To help introduce to the Cornell community the new members of the university's faculty the Cornell Chronicle is publishing brief new-faculty profiles through December.

Teresa E. Pawlowska
Assistant professor, plant pathology
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Pawlowska studies the biology and evolution of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (phylum Glomeromycota) with a particular emphasis on their reproductive mode and mechanisms of interacting with the host. AM fungi form the oldest and most widespread symbiotic association involving land plants and hold a promise of becoming a substitute for chemical fertilizers in sustainable land management systems.
Previous positions: Postdoctoral associate, plant and microbial biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1999-2004; research assistant, Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, 1989-1993.
Academic background: M.S., ecology, Jagiellonian University, 1988; Ph.D., plant biology, University of Minnesota, 1998.
Last book read: Changing Planes by Ursula Le Guin.

Wojtek Pawlowski
Assistant professor, plant breeding and genetics
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Pawlowski focuses his research on understanding the mechanisms of meiosis, a specialized cell division leading to the production of gametes. He is particularly interested in learning how homologous chromosomes, one from the father and the other from the mother, recognize themselves, pair and recombine during the early steps of meiosis. He uses two plant species as model systems, maize (Zea mays), one of the most important crop plants in the world, and a common weed, Arabidopsis thaliana.
Previous position: Postdoctoral researcher, molecular and cell biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1998-2004.
Academic background: B.S./M.S., plant breeding, Agricultural University, Krakow, Poland, 1988,; Ph.D., plant genetics and breeding, University of Minnesota, 1996.
Last book read: Too Much Tuscan Sun by Dario Castagno and Robert Rodi.

S.P. Raj
Professor, applied economics and management
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Raj's areas of interest are marketing management and strategy, managing new product development, marketing communication and quantitative marketing.
Previous positions: Distinguished professor of marketing, Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, and senior associate dean for academic affairs, 1991-2003; visiting professor, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, 1985-86.
Academic background: B. Tech., electronics engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras,1975; Ph.D., industrial administration, marketing, Carnegie Mellon University, 1981.
Last book read: Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Brian Wansink
Professor, applied economics and management
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Academic focus: Wansink's field of study is food psychology - consumer behavior and marketing as they relate to why people eat what they eat and how much they eat. This has implications for obesity and food safety as well as for advertising, packaging and product development. At Cornell, he will create and direct the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, http://www.FoodPsychology.com and http://www.ConsumerPsychology.com, and teach courses in consumer behavior and marketing research.
Previous positions: Julian Simon Memorial Faculty Fellow in Marketing and professor of business administration, of nutritional science, of advertising and of agricultural and consumer economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997-2004; visiting assistant professor, University of Pennsylvania, 1995-97.
Academic background: B.S., business administration, Wayne State University, 1982; M.A., journalism and mass communication, Drake University, 1984; Ph.D., marketing, Stanford University, 1990.
Last book read: The Mind Map Book by Tony and Barry Buzan.