Distinguished Faculty
World-class faculty conduct research, teach, and push the boundaries of their fields every day at Ohio State. Read six examples of how Arts and Sciences faculty, thanks to philanthropic investments from donors and partners, are on the forefront of discovery and innovation in their disciplines.
Agostini awarded Nobel Prize
Pierre Agostini, emeritus professor of physics, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023 for his work on the creation of techniques to capture electrons using pulses of light. Each pulse lasts just an attosecond, or one quintillionth of a second.
Agostini (second from left) and his longtime lab partner Professor Lou DiMauro, the Dr. Edward E. and Sylvia Hagenlocker Chair in Physics (second from right), are both decorated giants in their field. They chose Ohio State 20 years ago and, for many reasons, have continued to choose the university as the site for their work. Access to talent, space, equipment, funding, collaborations with other institutions and support are among them.
The generations of students working in the Agostini-DiMauro Research Group take away important lessons every day. Welcomed into an environment that is equally rigorous and inquisitive, students and postdocs see in these physicists the type of leaders they wish to become.
Collaborative on the Science of Polarization and Misinformation (C-SPAM)
Collaborative on the Science of Polarization and Misinformation (C-SPAM) is an interdisciplinary initiative focused on exploring the psychological factors that drive the polarization of beliefs and attitudes. This project is spearheaded by the Department of Psychology, leveraging its rich legacy of groundbreaking research on the human mind, brain, and behavior. Established in 2024 with a generous donation from the Weary Family Foundation, C-SPAM benefits from the collaborative expertise of Ohio State's faculty. In alignment with the university's mission, the project aims to engage audiences with its research.
Building on the social psychology program's long-standing emphasis on understanding the origins of everyday beliefs and attitudes — a core objective since the program's inception in 1964 — this research seeks to deepen our comprehension of these fundamental aspects of human behavior.
Learn more by visiting the C-SPAM website
Ohio State receives Mellon Foundation grant to transform Department of African American and African Studies
In 2023, The Ohio State University Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) was awarded a transformational grant from the Mellon Foundation. AAAS boasts a 50-year history of interdisciplinary scholarship and education centered on the Black experience.
The grant will assist in advancing the department and positioning it to be a national leader. AAAS’s comprehensive multidisciplinary curriculum includes courses in literature, music, history, psychology, sociology, political science, and community development.
Thompson named the inaugural Markowitz Chair in Astronomy
Established in 2018 with generous support from Allan H. Markowitz, the Allan H. Markowitz Endowed Chair in Astronomy is used to support a chair position in the department. Todd Thompson is the inaugural Markowitz Chair, professor of astronomy and current department chair, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Physics, and is a Distinguished University Scholar. His research interests include theoretical astrophysics, starburst galaxies, supernovae and gamma ray bursts.
"Here, at Ohio State, I’ve been lucky to have many excellent colleagues who consistently inspire me to think in different ways and to solve new problems. Ohio State’s astronomy department is one of the best in the world and it’s a treat to come in every day excited to talk to my colleagues here about our science." — Todd Thompson
Learn more about Professor Thompson
Monda Professorship holder awarded 2022 Faculty Mentor of the Year
Established in 2019 by Keith Monda, the Eric Byron Fix-Monda Endowed Professorship supports a faculty position in behavioral finance and economics.
Current appointee Bruce Weinberg is a professor in the Department of Economics whose work focuses on changes in the wage structure and family and neighborhood determinants of youth outcomes. Beyond Ohio State, he has advised policy makers at a variety of levels and served on two working groups of the Advisory Committee to the National Institutes of Health Director focused on the next generation of the biomedical research workforce.
Weinberg has made important contributions to the understanding of how technological change and industrial shifts affect wage inequality, the determinants of life outcomes and behaviors, and the emerging science of creativity and innovation.
Seth Andre Myers Professorship in Global Military History empowers recruitment
Lydia Walker is a historian of twentieth-century global decolonization. Her work explores the international history of South Asia, Southern Africa, military intervention, and insurgent resistance. She is also a faculty Research Associate at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, where she serves as director of the Non-State Archive. Her research focuses on nationalist insurgent movements that did not achieve statehood during decolonization and how they sought out alternative sources of international recognition.
The establishment of the Seth Andre Myers Professorship in Global Military History in 2021 empowered Walker’s recruitment as its inaugural appointee. Endowed faculty support attracts top-tier talent, advances faculty's expertise and drives innovative research.