B. Ashton NicholsProfessor of English Language and Literature; Walter E. Beach '56 Distinguished Chair in Sustainability Studies (1988).Kaufman Building-192 East College-305nicholsa@dickinson.edu (717) 245-1359
Candie C. WildermanProfessor of Environmental Science; Walter E. Beach '56 Distinguished Chair in Sustainability Studies (1974).Kaufman Building Room 112(717) 245-1573 | wilderma@dickinson.edu B.S., Tufts University, 1968; M.A., Harvard University, 1969; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1984. Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2001-2002.Her specialty is the study of freshwater systems with a focus on water quality. Her current research interests include: operational models for community-based research, watershed assessment and management, aquatic ecology, and Chesapeake Bay restoration and protection issues.
Michael K. HeimanProfessor of Environmental Studies and Geography (1989).Kaufman Building Room 110(717) 245-1338 | heiman@dickinson.edu B.S., State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1971; M.S., Cornell University, 1975; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1978; Ph.D., 1983.As a geographer with a background in environmental science and social theory, Professor Heiman's scholarship and teaching center on environmental regulation and policy. Prior articles have addressed waste management,environmental racism and justice, risk assessment, and the democratization of science. His current research and publications center on U.S. and European energy policy, carbon offset trading, and the sustainability of alternative transportation fuels.
Brian S. PedersenAssociate Professor of Environmental Science (1998).Kaufman Building Room 130(717) 245-1897 | pedersen@dickinson.edu B.S., Harvey Mudd College, 1981; M.S., University of California at Davis, 1988; Ph.D., Oregon State University. 1992.His teaching and research interests concern ecology and environmental science.
Gregory J. Howard (on leave of absence 2012-13) Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies (2009).Kaufman Building Room 131(717) 245-1527 | howardg@dickinson.edu B.S., Yale University, 1992; M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994; MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, 2005; D.Sc., 2008.Greg Howard comes to Dickinson's Environmental Studies Department from the Boston University School of Public Health, where he earned his DSc and MPH degrees in environmental health. Previously, he studied astronomy and physics at Yale and at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. With training in both epidemiology and toxicology, Greg's primary research focus is on understanding how exposures to multiple toxic hazards can act together to cause adverse health effects -- a key concern for communities impacted by pollution. In addition, he has a longstanding interest in the relationship between urban design, transportation, and health, a focus driven in part by decades as a bike commuter. At Dickinson, Greg plans to continue teaching and research in both areas, drawing connections between public health concerns, equity, sustainability, and the environment.
Michael D. BeeversAssistant Professor of Environmental Studies (2011).Kaufman Building Room 106beeversm@dickinson.edu B.S., Western Illinois University, 1993; M.S., M.P.A., University of Washington, 2004; Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2011.His interests include environmental policy, global environmental politics, environmental security, development, globalization, peacebuilding and African Politics. His current research examines environmental and natural resource governance in war-torn societies - with a particular focus on forests, diamonds and minerals in Liberia and Sierra Leone. He has worked as a research associate at Princeton University and as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme and World Resources Institute. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger.
Roger D. TurnerVisiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies (2012).Kaufman Building Room 104turnerr@dickinson.edu B.A., Brown University, 2001; M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 2005; Ph.D., 2010.
H. Eugene WingertVisiting Instructor in Biology (2007).Dana Hall Room 3(717) 254-8939 | wingerth@dickinson.edu B.A., Shippensburg University, 1967; M.Ed., 1972.
Julie D. VastineDirector of the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) (2007).Kaufman Building (717) 245-1135 | vastine@dickinson.edu B.S., Dickinson College, 2003.
Jennifer HalpinDirector of the Dickinson College Farm (2007).Kaufman Building Room 122(717) 245-1251 | halpinj@dickinson.edu B.A., Providence College, 1994.
Thomas M. ArnoldAssociate Professor of Biology (2003).Dana Hall Room 210(717) 245-1319 | arnoldt@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., St. Mary's College of Maryland, 1993; Ph.D., University of Delaware, 1998.Dr. Arnold is a biochemist and physiologist who studies natural toxins, pheromones, odors, and anti-microbials. He focuses on natural products found in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including seagrass communities, coral reefs, temperate forests, and agricultural fields.
Jeremy R. Ball (on leave 2012-13) Associate Professor of History (2005).ballj@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Boston College, 1994; M.A., Yale University, 1998; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 2003.He teaches courses in African political and ecological history, apartheid, the Atlantic slave trade, and human rights. His research focuses on the labor and business history of Angola, Portuguese colonialism, and oral history.
James CiarroccaGIS Specialist.Kaufman Building Room 188(717) 245-1978 | ciarrocj@dickinson.edu B.S., Pennsylvania State University, 1980; M.S., University of Redlands, 2005.
Daniel G. CozortAssociate Professor of Religion (1988).East College Room 206(717) 254-8972 | cozort@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Brown University, 1976; M.A., University of Virginia, 1983; Ph.D., 1989.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2011-12.His courses explore the thought and practices of Indian religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, but he also teaches about Native American religions, romantic love in the western tradition, and methods for the study of religion. He has published several books on Buddhist philosophy and the esoteric tantric tradition, particularly its use of mandalas. He has a special interest in meditation theory and practice.
Benjamin R. Edwards (on leave Spring 2013) Associate Professor of Earth Sciences (2002).Kaufman Building Room 139(717) 254-8934 | edwardsb@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Carleton College, 1989; M.S., University of Wyoming, 1993; Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 1997.His research foci are glaciovolcanism (interactions between volcanoes and ice, including the formation of pillow lava and cooling joints), petrological imaging of lithospheric stratigraphy (using xenoliths from Neogene to Recent volcanoes in the North American Cordillera), and applications of theoretical models for understanding the transport and crystallization of silicate melts. His other interests include mineralogy, environmental hazards, the history of science, and the influence of plate tectonics on almost everything. His current research involves taking students to places like Monterrat (West Indies) to study xenoliths and volcanic stratigraphy, Iceland to study volcano-ice interactions, and northern British Columbia to map and collect samples of volcanic deposits, especially from volcanoes that erupted beneath or against ice.
James G. EllisonAssociate Professor of Anthropology (2005).Denny Hall Room 307(717) 245-1902 | ellisonj@dickinson.edu B.A., Michigan State University, 1987; M.A., University of Florida, 1990; Ph.D., 1999.A broadly trained cultural anthropologist, Ellison researches political and economic transformations and culture in eastern Africa, focusing on colonialism, socialism, and "neoliberalism." His main fieldwork sites are in Tanzania and Ethiopia. He also co-directs a summer field school in Tanzania to teach anthropological research methods.
Kjell I. EngeAssociate Professor of Anthropology (1984).Denny Hall Room 20(717) 245-1207 | enge@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Northeastern University, 1964; Ph.D., Boston University, 1981.Prof. Enge's specialties include the design and use of monitoring systems to track the progress of education and health projects and the evaluation of projects, including formative, summative and the determination of sustainability into the future. His current work in education includes directing a three-year cross-national evaluation of the libraries donated to primary/secondary schools in Asia and Africa by Room to Read to determine the effects and attitudes toward reading and literacy involving both schools, parents and community leaders. The evaluation uses a multi-method combination of quantitative-qualitative methods and is being carried out in Laos, Nepal and Zambia. He is also in the process of completing a series of case studies in Rajasthan, India on private public partnerships (PPP) in education. These case studies involve CISCO, Educate Girls Globally, the Rajasthan ministry of Education, financed by USAID (under EQUIP1) and done in conjunction with the World Economic Forum. The objective is to determine what makes these partnerships successful and how access to and the quality of education can be improved. He uses examples from work in both education and health to show students the practical uses of the social sciences to address world problems.
Susan M. FeldmanProfessor of Philosophy (1980).East College Room 211(717) 245-1226 | feldmans@dickinson.edu B.A., Case Western Reserve University, 1974; M.A., 1976; M.A., University of Rochester, 1978; Ph.D., 1980.Her interests include the history of modern philosophy, the problem of knowledge and skepticism, philosophy of science and ethics, both pure" and "applied" to such areas as the environment, the status of women, medicine and public policy."
Marcus M. Key, Jr.Joseph Priestley Professor of Natural Philosophy (1989).Kaufman Building Room 143(717) 245-1448 | key@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.S., University of Texas at Austin, 1983; M.Phil., Yale University, 1986; Ph.D., 1988.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2004-2005.His teaching interests are sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, evolution, extinction, energy resources, and sustainability. His research interests involve inferring evolutionary and sedimentary patterns and processes using fossil and living bryozoans. His current research involves evolution of biomineralization, marine biofouling, functional morphology of bryozoans, and geoarcheology.
Andrea B. LieberAssociate Professor of Religion, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies (1998).East College Room 106(717) 245-1482 | lieber@dickinson.edu B.A., Vassar College, 1989; M.A., Columbia University, 1993; M.Phil., 1995; Ph.D., 1998.Her courses explore the transformations of Judaism as a living religion and evolving culture from its origins in antiquity through its varied manifestations in the 20th century. Special interests include: Judaism and early Christianity, Jewish mysticism (kabbalah), women and gender in Jewish tradition.
Carol C. LoefflerAssociate Professor of Biology (1988).Dana Hall Room 7(717) 245-1360 | loeffler@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Smith College, 1982; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1992.Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2008-09.She teaches courses in algae, fungi, lichens, and land plants. Her research interests with students are in the biology and ecology of rare plant species and in the impact of deer and other herbivores on forest vegetation.
B. Ashton NicholsProfessor of English Language and Literature; Walter E. Beach '56 Distinguished Chair in Sustainability Studies (1988).Kaufman Building-192 East College-305(717) 245-1359 | nicholsa@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., University of Virginia, 1975; M.A., 1979; Ph.D., 1984.Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1992-1993. Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1993-1994.His fields include 19th- and 20th-century British literature and contemporary ecocriticism, with emphasis on Romantic poetry and American nature writing. He also teaches courses in nature writing. His current research focuses on Romantic natural history, 1750-1850 and urbanatural roosting.
Jeffrey W. NiemitzProfessor of Earth Sciences (1977).Kaufman Building Room 142(717) 245-1285 | niemitz@dickinson.edu B.A., Williams College, 1972; Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1977.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2006-07His specialties are low-temperature geochemistry, hydrogeology, and paleoclimatology. His current research involves quality and quantity of groundwater resources on carbonate islands in the Bahamas, the effect of release of sediment and their included pollutants from 18th and 19th century mill dams in PA, and geochemical indicators of paleoclimate in ancient lake sediments in the eastern United States.
Hans PfisterAssociate Professor of Physics, George Wesley Pedlow Chair in Pedagogy (1991).Tome Scientific Building Room 211(717) 245-1307 | pfister@dickinson.edu Staatsexam, Eberhard Karls Universitat, 1981; Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles, 1991.As an advocate for the environment he encourages sustainable living, supports sustainable technology, and embraces renewable energy sources. With the help of a 2006 Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) Seed/Assistance grant he was able to turn one of his visions, a sun-tracking solar concentrator, into a reality. This prototype will soon make some of the hot water for the students living in Dickinson's Center for Sustainable Living. A 2009 Innovation Transfer Network (ITN)/KIZ Seed/Assistance grant enabled him to design and build a concentrating solar collector, which converts solar energy directly into electricity, using a thermoelectric converter (TEC). A 2007 ITN/KIZ grant supported the design and construction of a dental device, which removes temporary crowns and bridges by a series of micro pulses, applied to the backside of the dental appliances. Over the course of the semester he devotes time as a plasma physicist to work with senior physics majors on his design of a plasma propulsion device known as a Hall thruster. With another group of seniors he built a solar powered Stirling engine. Over the course of the past 18 years he has developed numerous kinesthetic physics experiments, incorporating his students into the experiment, thus allowing them to feel the forces and accelerations on their own body. Three of his inventions, a Kinesthetics Cart for Motion in 1-D, a Kinesthetics Cart for Motion in 2-D, and a Thermodynamic Engine and Ideal Gas Law Demonstration Apparatus are being used at over a thousand colleges, universities, and high schools. Some of his other interests include physics puzzles, tricks, and toys, as applied to the physics classroom.
Theodore PulciniThomas Bowman Professor of Religion and Philosophy (1995).East College Room 203A(717) 245-1208 | pulcini@dickinson.edu B.A., Harvard College, 1976; M.A., University of Notre Dame, 1979; Th.M., Harvard Divinity School, 1982; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1994.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1998-1999; Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2002-03.His teaching responsibilities focus on exploring the Biblical texts in their historical, social, and comparative contexts. He also specializes in Islam, early Christianity, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Research interests include relations between Islam and Christianity, both past and present.
Peter B. SakAssociate Professor of Earth Sciences (2004).Kaufman Building Room 138(717) 245-1423 | sakp@dickinson.edu B.A., Whitman College, 1995; M.S., The Pennsylvania State University, 1999; Ph.D., 2002.He specializes in describing and quantifying temporal and spatial variations in near surface deformation and landscape evolution. To document variability in regional scale deformation he integrates structural, geomorphic, and petrographic data sets. His current research projects involve field work along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in central Colorado, and Valley and Ridge of central PA.
James A. SkeltonAssociate Professor of Psychology (1981).Kaufman Building Room 160(717) 245-1309 | skelton@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Washington & Lee University, 1976; Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1981.His teaching interests are in social psychology and in the philosophy and design of psychological research. His research interests include self-perception of bodily states, interpersonal issues in health care, and psychology applied to social problems.
Nicola TynanAssociate Professor of Economics (2001).Althouse Hall Room 219(717) 245-1596 | tynann@dickinson.edu B.A., University of York, 1991; M.S., London School of Economics and Political Science, 1994; M.A., George Mason University, 1998; Ph.D., 2000.Teaching interests: economic history, environmental and resource economics, industrial organization, microeconomics and public policy. Primary research interest: water - economic history with a focus on London and the UK, water infrastructure and development, the history of economic focusing on network industries, and industrial organization.
Amy E. WitterAssociate Professor of Chemistry (1999).Stuart Hall - Rector Complex Room 2109(717) 245-1681 | witter@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Wellesley College, 1987; Ph.D., University of California at Davis, 1996.Her research interests lie in the areas of environmental and analytical chemistry. Current research involves the structural elucidation of glycoproteins found in marine bacteria, and the effects of urbanization on stream chemistry.