectual history of the region, particularly through Akkadian literature and the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context. Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (2015–present) PhD in Assyriology, Harvard University Research interests include: Mesopotamian divination systems Comparative mythological frameworks (e.g., Nergal/Ereškigal vs. Jacob's ladder) Reception of Mesopotamian traditions in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism, and Islam Historiography of Near Eastern studies, especially A. Leo Oppenheim's legacy His 2023 Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions article on divination 2023 Oxford Bibliographies entry on Mesopotamian mythology 2024 Iraq paper linking Nergal/Ereškigal to Genesis Forthcoming Brill book on A. Leo Oppenheim's historiographical ideas reflect a strong engagement with textual interplay and comparative methodologies.

• Ancient Near East languages
• Akkadian literature
• Hebrew Bible in ancient Near Eastern context
• +7 more

John D. Norton is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has been a faculty member since 1983. He served as Chair of the department from 2000 to 2005 and as Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science from 2005 to 2016. His work bridges the history and philosophy of physics, with deep engagement in Einstein’s relativity, quantum theory, statistical mechanics, and foundational issues in scientific reasoning. His educational background includes a PhD in the School of History and Philosophy of Science from the University of New South Wales (1982) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the same institution (1974). Before transitioning to philosophy, he worked as a technologist at the Shell Oil Refinery in Sydney. Norton is renowned for his development of the material theory of induction , which challenges formalist approaches by asserting that inductive inferences are warranted by domain-specific facts rather than universal logical rules. He has also made significant contributions to the philosophy of spacetime, particularly through his analysis of the hole argument , and has published extensively on thought experiments, causation, and the thermodynamics of computation. His recent publications (2021–2025) reflect a sustained focus on induction, spacetime ontology, and the limits of thermodynamic reversibility and information processing. Key themes include the critique of Bayesianism, the historical development of thermodynamics, and the philosophical implications of time travel models in general relativity. His two major books— The Material Theory of Induction (2021) and its sequel The Large-Scale Structure of Inductive Inference (2024)—form a comprehensive philosophical framework for understanding scientific reasoning beyond formal logic. Co-Founder and Executive Committee Member, philsci-archive.pitt.edu Editor for Philosophy of Physics (Space and Time, General Physics), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Contributing Editor, Archive for History of Exact Science (1996–present) Associate/Co-Editor, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics Contributing Editor, Collected Papers of Albert Einstein , Volumes 3 and 4 Norton has advised numerous graduate students and has been instrumental in shaping the academic landscape of philosophy of science through editorial leadership and archival initiatives. His teaching includes graduate seminars on confirmation theory and the popular undergraduate course Einstein for Everyone , for which he maintains a freely available online textbook.

• History and Philosophy of Physics
• General Relativity
• Special Relativity
• +16 more

Filippo Marsili, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of History at Saint Louis University’s College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the cultural and political history of ancient China, the history of religion, and intercultural dynamics across ancient civilizations. He holds a Ph.D. (2011) and M.A. (2007) from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. (2000) from Università di Roma 'La Sapienza'. Education: Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2011 M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 2007 B.A., Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', 2000 His research explores themes such as the role of religion in ancient Chinese empires, Greco-Roman historiography, and cross-cultural encounters. Notable works include Heaven is Empty: A Cross-Cultural Approach to Religion and Power in Ancient China (2018), which challenges Western-centric frameworks in analyzing non-Western religious systems. Dr. Marsili co-created and organizes the Matteo Ricci Speakers Series, focusing on intercultural exchanges between China and the West. His pedagogical work includes courses on East Asian history, historiography, and cultural studies. Recent publications span comparative religious methodologies, material culture analyses, and reviews of seminal works in Chinese intellectual history. His scholarship emphasizes critical, postcolonial approaches to understanding ancient cultural and religious systems.

• Cultural History
• Political History of Ancient China
• History of Religion
• +4 more

Miranda Brown is a Professor of Chinese Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, holding dual appointments as the Yi-tsi Mei Feuerwerker Collegiate Professor and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. She has been affiliated with the university since 2002, currently serving as Director of the Honors Program in the College of Letters, Sciences, and Arts. Her research bridges cultural history with culinary and medical traditions in early China, focusing on foodways, mourning rituals, and historical texts. Education details are not explicitly stated in the provided texts, but her academic trajectory is evident through her extensive publications and roles. Her research interests center on the intersection of food, medicine, and culture, particularly in pre-modern China. Notable projects include a forthcoming book on pre-20th-century dairy history in China and co-authorship of A Brief History of Chinese Civilization (2012). She teaches courses such as ASIAN 258: Food and Drink of Asia and mentors graduate students through advanced seminars like ASIAN 535: History of Chinese Science. Her recent articles (2019–2022) explore topics like Mr. Song's Cheeses in Ming-Qing China, transnational food translation challenges, and cultural narratives around Chinese diets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Awards and grants are not explicitly listed, but her dual professorships reflect institutional recognition. She actively collaborates with students and maintains an engaged social media presence (@Dong_Muda) documenting culinary explorations in China.

• Chinese Medical History
• Culinary History
• Cultural History
• +3 more

Sophie Pinkham is Professor of Practice in the Comparative Literature Department at Cornell University and an IES Faculty Associate at the Institute for European Studies. She holds teaching positions in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, where she contributes to the Russian and Comparative Literature programs, teaching courses including 'The Revolutionary as Author: Autobiography and Political Myth' and 'Writing for the Public: Adapting Academic Work for a General Audience' for Spring 2025. Columbia University (PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures) Harriman Institute (MA in Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies) Yale University (BA) Pinkham's research centers on post-Soviet and post-socialist literature, culture, and politics, with a particular focus on Russia and Ukraine. Her academic interests encompass literature and film of the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and post-Soviet states; memory politics and post-socialism; environmental humanities; poetics of censorship; language politics and translation; and Siberia. Her current major project is a history of the forest in the Russian imagination, exploring the forest's role in myth, culture, and politics throughout Russian history from Mongol invasions to contemporary conflicts in Ukraine. Her extensive publications reveal consistent thematic trends across disciplines including Russian studies, political analysis, environmental history, and literary criticism. Pinkham's work demonstrates particular expertise in analyzing the intersection of cultural production with political realities in post-Soviet spaces, often highlighting how historical narratives shape contemporary conflicts. Her articles frequently examine how environmental factors, historical memory, and cultural artifacts intersect with political power structures. 2023 British Journalism Award for 'Lost in a Dark Wood' on migrants in the forest on the Belarusian-Polish border Shortlisted for True Story Award for the same article Pinkham has received significant research support, most notably a 2022-23 National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar grant supporting both her book project 'The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires' and her award-winning Economist 1843 story. Her work bridges academic scholarship and public intellectual engagement, with frequent contributions to major publications serving as a critical voice on Russian and Ukrainian affairs during a period of escalating geopolitical tensions. While she previously worked in international public health in Eastern Europe and Central Asia focusing on HIV, drug use, and women's health, her current focus remains firmly on cultural and political analysis of the post-Soviet space. Though not explicitly affiliated with a specific research lab, Pinkham's work connects with broader scholarly networks through her involvement with Cornell's Institute for European Studies and her interdisciplinary approach that bridges literary studies, history, political science, and environmental humanities.

• Post-Soviet literature
• Post-socialist culture
• Russian politics
• +6 more

Katherine Freese is the Jeff & Gail Endowed Chair of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin and a Guest Professor at Stockholm University. She previously held the George E. Uhlenbeck Professor of Physics position at the University of Michigan until her move to Texas in 2019. Freese is renowned for her work in theoretical cosmology and astroparticle physics, focusing on dark matter, dark energy, and models of the early universe. She received a $13M grant (2014–2024) for cosmoparticle physics research at Stockholm University and served as Director of NORDITA (Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics) from 2014 to 2016. Education: B.A. in Physics from Princeton University (1977), M.A. from Columbia University (1981), and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1984). She held postdoctoral positions at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Institute for Theoretical Physics (Santa Barbara), and a Presidential Fellowship at UC Berkeley. Her career milestones include becoming the first woman on the physics faculty at the University of Michigan and being elected to the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Research Interests: Dark Matter and Dark Energy detection Dark Stars (first stars powered by dark matter annihilation) Primordial Black Hole formation Early universe inflationary models cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments Paleo-detector methods using ancient minerals Publications Trends: Her recent work emphasizes observational cosmology (e.g., JWST and SPIDER experiments), dark matter detection strategies, and redefining inflationary scenarios. She has explored novel stellar phenomena like dark stars as potential seeds for supermassive black holes, and proposed interdisciplinary approaches like using minerals as paleo-detectors for neutrinos and dark matter. Awards: 2021: University of Chicago Alumni Professional Achievement Award 2019: Lilienfeld Prize for bridging cosmology and particle physics 2012: Honorary Doctorate from Stockholm University Simons Foundation Fellowship (2012) APS Fellow Advising & Grants: Supervised over 20 students and postdocs, many now leading roles in academia and industry. Grants include NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1990–1995) and a decade-long Stockholm University grant. Her research teams collaborate on CMB projects (Simons Observatory, LiteBIRD) and dark matter searches (DAMA/LIBRA, IceCube). She co-leads global initiatives like the Cosmic Microwave Background collaboration and paleo-detector networks. Labs & Teams: Active in the Physics Randall Lab (formerly at Michigan), the Weinberg Institute for Theoretical Physics , and the Nordita institute. Collaborates with SPIDER balloon teams and the Simons Observatory for CMB studies. Also involved in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) analyses and mineral-based detection projects.

• Cosmology
• Astroparticle Physics
• Dark Matter
• +3 more

Jessica Barnes is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona's Department of Planetary Sciences, specializing in cosmochemistry and lunar studies. Her research focuses on understanding solar system volatiles through microanalytical techniques in the Kuiper-Arizona Laboratory for Astromaterials Analysis. Ph.D. in Planetary and Space Sciences from The Open University and Natural History Museum, London (2015) BSc (Hons) in Geosciences from University of St Andrews (2011) Her work integrates the Apollo Next-Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program and OSIRIS-REx mission, particularly studying preserved Apollo 17 basalts to unravel lunar volatile loss mechanisms and analyzing asteroid Bennu samples for organic and isotopic compositions. Recent publications highlight her expertise in lunar volcanics, Martian meteorite water history, and asteroid chemistry. She leads grants from NASA (ANGSA2, FINESST) and Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation for planetary materials analysis. Principal Investigator for Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, 2020-25) Co-Investigator on OSIRIS-REx Mission (NASA New Frontiers, 2011-25) Principal Investigator for Magmatic History of Steno Crater Basalts (NASA ANGSA, 2019-24) She advises graduate students in the Lunar and Planetary Sciences program and contributes to spacecraft mission working groups, including Sample Archiving and Mineralogy. Her outreach efforts include public lectures on lunar geology and sample curation.

• Cosmochemistry
• Lunar Studies
• Planetary Analogs
• +3 more

Maria Mavroudi is a Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in Byzantine and Islamic cultural and intellectual exchanges. Her research spans Byzantium and the Arabs, bilingualism in the Middle Ages, Byzantine and Islamic science, and the survival of Byzantine culture post-1453. Education: PhD in Byzantine Studies, Harvard University (1998) MA in Byzantine Literature, Harvard University (1992) BA in Philology, University of Thessaloniki (1990) Her work focuses on cross-cultural transmission, particularly scientific and literary texts between Byzantium and the Islamic world. Recent publications analyze medieval translations, dream interpretation practices, and historiographical debates. Key article trends include: comparative studies of Byzantine and Islamic science, analysis of textual transmission mechanisms, and critiques of cultural identity constructions in historiography. Scientific Awards: MacArthur Fellowship (2004-2009) Wolfgang Fritz Volbach Fellowship (2022) Townsend Center for the Humanities Fellowship (2004-2005) Israel Institute for Advanced Studies Fellowship (2021) Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Fellowship (2016-17) Hellman Family Faculty Fund (2004) Regents' Junior Faculty Fellowship (2004) Dumbarton Oaks Fellowships (2000-2001, 2001-2002) Whiting Fellowship (1995-1996) Humboldt Foundation Fellowship (2007, deferred) She has contributed to public debates on cultural heritage preservation, notably participating in discussions about the Thessaloniki Metro archaeological discoveries and the Hagia Sophia conversion.

• Byzantine Studies
• Medieval History
• Islamic Science
• +5 more

Jinsong Guo is an Assistant Professor and Fellow at the Center for Ancient Chinese History, Peking University. His work bridges mathematics, astronomy, and the cultural history of premodern China, focusing on the integration of numerical knowledge with broader scholarly traditions. Specializes in the history of mathematical and astronomical knowledge in middle-period China (1100-1300). Examines interactions between literati and practitioners in shaping numerical disciplines. Highlights cross-cultural influences, including Islamic astronomy, on Chinese scientific thought. His research challenges traditional views of Chinese science as isolated, emphasizing its connections to classical scholarship and societal learning programs. Guo is also a faculty adviser to Benjamin Elman.

• Mathematics
• Astronomy
• Chinese History
• +3 more

Kevin van Bladel is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University, where he teaches in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He has previously held faculty positions at The Ohio State University and the University of Southern California, where he co-founded the Middle East Studies Program. He earned his PhD and MPhil from Yale University and holds a BA and MA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research centers on the philology and history of the Near East between 200 and 1200 CE, with a focus on the sociolinguistic and cultural transitions during the Arab conquests, the transmission of scholarly traditions across languages (especially Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Greek, and Sanskrit), and the intellectual history of late antiquity. He is particularly known for his work on the Arabic reception of Hermes Trismegistus and the origins of Mandaeism. His recent publications reflect a broad engagement with the classical traditions of the Near East, including studies on Middle Persian literature, the translation movement in Baghdad, Arabicization and Islamization, and the institutional history of Islamic studies. His work often bridges philology, history, and religious studies, advocating for an integrated 'Classical Near East' framework. His scholarly contributions include influential monographs such as The Arabic Hermes and From Sasanian Mandaeans to Ṣābians of the Marshes , and numerous articles in top journals and edited volumes. He has also contributed reference entries to the Encyclopaedia of Islam . Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University (2017–present) Associate Professor and Chair, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, The Ohio State University (2013–2017) Assistant/Associate Professor of Classics, University of Southern California PhD, Yale University (2004) He has taught a wide range of ancient languages and courses on the empires of ancient Iran, the history of the Near East, and the cultures of late antiquity. His academic service includes participation in major research initiatives and scholarly networks, and he maintains an active presence through publications and digital scholarship.

• Near Eastern Philology
• Late Antiquity
• Classical Near East
• +17 more