By Cole Hatcher
Ohio Wesleyan University has hired four assistant professors this fall who are continuing the faculty’s work to “teach students the skills they need to be fully equipped 21st-century global strategists,” says Provost Karlyn Crowley, Ph.D.
“These educators continue Ohio Wesleyan’s focus on flexibility, interdisciplinarity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),” said Crowley, who oversees Ohio Wesleyan’s academic experience. “They are helping us advance the strategic direction of OWU and higher education itself by drawing in and shaping students prepared to solve the world’s most wicked problems.”
Crowley defines “flexibility” as the ability to teach in a variety of ways to reach students successfully; “interdisciplinarity” as the ability to draw on multiple areas of study within their own courses and to work with other faculty to provide instruction that is both broad and deep; and “DEI” as a vital component of teaching and mentoring “because our diverse and global world depends on inclusive excellence.”
Ohio Wesleyan’s newest assistant professors and their departments and backgrounds are:
Mathematics and Computer Science
Hanliang “Han” Guo, Ph.D., is broadly interested in applied mathematics, especially biological fluid mechanics and scientific computing. Much of his research is on mathematical modelings of cilia and ciliary flows. He also is interested in data-driven approaches applied to fluid mechanics problems, such as designing micro-robots in complex fluids. Guo is OWU’s first Faculty Industry Liaison and will work to connect Math/Computer Science students with internship and career opportunities as Columbus, Ohio, becomes the “Silicon Midwest.” He earned his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California.
Matthew McCurdy, Ph.D., focuses his current research on how groundwater and surface-water interact, and how heat can impact these interactions. McCurdy earned his doctorate from Florida State University, focusing on Applied and Computational Mathematics with an emphasis on Fluid Dynamics.
Physics and Astronomy
Yunhua Ding, Ph.D., focuses his research on theoretical studies of spacetime symmetries, the foundation of Einstein’s general relativity. Ding obtained his doctorate in Physics from Indiana University Bloomington and has worked as a visiting assistant professor at several liberal arts colleges.
Psychology
Krystal Cashen, Ph.D., focuses her research on LGBTQ+ parent and adoptive families, examining how experiences unique to these families (such as stigmatization and community connections) shape outcomes including identity development and close relationships in emerging adulthood. Cashen earned her doctorate in Developmental Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Ohio Wesleyan’s new faculty join a university where all OWU professors are classroom teachers, instructing, advising, and mentoring students to help them succeed and thrive as they pursue their bachelor’s degrees and plan their paths in life. They are the university’s second cohort, and Ohio Wesleyan currently is recruiting for tenure-track positions for 2023 using this innovative cohort model.
Learn more about academics at Ohio Wesleyan at owu.edu/academics.
