吃瓜网

Michael Eckmann
Associate Professor of Computer Science

Professor Eckmann joined the department in the Fall of 2004 as a lecturer of computer science, and in the Fall of 2007, he was appointed to the position of assistant professor. Mike received his Ph.D. in computer science from Lehigh University in 2007, with a dissertation titled "Sifting for Better Features to Track -- Exploiting Space and Time.鈥� He also holds a Masters Degree in computer science and Bachelor鈥檚 degrees in mathematics and computer engineering, all from Lehigh University. His research interests are in computer vision and graphics and he has authored/co-authored a number of papers in the area. He teaches computer science courses in the department.

Maura Jasper
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art

Maura Jasper is a visual artist whose work explores the intersections of history, pop culture, and mass media. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art with an MFA in Interrelated Media (2008), her work has been exhibited and screened at venues including Artist's Space, Vox Populi, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. She is an Associate Professor Emerita of Art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and has been teaching at 吃瓜网 since 2022. She is currently serving as Artist in Residence at the John B. Moore Center for Collaborative Documentary at 吃瓜网. Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, she now lives and works in Troy, NY.

Kyle Nichols
Associate Professor, Geomorphology, Quaternary Geology, Hydrology

Kyle Nichols, a geomorphologist, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences. Kyle's research specialty is understanding the science of scenery (how landscapes evolve).  His research has taken him to different parts of the globe ranging from the deserts of Africa (Namibia) and the tropical rainforests of Panama to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  In the United States, he worked in the Mojave Desert and the Grand Canyon.  His recent research interests include how to live in the unofficial geologic epoch, the Anthropocene.  At 吃瓜网, in addition to Earth System Science, Kyle has taught Geomorphology, Hydrology, Glacial Geology, and Are we in the Anthropocene? among other courses.

Thad Niles
Lecturer 
Director of Expository Writing
ESL Specialist for the Writing Center

Professor Niles has been an ESL specialist at 吃瓜网 since 2010, teaching composition and coordinating the college's first intensive English program. Thad鈥檚 professional interests include the learning experiences of international students, academic literacies/English for Academic Purposes, Structural-Functional Linguistics/Genre Pedagogy, and new teaching grammars.

Tammy Owens
Program Director Gender Studies 
Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies

Dr. Tammy C. Owens is Assistant Professor of American Studies and Director of the Gender Studies Program at 吃瓜网. An interdisciplinary scholar, her work lies at the intersections of Black girlhood studies, Black feminist theory, and American cultural memory. She studies how children and youth have been remembered and represented in U.S. history, paying particular attention to the ways their stories challenge dominant ideas of justice, power, and belonging.

She is co-author of the foundational essay 鈥淭owards an Interdisciplinary Field of Black Girlhood Studies鈥� and has published in journals such as Girlhood Studies, Women, Gender, and Families of Color, and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. Her current book project examines the archival and emotional lives of Black girls, tracing how their experiences are documented, mourned, and at times erased in American culture鈥攁nd what this reveals about national memory and loss.

In the classroom, Dr. Owens is known for fostering environments that are intellectually rigorous, relationally attentive, and grounded in urgent real-world questions. At 吃瓜网, she teaches courses such as Black Feminist Thoughts, Black Girlhood Studies, and Growing Up in America, and she actively mentors students pursuing independent research on race, gender, media, and youth culture.

As Director of the Gender Studies Program, she leads with a vision rooted in intersectionality, inclusion, and student-centered learning. She also contributes to college-wide initiatives on racial justice and innovative pedagogy through Mellon-supported teaching communities. Her scholarship and teaching have been supported by fellowships from the Carter G. Woodson Institute, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Five College Consortium.

Both in and beyond the academy, Dr. Owens is guided by commitments to justice, care, and community. As a mother and scholar, she models how intellectual life and personal values not only coexist but thrive together.

Joowon Park
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Dr. Joowon Park researches and teaches on the everyday experiences of violence, migration and refugee resettlement, transnationalism, and militarized landscapes. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and others. His book, , was published by University of California Press in 2023, and his peer-reviewed articles have appeared in Anthropology & Humanism, Asian Ethnicity, and Asian Journal of Peacebuilding. Dr. Park earned his PhD from American University in Washington, DC.

Bernie Possidente
Professor of Biology

Dr. Possidente's general research area is genetic analysis of behavioral mechanisms. His research focuses on the function of biological clocks in controlling circadian (daily-endogenous) rhythms using mice and fruitflies as model systems: manipulation of rhythms in mice and fruitflies with genetic, pharmacological, and photoperiod treatments in order to identify functional properties of circadian system components and their physiological mechanisms.

Rodrigo Schneider
Assistant Professor of Economics

I received my Bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics from Insper in 2010; my Master鈥檚 degree in economics from the University of Bras铆lia in 2012; and my Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018 and I have taught undergraduate courses in economics for more than 10 years. Teaching is my passion, and I'm particularly interested in teaching introductory courses and  being able to relate economics with classic works of literature and philosophy. My current research is focused on public finance, policy analysis, Latin American studies, and voting behavior and I have published in peer-reviewed journals related to my field, such as Economic Policy, Economics & Politics, Public Choice, Fiscal Studies, Econom铆a LACEA Journal, Latin American Research Review and Latin American Politics and Society.