As Franklin & Marshall students kick off the spring semester, the College celebrates members of the faculty and professional staff who help create an enriching academic environment.

In 2024, $4,551,796 in grants were awarded to faculty across various departments, with many award announcements still pending. Faculty and staff have been recognized both nationally and globally for their contributions to a range of academic fields.

“The number and value of the grants received by faculty and staff over the last year is amazing,” said Rene Munoz, director of the office of sponsored research. “It points to the quality of our faculty. The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Fulbright Program are all extremely competitive funders, and the fact that F&M faculty routinely win awards from them prove that the College’s faculty is exceptional.”

“All of these awards, whether to faculty or staff, whether the awards are federal, state or private, impact our students by providing them with opportunities in the field, laboratory or studio, by improving the safety and security of our campus, and by connecting them to a wider community,” Munoz said. “Finally, projects such as Tim Bechtel’s with NATO, or Susan Dicklitch-Nelson’s Global Barometers, or the work being done by the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative have an impact that extends well beyond Lancaster County and can affect the lives of thousands of people.”

For a comprehensive list of faculty achievements from 2024 and previous years, visit the Celebrating Scholarship archive.

Grants Awarded in 2024

Tim Bechtel, director of F&M science outreach & senior teaching professor of geosciences,  received a grant from NATO to support “Ground sensing technologies for buried ordnance detection.” Related story: NATO Humanitarian Demining Robot Tested at F&M

Scott Brewer, professor of chemistry, and Ed Fenlon, professor of chemistry, received an NIH (National Institutes of Health) grant to support “Use of Vibrational Reporters to Measure Dynamics and Distances in RNA and Proteins.”

Annalisa Crannell, The Carmie L. and Beatrice J. Creitz Professor Emerita of Mathematics, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. scholar in Panama for the academic year 2024-2025.

Fronefield Crawford, The Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and Astronomy, director of Grundy Observatory, received support from NASA/STScl for the PSU Space Grant Consortium.

Beckley Davis, professor of biology, received an NIH grant to support “Regulation of pathogen sensing and inflammation by NLR proteins.”

Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, professor of government, received grants from the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund and from the Tides Foundation to support F&M Global Barometers.

Patrick Fleming, associate professor of economics and public policy, program chair of public policy; Dorothy Merritts, Harry W. & Mary B. Huffnagle Professor of Geosciences; Robert Walter, The Dr. Earl D. Stage & Mary E. Stage Professor of Geosciences, department chair of earth & environment; and Christopher Williams, professor of environmental science, received a grant from the RK Mellon Foundation to support the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative. Related story: F&M Launches Chesapeake Watershed Initiative

Thomas Hull, associate professor of applied mathematics, received an NSF (National Science Foundation) grant for “RUI: Configuration Spaces of Rigid Origami.”

Stephanie McNulty, The Honorable & Mrs. John C. Kunkel Professor of Government, received an NSF grant for the Trans-Atlantic Partnership Democracy in the City project. Related story: Professor to Study How Cities Are Reshaping Democracy

Kate Plass, professor of chemistry, department chair of chemistry, received an equipment grant from PittCon for the LiCor C-DiGit.

Carrie Rampp, vice president and chief information officer; Jason Brooks, director of research computing services; Dorothy Merritts, Harry W. & Mary B. Huffnagle Professor of Geosciences; Jaime Blair, professor of biology, program chair of women's, gender & sexuality studies; and Justin Brody, assistant professor of computer science; share an NSF grant for “CC Storage-Campus: Building a Complete Research Storage Solution at Franklin & Marshall College.”

Leanne Roncolato, associate professor of economics, received an International Labor Organization grant for data analysis.

Sarah Tasker, assistant professor of chemistry, received an NSF CAREER Award for “Development of New Gas-Releasing Molecules Using a Thiol Carrier.” Related story: Sarah Tasker Awarded NSF CAREER Grant for Chemistry

Samantha Thiry, director of care coordination and violence prevention, received two grants from the PA Dept. of Education for “Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program” and “F&M SV and SA Prevention.”

Ryan Trainor, associate professor of physics, received a Fulbright Fellowship for work in Chile.

Willie Wilson, assistant professor of computer science, received an NSF CAREER Award for “Transparent Theory of Mind Algorithms for Social Robots Assisting Young Children.” Related story: Willie Wilson Awarded NSF CAREER Grant for Computer Science

Lisa Wolfe, director of the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement, received a grant from The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration to support faculty training, professional development, and curriculum development.

The F&M Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) team is in the third of a six-year grant from the HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 initiative. This grant focuses on fostering institutional change to create and sustain a more inclusive, supportive and successful introductory science and mathematics experience. In summer 2023, 26 faculty members across seven STEM departments engaged in a multi-day intensive and interactive workshop on inclusive pedagogy, active learning and backward design. Last year, faculty learned about student reasons for course withdrawal through the development and implementation of a new survey. Chemistry faculty members implemented a summer pre-organic prep course that included asynchronous faculty-prepared videos and synchronous tutor meetings. Students also collaborated on the creation of a multilingual glossary of science and math vocabulary.

Faculty & Staff Accomplishments

Stefania Benini, teaching fellow, Italian studies and Hebrew, published an article in the Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies called “Feminist genealogies, archival constellations and women’s labour in fashion films: Anna Piaggi: una visionaria nella moda (2016) and Triangle (2014).” Benini also completed a book review in the same journal for the volume "Women and Migration in Contemporary Italian Cinema: Screening Hospitality" by Giovanna Faleschini Lerner, professor of Italian and program chair of comparative literary studies.

Marco Di Giulio, professor of Hebrew language and literature and public health, program chair of Judaic studies, is presenting “Wounded Bodies, Fractured Narratives: Disability Benefits and the Contested Nature of WWII Heroism in Israel” at the Association for Jewish Studies 56th Annual Conference.

Giovanna Faleschini Lerner, professor of Italian and program chair of comparative literary studies, published a chapter called “Women’s Bodies in Natalia Ginzburg’s Fiction” in Natalia Ginzburg's Global Legacies.

Janet Fischer, The Dr. E. Paul & Frances H. Reiff Professor of Biology and department chair of biology, published an article in Global Change Biology titled “Wildfire smoke impacts lake ecosystems.”

Greg Kaliss, assistant professor of history, published two editorials in LNP LancasterOnline: “A Different Kind of Faith Under Attack by Trump” and “The past, present, and future unfurl at the Paris games.”

Thomas Karel, associate librarian for collection management, published a review of “Movement: New York’s Long War To Take Back Its Streets from the Car” in Library Journal.

Davide Lionetti, assistant professor of chemistry, published an article in Organometallics called “Effects of Substituted Triarylphosphine Ligands on Electron Transfer in [(p-Cymene)Ru] Complexes.” 

Christina McSherry, adjunct assistant professor anthropology, was named executive director at Historic Rock Ford in Lancaster.

Stanley Mertzman, The Dr. Earl D. Stage & Mary E. Stage Chair Emeritus Professor of Geosciences, with Karen Mertzman, laboratory technician, published an article in Icarus titled “Rock thermal conductivity and thermal inertia measurements under martian atmospheric pressures.” Stanley also published an article in Acta Astronautica called “The Iris CubeSat mission: Science payload description for a pathfinder geological space weathering investigation.”

Nicholas Montemarano, Alumni Professor of Creative Writing and Belles-Lettres, professor of English, published a poem in Faultline called “No Touch Policy” and another poem in Copper Nickel called “A Neighborly Day in This Beautywood.”

Ted Pearson, associate professor of history, appeared on the New Books Network podcast to discuss his book “The Enslaved and Their Enslavers: Power, Resistance and Culture in South Carolina, 1670-1825.”

Christine Phillips Piro, associate professor of chemistry, with Scott Brewer, professor of chemistry, and four students, published an article in RSC Advances called “Modulating the pH dependent photophysical properties of green fluorescent protein.”

Ashley Rondini, associate professor of sociology, with two students, published an article in Social Science & Medicine titled “Searching for Equity: White Normativity in Online Skin Cancer Images.” Ashley also published an article in Contexts: Sociology for the Public called “Complicating Clery.”

Rob Sternberg, emeritus professor of geosciences, was a co-convener and presenter for the “2024 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Luis Barba” session at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. Sternberg also presented “The Loma Prieta 1989 ‘World Series’ Earthquake Jolted Joe Dimaggio” at the Philatelic Society of Lancaster Open House and Exhibition. Additionally, Sternberg gave an interview for The American Stamp Collector & Dealer.

Grants & Funding

F&M is committed to advancing student and faculty research and creativity. Internal funding for new projects is available through the Office of the Provost, while Sponsored Research, College Advancement and the Fellowship Office assist with funding from federal, state, and non-profit organizations.

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