Creating Global Impact Through Research and Teaching

Raychelle Burks
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

My team develops fast, reliable, and field-portable detection techniques to advance forensic science and national security, empowering communities and individuals to make informed decisions that contribute to our well-being. We have contributed new testing techniques and knowledge on why things work—or don't! I am proud of my research students who have gone on to the next steps of their choosing, including graduate and professional schools, private industry, and government. The joy of science is that we can know more—and do better—each day.

Heng Xu
Professor, Department of Information Technology and Analytics, Kogod School of Business and Director, Kogod Cybersecurity Center

Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to create new business values, accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, and bring about positive societal change, but it could misguide policies, reinforce inequality, limit accountability, and infringe on privacy if not used responsibly. I seek a forward-looking research agenda around Socially Responsible AI as a critical factor in business decision-making and prediction systems. I am proud to be a bridge builder, spanning disciplines, including business, computer science, law, and social sciences, to facilitate research collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Caty Borum
Executive Director, Center for Media & Social Impact and Associate Professor, School of Communication

My work as a scholar, media producer, author, and public intellectual develops new knowledge and understanding about how entertainment media storytelling impacts our daily lives. It explores how historically marginalized communities (for instance, by virtue of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status) leverage contemporary entertainment, media platforms, and narratives to build civic power in the participatory media age. I am proud to be at the forefront of modern research and practice in using comedy for social justice and in AU’s Center for Media and Social Impact, the only organization in the country that does this vital work.

Corbin Campbell
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor, School of Education

I aspire to improve the quality of college teaching in universities nationwide. High-quality, evidence-based, and equity-minded college teaching is associated with improving GPAs, graduation and job placement rates, and equity. Conducting the country’s first cross-disciplinary, multi-university observational study, I found the best college teaching happened more frequently at lower-ranked universities than prestigious ones. Few institutions are like AU—nationally ranked with high-quality teaching. Recently, three field experts and I received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a policy playbook for US universities to improve teaching quality, ensuring student success and equitable outcomes.

Amitav Acharya
UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges & Governance and Distinguished Professor, School of International Service

I have lived and worked in five continents, becoming deeply sensitive to our diverse and multicultural world. Not surprisingly, my research focuses on identifying the causes of conflict, repression, and racism to promote cooperation between advanced and emerging nations. Respecting diversity and reducing inequality can enhance the wealth and power of nations. I am especially proud to have become a globally sought-after speaker, addressing the UN General Assembly, the Paris Peace Forum, and universities and think tanks from Oxford to Istanbul, Hanoi to Harvard, and Quito to Cape Town.

Erdal Tekin
Charles W. Fotis, Sr. & Dorothea G. Fotis Family Distinguished Professor of Health Policy, School of Public Affairs

As a researcher in the fields of health economics and the economics of risky behavior and crime, my primary objective is to deepen the understanding of the underlying factors of risky health behaviors, delinquency, and crime, and the effects of public policies and programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of these behaviors and the costs associated with them. It’s especially gratifying to contribute to the improvement of the well-being and quality of life of individuals and communities affected by these health behaviors and issues through my research insights and findings.