In this installment of “Why I Research,” faculty members from Anthropology, Economics, History, Physics and Energy Science, and Sociology share their reasons and motivations for conducting research.
Esther Lamidi, Assistant Professor of Sociology
I conduct research because I love the process of finding answers to pertinent questions about evolving patterns of family life. As my friends and family often say, my curious mind can’t stop asking why. I also consider it a privilege to be part of the group of scholars in my field whose research informs changes in social policies and individual and group actions.
Tara Cepon Robins, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
I research because I am interested in understanding human health and biology from multiple perspectives. Humans are a complex mosaic of our evolutionary histories and our individual histories and trying to piece together that mosaic is both important and fun!
Dmytro Bozhko, Assitant Professor of Physics and Energy Science
I research because I am curious about how everything in this universe is organized and works together. Also, it is very exciting to search for ways of making the world a better place to live by pushing forward the existing and developing new technologies.
Farida Khan, Chair and Associate Professor of Economics
Reading, thinking, and writing about problems that human beings face is my raison d’etre; academe allows that space and therefore has been a comfortable place from within which to contribute to the literature that resembles the scope of my work.
There are a few other forces that make me linger at my office/desk: I like working on problems, how to formulate thinking about something – both conceptually and analytically. Humility and a sense that I have not worked to my capacity is another drive that keeps me there. Lastly, my work is on poverty alleviation and social betterment in the developing world – it is a moral and ethical obligation to work on these topics, primarily from a sense of duty to the part of the world that raised me and gave me strength to live my life in other regions.
Brian Duvick, Associate Professor of History
I enjoy the great privilege of researching the influence of religious, philosophical, and literary movements on the transformation of ancient empires. I am especially interested in opening up new fields of research that explore the various methods developed to cultivate socio-political harmony within states of diverse ethnicity and complex international relations.
Please email your “Why I Research” statements to Mike Kisley, [email protected], for inclusion in a future post