• Home
  • Saint Mary's NewsCenter
  • Saint Mary’s Thought Leaders in 2024: Groundbreaking Research in the Lab and the Field, Politics Across the Country, and the Story of a Poem 
Scientist James Pesavento holds up algae in dishes while two students look on

New insights: James Pesavento, center, with SMC students in the lab. His work together with a colleague and student led to a new paper that revealed a previously unseen molecular signature of how algal genomes are controlled. / Photo by Francis Tatem

Saint Mary’s Thought Leaders in 2024: Groundbreaking Research in the Lab and the Field, Politics Across the Country, and the Story of a Poem 

Highlights from 18 scholars, scientists, and writers whose research and creative work shaped conversations locally, regionally, and nationally

by Steven Boyd Saum, Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Content | December 23, 2024

Saint Mary’s educators bring their broad knowledge and deep expertise to classroom lectures and discussions. They also provide insights and analysis for national and local media, bring poetry and research before peers and global audiences, and convene conversations for the wider public on the page and in person.

Here are some highlights from 2024  from 18 scholars and staff at Saint Mary’s. You’ll find analysis of the breathtaking year on the political stage, awards and recognition in scientific research, and insights on the changing economy. There is testimony about freedom of religion in prison, the value of faith in sports, and the origins of modern love. You’ll also find the return of pandas to U.S. shores, sociologists putting some context on what we consider “sinful,” and discussions with a Pulitzer-winning journalist and Oscar-winning filmmaker from Ukraine.

This story is one of a three-part series. Be sure to check out the top stories from Saint Mary’s 2024 and Saint Mary’s in the News highlights from this year. For the latest updates on all things Gael, check out the SMC NewsCenter.

 

SMC Poet Matthew Zapruder and cover of book I Love Hearing Your Dreams

A nod from the National Book Critics Circle, a new volume of poetry, and writers on Taylor Swift

Matthew Zapruder, Associate Professor in the Saint Mary's MFA Program in Creative Writing and English Department

 

 

Sonya Schuh, Alice Baldridge, and Amy Chu
Sonya Schuh, Alice Baldridge, and Amy Chu, all SMC scientists who received recognition and support on a national scale this year / Photos by Francis Tatem

Awards and recognition for three women leading in science

Sonya Schuh, Associate Professor of Biology, School of Science
Alice Baldridge, Associate Dean of the School of Science
Amy Chu, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, School of Science
  • September 2024: Amy Chu Receives an Award from the National Science Foundation for ‘LEAPS-MPS: Synthesis and Binding Thermodynamics of Three-fold Symmetric Organometallic Receptors for Inorganic Phosphates.’ It will fund research with students on capturing and possibly recycling phosphates in waterways. | National Science Foundation

 

Screenshot of CalMatters article opener on Kamala Harris

An intense year in politics: the presidential debate, the rise of Kamala Harris, San Francisco’s mayoral election, and more

Corey Cook, Professor of Politics

Here’s a sampling of the dozens of television interviews and news stories tapping Cook’s expertise on politics in the San Francisco Bay area, in California, and on the national stage.

 

Putting California poll numbers in context—and changing realities in age in the workforce 

Michal Strahilevitz, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Elfenworks Center for Responsible Business, School of Economics and Business Administration

 

The politics of pandas—and their return to zoos in the United States

E. Elena Songster, Associate Professor of History, School of Liberal Arts 
Author of “Panda Nation: The Construction and Conservation of China’s Modern Icon”

 

The Cover of "We Are Each Other's Business" and an image of Nicole Brown
Professor of Sociology Nicole M. Brown—whose book, "We Are Each Other's Business," was released by Columbia University Press this year—specializes in historical sociology, political consumerism, black feminisms and critical technology studies. / Images courtesy of Nicole M. Brown

How our surroundings shape our behavior—and perceptions of what’s not okay

Nicole M. Brown, Associate Professor of Sociology, School of Liberal Arts
Author of “We Are Each Other's Business: Black Women's Intersectional Political Consumerism During the Chicago Welfare Rights Movement”

 

Groundbreaking research in gene expression that began with student and faculty collaboration

Jim Pesavento, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Biology, School of Science

 

Barbara McGraw testifies before US Commission on Human Rights

Enforcing religious freedom in prison

Barbara McGraw, Director of the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism and Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Public Life in the School of Economics and Business Administration 

 

Ideology and intolerance in our present age

Robert Bulman, Professor of Sociology

 

Screenshot of Love, Throughline from February 15, 2024

The origins of modern love

Veronica Hefner, Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Communication, School of Liberal Arts

 

Nurturing mental resilience and the benefits of spirituality among student-athletes

Mary Volmer, Athletics Mission & Ministry Fellow

 

Screenshot from National Catholic Reporter

Instagram and faith

Porsia Tunzi ’12, Adjunct Faculty

 

Poetry and creating a sense of belonging

Jyoti Bachani, Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship, School of Economics and Business Administration

 

An ominous Supreme Court decision

Steve Woolpert, Professor Emeritus of Politics

 

Screenshot of Commonwealth Club website showing scenes from documentary '20 Days in Mariupol'

Hosting conversations with the nation’s premier public affairs forum on Ukraine, Afghanistan, the rise of autocracy, free speech on campus, and more

Steven Boyd Saum, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Content

The longtime host and former editor-in-chief for Commonwealth Club World Affairs held conversations for live audiences and broadcast in the Bay Area that included:

Next Steps

Apply
Learn more
Give

Read More

Amy Chu outside Brousseau Hall
Scientist at Work: Amy Chu on Green Chemistry, National Support for Groundbreaking Research with SMC Students, and ‘Thinking Cyclically’
Men's Basketball Team with WCC trophy
Saint Mary’s in the News: Highlights from 2024
Saint Mary's Chapel at dusk with a lit-up Christmas tree
Tradition and Momentum: Saint Mary’s Top Stories of 2024
Weekend of Welcome sliding down the SMC
Get to Know Your Saint Mary’s Class of 2028
Holiday greetings 2024
Season’s Greetings from Roger and Debbie Thompson!

© 2024 Saint Mary’s College of California