Francisco Apen is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Geosciences. His research asks how Earth’s first continents came to exist during the Archean eon (> 2.5 billion years ago) and subsequently evolved into the state we see them today. Apen holds a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of California, Davis. He is advised by Blair Schoene, Professor of Geosciences.

Diane-Jo Bart-Plange is appointed in the Department of Psychology, where she plans to examine how interpersonal and institutional racism interact and impact racial and ethnic minority students’ well-being and sense of belonging. Broadly, Diane-Jo’s research focuses on how primarily white-controlled institutions, policies, cultural standards, and people maintain white supremacy. Diane-Jo holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in African and African American Studies and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. She is advised by J. Nicole Shelton, Stuart Professor of Psychology.

Rodolfo Brandão is appointed in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, with a research focus on the theoretical modeling of physical phenomena, especially those involving fluid dynamics and wave phenomena. Brandão holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Imperial College London and a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in physics from Federal University of Pernambuco. He is advised by Howard A. Stone, Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Diag Davenport is a postdoctoral research associate the School of Public and International Affairs. His current research uses tools from economics, psychology, and machine learning to tackle social and economic problems that contribute to undue inequality. This work includes a wide range of topics including criminal justice, startup investing, motivation, discrimination, and social capital. Davenport holds a PhD in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MS in Mathematics and Statistics from Georgetown University, a BS in Economics from Pennsylvania State University, and a BS in Management from Pennsylvania State University. He is advised by Betsy Levy Paluck, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs.

Camilo Hernández is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, where his research focuses on financial engineering, primarily in the field of stochastic control and its applications, including behavioral economics, contract theory, and financial mathematics. Hernández was a Chapman Fellow in Mathematics at Imperial College London, and holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Columbia University and, from Universidad de los Andes, a M.Sc. in Mathematics, a B.Sc. in Economics, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics. He is advised by Ludovic Tangpi, Assistant Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering.

Jodi Kraus is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular Biology, advised by Sabine Petry, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology. Kraus’ research interests include biophysics and cell biology, particularly related to understanding structure, function, and regulation of the cytoskeleton during dynamic cellular processes like cell division. Kraus holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Delaware and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Drexel University.

Francisco Lara-Garcia is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Sociology, where his research focuses on Latinx immigrants in the US, specifically on the Mexican immigrant populations in Tucson, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico—a critical case comparison—to elucidate how differences in institutions shape integration trajectories. Lara-Garcia holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University, a M.U.P. in Urban Planning from Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, and a B.A. in Sociology, Latin American Studies, and Political Science from the University of Arizona. He is advised by Filiz Garip, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs.

Uyen Mai is appointed in the Department of Computer Science, where she plans to leverage her expertise in species evolution to develop more realistic models of cancer evolution. Mai holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego and a B.S. in Computer Science from Portland State University. She is advised by Ben Raphael, Professor of Computer Science.

Victoria Muir is appointed in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, where she will expand on her expertise in soft granular materials to explore a new application – using granular hydrogels to investigate bacterial and phage community interactions in real-time. Muir holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and B.S.E. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Delaware. She is advised by Sujit S. Datta, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

Tiffany Nichols is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of History, where she plans to focus on the history siting highly precise, large-scale scientific instruments, including the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), implications of conflicting land use and ownership, and the establishment of an environment to allow for physicists and engineers to distinguish gravitational waves from background noise.  She will also explore the evolving meaning and scope of "clean-up" at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Hanford, Washington.  Nichols holds a Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard University, a J.D. from the University of Virginia, School of Law, and B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia. She is advised by Angela Creager, Thomas M. Siebel Professor in the History of Science, Professor of History, and Chair, Department of History.

Julia Wilcots is appointed in the Department of Geosciences where she plans to focus on a quantitative approach to interpreting Earth history from carbonate rocks. Wilcots holds a Ph.D. in Geology, Geochemistry, and Geobiology from MIT and B.S.E. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University. She is advised by Adam C. Maloof, Professor of Geology.

Muni Zhou is appointed in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, where she plans to conduct the first-principles study on the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism and to branch into new research areas at the intersection of plasma physics and astrophysical applications. Zhou holds a Ph.D. in nuclear science and engineering from MIT and a B.Sc. in physics from Zhejiang University. She is advised by Matthew Kunz, Associate Professor of Astrophysical Sciences.

Rodrick Kuate Defo is appointed in the Department of Electrical Engineering. His proposed research will answer several open questions in the field of nanophotonics and provide new tools and design insights in the area of materials engineering. Kuate Defo completed his Ph.D. in physics with a secondary field in computational…

Paola Estrada is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Molecular Biology, where she studies how small molecules are made by the human microbiome and how these molecules are involved in mediating interactions with the host and surrounding microbes. Estrada holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of…

Javier Masís is appointed in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, studying the phenomenon of learning within the framework of bounded optimality, working toward a broader, more comprehensive theory of cognition. Masís holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, a master’s degree in biology from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton. He is advised by Jonathan Cohen, the Robert Bendheim and Lynn Bendheim Thoman Professor in Neuroscience, professor of psychology, and co-director of the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.

Samantha McBride is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her research combines materials science, fluid physics and water chemistry toward developing antifouling materials for improving sustainability and lowering costs associated with water treatment. McBride holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Nevada.  She is advised by Howard Stone, the Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Diogo Melo is appointed in the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, with a focus on the general problem of mapping genotype to phenotype for complex traits, and understanding how genetic networks drive phenotypic evolution. Melo’s degrees are from the Universidade de São Paulo, from which he has a Ph.D. in genetics and evolutionary biology and bachelor’s degrees in evolutionary biology and in biology and applied mathematics. He is advised by Julien Ayroles, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.

Lotanna Micah Nneji is appointed in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he will conduct the first DNA metabarcoding analyses of the diet composition and niche relationships of herbivorous birds—ostrich, guineafowl, spurfowl and bustard — at Princeton’s Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. Nneji holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Abuja, Nigeria. He is advised by Robert Pringle, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Elizabeth Paul is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, with interests in problems at the intersection of advanced numerical methods and plasma physics applications. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland-College Park and a bachelor’s degree in astrophysical sciences from Princeton. She is advised by Amitava Bhattacharjee, professor of astrophysical sciences.

Jose Roque is a postdoctoral research associate the Department of Chemistry, focused on broadening his scientific repertoire to include transition metal catalysis, particularly with Earth abundant metals such as iron and cobalt. Roque earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California-Berkeley, where he worked under Professor Richmond Sarpong. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Florida International University. Roque is advised by Paul Chirik, the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry.

Anthony Urena is appointed in the Department of Sociology. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University and holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and human biology from Brown University. Urena employs qualitative methodologies to examine the social dimensions of disease risk perception within disproportionately affected communities. At Princeton, Urena’s postdoctoral research will focus on how Black and Latino men who have sex with men make sense of the contemporary HIV epidemic in the United States. Urena is advised by Frederick Wherry, the Townsend Martin, Class of 1917 Professor of Sociology.