Eight faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania have been named Penn Fellows. The announcement was made today by Penn Provost Vincent Price and Anita Allen, vice provost for faculty.

The Penn Fellows program, begun in 2009, provides leadership development to select faculty members in mid-career. It includes opportunities to build cross-campus alliances, meet distinguished academic leaders, think strategically about universities and university governance and consult with Penn’s senior administrators.

The new Fellows are:

• Marija Drndic, professor of physics in the School of Arts & Sciences, studies nanoscale and mesoscopic structures, including nanocrystals, nanowires and biomaterials, especially nanoelectronics and related quantum mechanical effects that arise when electrons are confined in small volumes. 

• Chao Guo, associate professor of nonprofit management in the School of Social Policy & Practice, studies the intersection of government with nonprofit and voluntary initiatives, especially in such contexts as nonprofit organizations, nonprofit advocacy, nonprofit governance, social entrepreneurship and volunteerism.

• Lisa Lewis, associate professor in the School of Nursing, studies racial disparities in blood pressure control, especially psychosocial factors that contribute to medication adherence among African-Americans, such as spirituality, depression, social support and perceived discrimination.

• Joshua Plotkin, professor of biology in the School of Arts & Sciences and professor of computer and information science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, studies questions in evolutionary biology and ecology using techniques drawn from mathematics and computation, focusing primarily on adaptation in populations.

• Alejandro Ribeiro, associate professor of electrical and systems engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, studies wireless networks, especially the development of theoretical foundations for wireless networks and the application of signal processing to network and wireless communications theory. 

• Nancy Rothbard, the David Pottruck Professor of Management in the Wharton School, studies the impact of emotions on work, especially in such areas as workplace motivation, teamwork, work-life balance and the multiple roles that people play at work and in families.

• Emily Steiner, associate professor of English in the School of Arts & Sciences, studies medieval English literature, including the 14th century allegorical poem Piers Plowman; the relationship between literature and legal practice; and medieval “macrogenres” such as encyclopedias and universal histories. 

• Kevin Turner, the Gabel Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, studies surface and interface mechanics in micro- and nano-scale systems and processes, including microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing.