New faculty profiles for 2018-19: Part 4

Megan Benson, instructional outreach librarian, University Libraries

Megan Benson, an instructional outreach librarian for the University Libraries, examines social media and information literacy.

Benson, from Moravia, N.Y, received her undergraduate degree in history from Hartwick College. She received her master’s degree in the history of early modern British women from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received her master’s of library and information science from Syracuse University.

She has worked as a reference assistant at Cornell University and as an adjunct professor of history at Valencia College in Florida.

Benson is a registered yoga teacher who is certified in yoga nidra (a type of meditation) and SUP yoga. She also enjoys college football.

David Sterling Brown, assistant professor of English, Harpur College

David Sterling Brown, an assistant professor of English in Harpur College, previously taught English at the University of Arizona.

Brown, from Norwalk, Conn., received his bachelor’s degree in English literature from Trinity College in Connecticut. He received his master’s degree and doctorate in English from New York University.

His research interests include Shakespeare, early modern English literature, critical race studies, sexuality, gender and domesticity.

Brown has two forthcoming scholarly essays on his favorite Shakespeare play: “Titus Andronicus.” The first is “Remixing the Family: Blackness and Domesticity in Titus Andronicus,” in Titus Andronicus: The State of Play (December 2018). The second is “‘Is Black so Base a Hue?’: Black Life Matters in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus” in Early Modern Black Diaspora Studies (November 2018).

He enjoys exercising, cooking and traveling.

Laura Cook, assistant professor of biology, Harpur College

Laura Cook, an assistant professor of biology in Harpur College, specializes in microbiology – specifically streptococci and their interactions with the host.

Cook, from Rochester, Minn., received her undergraduate degree in microbiology and English literature, and her doctorate in microbiology from the University of Minnesota.

She previously served as an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University and as a postdoc at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Cook will teach a biology seminar and a microbiology lab at Binghamton University.

She enjoys travel, reading and playing with her daughter.

Saeideh Mirghorbani, assistant professor, School of Management

Saeideh Mirghorbani, an assistant professor in the School of Management, will teach Spreadsheet and Decision Making at Binghamton University.

Mirghorbani, from Tehran, Iran, received her bachelor’s degree in industrial management and her master’s degree in production management from Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran. She received her doctorate in operations management from the University of Alabama.

Her research interests include applied operations research in healthcare systems; Markov decision processes; optimization; simulation; data mining; and machine learning.

Mirghorbani enjoys oil-color and pastel painting, Pilates and swimming.

Mir Jalil Razavi Aghjeh, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science

Mir Jalil Razavi Aghjeh, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, specializes in solid mechanics and mechanics of soft materials.

Razavi Aghjeh, from Urmia, Iran, received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Tabriz. He received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Georgia.

At Binghamton University, he will teach Computer Aided Engineering and Finite Element Analysis.

He enjoys playing soccer, watching movies and reading non-text books.

Jonathan Sheng, lecturer, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Jonathan Sheng, a lecturer in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, will teach classes in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical calculations at Binghamton University.

Sheng received his undergraduate degree in medicine from Kunming Medical University and his doctorate in environmental sciences and toxicology from the State University of New York at Albany.

He specializes in drug and xenobiotic metabolism and medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry.

Sheng previously taught at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Mass.

Lindsey Swierk, assistant research professor of biology, Harpur College

Lindsey Swierk, an assistant research professor in the Biological Sciences Department in Harpur College, will teach animal behavior and ecology courses at Binghamton University.

Swierk, from Sewell, N.J., received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology and environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her doctorate in ecology from Penn State University.

She has served as a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Penn State University and as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University.

Swierk’s research examines the behavioral ecology of reptiles and amphibians, especially as related to reproduction and animal communication. She also looks at species’ responses to land-use change in the United States and the Neotropics.

She enjoys arts, reading, writing, hiking with her dogs, and spending time with her husband and two children.

Vaidehee Thatte, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, Harpur College

Vaidehee Thatte, an assistant professor of mathematical sciences in Harpur College, examines number theory and arithmetic algebraic geometry.

Thatte, from Pune, India, received her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Indian Statistical Institute in Bangalore and her master’s degrees in mathematics from Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and the University of Chicago. She received her doctorate in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

Thatte has served as a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University. She has also taught at Queen’s University and the University of Chicago.

At Binghamton University, Thatte will teach Calculus III.

She enjoys badminton, painting and Hindustani classical vocal music.