Levy Promoted to Professor; Several Faculty Members Reappointed

The Harvey Mudd College Board of Trustees has approved the recommendation of the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee and President Maria Klawe that Associate Professor of Mathematics Rachel Levy be promoted to full professor. The promotion is effective July 1, 2016.

Hired in 2007, Levy researches applications of mathematics to biological and industrial problems. Levy’s work in fluid dynamics has included the motion of surfactants on thin liquid films, algorithms for coordination of remotely operated robots (mini-submarines) in an aquatic testbed, and the hydrodynamics of whale flukeprints. Other collaborations include the modeling of protein aggregation and the spectroscopy of environmental pollutants.

Rachel Levy

Levy is co-director of the IMMERSION project, a National Science Foundation-funded study examining how intensive training can affect elementary school teachers’ use of mathematical modeling in the classroom. Levy specializes in math curriculum and innovative design of instruction, for both undergraduate and K–12 mathematics education, and her research in this area has focused on flipped classrooms in undergraduate education and mathematical modeling in K–8 education. She is passionate about sharing mathematics by facilitating hands-on outreach activities that help people experience what mathematicians do.

As Vice President of Education for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Levy has created opportunities for mathematics students and faculty to improve their research communication with the press and the general public. She has led workshops in press communication for faculty in mathematics, biology and physics. Levy has also served as Harvey Mudd College’s Associate Dean for Faculty Development.

Reappointments Effective July 1

The Board also approved the recommended reappointments of several Harvey Mudd College faculty members.

Jae Hur

Jae Hur receives his first reappointment as assistant professor of biology. Hur’s lab researches cellular and molecular mechanisms that influence the aging process. Hur completed his undergraduate work at California Institute of Technology, earned his doctorate at Harvard University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard and UCLA.

Colleen Lewis

Assistant Professor of Computer Science Colleen Lewis receives her second reappointment. Lewis specializes in computer science education and curriculum development. She is active in computer science outreach activities at the K–12, undergraduate and graduate levels. She received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer science, a master’s in computer science and a PhD in science and mathematics education from UC Berkeley.

Tanja Srebotnjak

Hixon Professor of Sustainable Environmental Design Tanja Srebotnjak receives her first reappointment. Srebotnjak, a statistician with an interest in protecting the natural environment and in improving people’s health and well-being, works to expand student and faculty experiences in sustainability and to promote cutting-edge environmental science and design at Harvey Mudd and beyond. She completed her PhD in environmental statistics and policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her MSc and diploma in statistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Dortmund Technical University, Germany.

Katherine Van Heuvelen

Katherine Van Heuvelen receives her second reappointment as assistant professor of chemistry. A bio-inorganic chemist, Van Heuvelen develops biologically inspired, earth-abundant transition metal compounds that mimic the unusual reactivity observed in metalloenzymes. She earned bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and religion at St. Olaf College and her PhD in inorganic chemistry at University of Wisconsin, Madison.