Lucille B. Williams Term Professor of Biology

Dr. Nancy Bonini is the inaugural Lucille B. Williams Term Professor of Biology. Dr. Bonini specializes in molecular genetics of neurodegenerative disease and is currently studying the genetics of Drosophila melanogaster in order to define genes that are critical to prevent human brain degeneration. She was recognized nearly a decade ago as one of the 20 most promising science and engineering researchers at universities in the U.S. by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and was awarded a Packard Fellowship. In 2000, she was selected as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Lucille B. Williams Family Term Chair was established by Paul C. Williams, W ’67, PAR ’03, in honor of his stepmother. Mr. Williams is an Alumni Trustee and president of Penn Alumni and serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. He is currently the managing director of Nuveen Investments, a financial services firm in Chicago.

Reese W. Flower Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Dr. Mark Devlin has been named the Reese W. Flower Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Dr. Devlin, of the department of physics and astronomy, specializes in experimental cosmology.  His work in the millimeter and sub-millimeter spectral bands is geared toward the study of the evolution of structure in the universe. He has led a number of ground-based and high-altitude balloon experiments including the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Telescope (BLAST). His pioneering research has earned him a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award and a Sloan Foundation Fellowship. His work has been published in Astronomical Journal, Astrophysical Journal and IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. 

The Reese W. Flower Professorship of Astronomy and Astrophysics was established in 1892 through a bequest from Reese Wall Flower, who also funded the Flower Observatory (now the Flower and Cook Observatory). Ezra Kendall, who has been credited with computing “all of the data relating to Jupiter and its satellites found in the America Ephemeris from 1855-1882,” held the first Flower Professorship.

Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences

Dr. Martha Farah has been named the Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences. Dr. Farah, of the department of psychology, a widely recognized expert in the fields of psychology and neuroscience, serves as director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. She is the author of several books including The Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision and has published more then 100 articles on the topics of neural development, prefrontal function and decision-making, vision, and ethical issues in neuroscience (“neuroethics”). Dr. Farah has been recognized with many honors including fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Experimental Psychologists, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Cognitive Science Society, and awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Harvard University.

The Walter H. Annenberg Professorship in the Natural Sciences was established in 1977 by the late Walter Annenberg and his wife Leonore, Hon ’85. Ambassador Annenberg enjoyed a career as an editor and publisher, broadcaster, diplomat, and philanthropist. Mrs. Annenberg served as White House chief of protocol under President Ronald Reagan. She is an emeritus trustee of the University.

DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology

Dr. Daniel H. Janzen has been appointed the DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology. Dr. Janzen, of the department of biology, is the author of more than 400 publications. He has been widely recognized for his work on the restoration of the Guanacaste Tropical Dry Forest in Costa Rica. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a former MacArthur Fellow. He has received Japan’s Kyoto Prize, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences’ Crafoord Prize in Biology and SAS’s Ira Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

The DiMaura Chair was established by Paul W. DiMaura, C ’65, and his wife, Karen, through the Paul W. DiMaura Charitable Trust.  Its purpose is to recruit or retain a preeminent scholar and teacher in the department of biology whose research will advance our understanding of the world’s species and ecosystem.