Ekundayo Akinlade is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Business. Akinlade completed her bachelor’s degree in agriculture at the University of Reading, master of science in biotechnology at Imperial College London, MBA in business administration and management at the University of Connecticut School of Business, and her PhD in organizational behavior and human resource management at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She designed a community-based learning course using Feed My Starving Children as the target organization, which she continues to help promote. Previously, Akinlade was most an assistant professor at St. Xavier University in Chicago. 

Arthur Bousquet, assistant professor of mathematics, earned a master diploma of engineering in applied mathematics and scientific computing from the Institut Galilee engineering school in Paris, France, and a PhD in applied mathematics from Indiana University. Previously, he was an S. Chowla Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University. He has extensive expertise in the areas of optimization, scientific computing, and the development of numerical schemes to address problems related to physical and biological systems. An applied mathematician with an extensive and diverse background, Bousquet will play a vital role in designing and implementing a data science initiative within the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and within the College broadly.

An expert in the molecular mechanisms of tuberculosis pathogenesis, Will Conrad joins the biochemistry and molecular biology program at Lake Forest as an assistant professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. Conrad recently completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge. He earned his PhD in the department of pharmacology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Prior to that, he earned a bachelor of arts in biology, at Macalester College, where he conducted research in molecular neuroscience. He will be teaching molecular biology and biochemistry courses as well as both introductory chemistry and biology classes and labs.

After receiving an undergraduate education at Williams College and PhD from Northwestern University, Zachary Cook joins the Department of Politics as its expert in American politics. Cook’s research lies in public opinion, more specifically generational differences in political ideology and voting. He comes to Lake Forest College after several years of full-time teaching at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and DePaul University, and will offer courses in American politics and methods of political science research.

A 2008 graduate of Lake Forest College, Daniel Defranco is a visiting instructor in the Department of Philosophy. Defranco is completing his doctorate in philosophy at Tulane University this year. His areas of study include the history of philosophy (especially ancient Greek and the early modern period), ethics, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience. His current research explores longstanding mysteries in the fields of medicine and neuroscience through a philosophical lens. He proposes a novel explanation for phantom limb syndrome with wide-reaching implications for the medical treatment of phantom limb pain, brain function, and the telos of mind. 

Margot Schwalbe joins the Department of Biology as an assistant professor of biology, having previously served as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Scholar in the Training in Education and Critical Research Skills Program at Tufts University. She earned her PhD in biological sciences at the University of Rhode Island and her BS and MS in biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth. At Lake Forest, Schwalbe will teach courses in organismal biology, animal physiology, and neurobiology.

After earning a BA and MA at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tessa Sermet joins the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures as assistant professor of French. Sermet’s research lies in 20th and 21st century French and Francophone literature; 17th century French classical utopias; science fiction studies, utopian, and dystopian literature; and French film, graphic novels and visual culture; as well as relationships between Brazilian and French modernism; and Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. 

Vivian Ta joins the Department of Psychology as an assistant professor of psychology. She recently completed a PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she was the recipient of a National Science Foundation LSAMP BD fellowship, and explored the role of technology and computer-mediated communication on psychological processes. She will teach a variety of courses, including research methods and statistics, social psychology, and the psychology of language.

Veronica Walkosz joins Lake Forest College this year as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Physics. Walkosz completed her bachelor of science in physics at Loyola University Chicago and her PhD in physics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She taught physics at Loyola University before coming to Lake Forest College. Her research interests lie in theoretical investigations of structural and electronic properties of bulk materials, surfaces, and interfaces from first principles, as well as electron microscopy.

RL Watson will teach this year in the English department as a visiting assistant professor. Watson is an alumna of Yale University, where she earned a BA in film studies and theater studies. After graduation, she worked in New York City as an assistant producer at Ogilvy & Mather, working on television commercials for American Express, before returning to Yale to begin her graduate studies. She received a master’s in Hebrew Bible summa cum laude from Yale Divinity School, and that fall, she and Leviticus, the big black dog, arrived in Chicago. Watson recently completed her doctoral studies in religion and literature at The University of Chicago. 

Alexander Wilcox joins the College this fall as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Biology. Wilcox completed his biochemistry undergraduate studies at University of Rochester and graduate work at Northwestern University. After working in the biotech industry, Wilcox completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at Brown University before teaching a variety of biology courses at Providence College. His areas of study include yeast proteasome degradation and yeast apoptosis. At Lake Forest, Wilcox will teach courses in physiology, microbiology, and general biology.

Beth Woodward joins the College as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Art History. Woodward earned her BA at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; her MA at Florida State University; and her PhD at the University of Chicago. At Lake Forest, she will teach courses on visual arts and design; Romanesque art; Italian Renaissance art; Islamic art and architecture; and art, wealth and power in the global middle ages.