Brandeis Magazine

Michael Willrich, the Leff Families Professor of History, was named a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in history for his book “American Anarchy: The Epic Struggle Between Immigrant Radicals and the U.S. Government at the Dawn of the 20th Century.” The Pulitzer board called the work “a riveting and beautifully written story of how anarchists and their lawyers remade American law, with profound implications for modern jurisprudence.”

Piali Sengupta, the Harold and Bernice Davis Professor in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Sengupta studies how animals sense and react to their environment. She joins a who’s who of scholars elected to the academy since 1780, including Benjamin Franklin; Albert Einstein; Martin Luther King Jr.; Madeleine Albright, H’96; and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Carolyn Abbott, assistant professor of mathematics, has received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The $550,000 five-year award supports the work of early-career faculty. Abbott’s project focuses on hyperbolic spaces and the coarse geometry their structure induces on their associated symmetry groups. It also includes teaching and mentoring initiatives, with a focus on students from underrepresented groups.

Hannah Yevick, assistant professor of physics, has been awarded $400,000 over three years from the Smith Family Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research. Designed to help launch the careers of new faculty, the award will support Yevick’s research exploring the mechanics of the single giant cell that covers the entire human placenta.

Ramie Targoff, the Jehuda Reinharz Professor of the Humanities, has received a grant from the Zurich-based NOMIS Foundation to translate the poetry of Petrarch into a dozen languages. Targoff is collaborating with Italian scholars around the world who are translating the poetry into their native tongue. The grant also funds the construction of an interactive website that allows users to compare multiple translations side by side.

In December, a team of undergraduate mathematics students came in 37th out of 471 U.S. and Canadian institutions that took part in the 84th William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Max Shepard ’26 placed among the top 5% of participants, with 40 points. Ben Kamen ’24 scored among the top 6%, with 39 points. And Isaac Berger ’24 ranked among the top 22%, with 20 points. In all, the Brandeis team scored 150 points.

Charles Golden, an anthropology professor who specializes in Mesoamerican archaeology, has been appointed the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences dean. He succeeds sociologist Wendy Cadge, who was named president of Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania. Golden currently serves as head of Brandeis’ social sciences division; a search is underway for his replacement in that role.

Jessica Chapin ’10 became director of athletics in June, succeeding Lauren Haynie, who was promoted to assistant vice president of student affairs last fall. Previously, Chapin worked for 10 years at American International College, in Springfield, Massachusetts, most recently as director of athletics. As a Brandeis student, Chapin majored in psychology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy.

Sam Dienstag ’24 in March turned in the best performance in Brandeis history at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing as the runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle, and earning his fourth career All-America honor in the process