WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professorship

Nomination Deadline for Current Faculty: April 5 (In the event that a deadline falls upon a weekend or a university holiday, that deadline will move to the first workday following the posted date.)

The Gabilan Assistant Professorship is one of the recruitment and retention tools provided by the WiSE program and is awarded to new faculty as part of the start-up package, as well as current junior faculty nominated (typically after the third year review) for exemplary performance. In certain disciplines named professorships for junior faculty add prestige to the appointment and may leverage additional funding and awards. The most important criterion to be used in awarding the professorship is the excellence of the candidate. Other criteria include advancing the goals of the WiSE program and reducing the under-representation of women. The exact way in which the funds are distributed can be flexible and the details negotiated by the dean and the WiSE program director.

Guidelines for Appointment:

  • Goal: To aid in recruiting and retaining outstanding junior faculty who will increase the representation of women in science and engineering at USC and to advance their careers towards tenure.
  • Amount: Awards would typically range between $10-25K per year. Recruitment awards are granted for a period of three years, with a possibility for renewal for two additional years, or until the recipient receives tenure, whichever comes first. Awards to existing faculty are granted for a period of three years or until the recipient receives tenure, whichever comes first.

Criteria:

The most important criterion is the excellence of the candidate. The Department Chair (or appropriate Section or Program Head) must make the case that the candidate is at the top of the cohort of applicants in the specific field of the application and would be deserving of such honor at any top ranked university in the US. Supplementary materials that can be used in making a compelling case for the excellence of the candidate include, but are not limited to, letters of recommendation, other honors and evidence of excellence, competitive offers, etc. The Chair should also address how the recruitment or retention will advance the goals of the WiSE program.

Selection procedure:

Because time is important in junior appointments, during the recruitment process the Director of the WiSE Program will make the decision expeditiously, in consultation with members of the Advisory Board as appropriate. An ad hoc committee, comprised of senior faculty from various WiSE-eligible departments and the WiSE Advisory Board, will review renewal applications as well as new nominations and make recommendations to the WiSE Director. Chairs are encouraged to consult with the Director of the WiSE Program on the criteria for granting the Gabilan Assistant Professsorship and the supplemental materials that would be useful in making the case.

Current and Past Award Recipients

  • Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz (2024-Present)
  • Souti Chattopadhyay, Computer Science (2023-Present)
  • Maral Mousavi, Biomedical Engineering (2023-Present)
  • Weihang Wang, Computer Science (2023-Present)
  • Ruolin Li, Civil & Environmental Engineering (2023-Present)
  • Ruishan Liu, Computer Science (2023-Present)
  • Paraskevi Micha, Computer Science (2023-Present)
  • Paria Rashidinejad, Electrical & Computer Engineering (2023-Present)
  • Jieyu Zhao (2023-Present)
  • Kelly Luo (2023-Present)
  • Lauren McElvain (2023-Present)
  • Julia Schwartzman (2023-Present)
  • Neda Maghsoodi (2023-Present)
  • Laura Melissa Guzman (2022-Present)
  • Jazlyn Mooney (2022-Present)
  • Mengjie Yu (2022-Present)
  • Swabha Swaymdipta (2022-Present)
  • Kate White (2021-Present)
  • Renyuan Xu (2021-Present)
  • Emily Cooperdock, Earth Sciences (2021-2023)
  • Phebe Vayanos, Industrial and Systems Engineering and Computer Science (2021-Present)
  • Feifei Qian (2020-Present)
  • Ananya Renuka Balakrishna, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (2020-2022)
  • Sze-Chuan Suen, Industrial and Systems Engineering (2020-2023)
  • Carly Kenkel (2017-2022)
  • Vera Gluscevic, Physics and Astronomy (2019-Present)
  • Bistra Dilkina, Computer Science (2019-2020)
  • Jennifer Treweek, Biomedical Engineering (2019-Present)
  • Megan Fieser, Chemistry (2018-2023)
  • Heather Culbertson, Computer Science (2018-2023)
  • Cristina Zavaleta, Biomedical Engineering (2017-2022)
  • Shaama Sharada, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (2017-2022)
  • Lindsey Schier, Biological Sciences (2017-2022)
  • Dina El-Damak, Electrical Engineering (2016-2020)
  • Alejandra Uranga, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (2016-2021)
  • Eun Ji Chung, Biomedical Engineering (2016-2019)
  • Aleksandra Korolova, Computer Sciences (2015-2020)
  • Carolyn Phillips, Biological Sciences, (2014-2019)
  • Nora Ayanian, Computer Sciences (2013-2017)
  • Megan McCain, Biomedical Engineering (2013-2017)
  • Smaranda Marinescu, Chemistry (2013-2018)
  • Irene Chiolo, Biological Sciences (2013-2018)
  • Naomi Levine, Biological Sciences (2013-2018)
  • Stacey Finley, Biomedical Engineering (2013-2017)
  • Sami Assaf, Mathematics (2012-2017)
  • Michelle Povinelli, Electrical Engineering (2008-2013)
  • Michelle Arbeitman, Biology Sciences (2003-2011)