Professor Brian Northop — Chemistry

The University’s chemistry department will be taking a step into the future this semester with a new professor working in the field of nanotechnology. Professor Brian Northop will be teaching several chemistry courses this year and is excited about sharing his own interests with the campus.

“I hope to bring new and exciting developments in nanotechnology and materials chemistry to the chemistry department and Wesleyan as a whole,” Northop said.

Northop studied chemistry at Middlebury College and the University of California at Los Angeles, where he worked as a teacher’s assistant. After graduating, he taught organic chemistry at the University of Utah before joining Wesleyan’s chemistry department this fall.

This semester Northop is teaching “Principles of Chemistry I” (CHEM 143/145). In the spring, he is teaching a 300-level course on materials chemistry, the study of materials at a molecular level.

“My background is in organic chemistry and my education and research have focused on materials chemistry and nanotechnology,” Northop said. “Which is why I’m excited to teach a course in materials chemistry this upcoming spring. “

Outside the classroom, Northop will head a research group focused on designing and preparing new chemical compounds with particular mechanical, electronic, or sensing properties.

He says his work in materials chemistry and nanotechnology are interrelated in their applications—the goal of nanotechnology is to design new materials on a sub-atomic scale with different natural and mechanical properties. The possibilities are endless, from plastic materials that can change their strength as a response to shining a light on them or running a current through them, to molecular-sized capsules that could deliver medication throughout a sick person’s body.

“Nanotechnology has application in everything from electronics to medicine to everyday consumer goods,” Northop said.”
This latest addition to the chemistry department will help bring the University into an increasingly important scientific field. Northop says he is eager to get to work at his new home.

“I’m exited to be here,” Northop said. “The campus is beautiful, and the chemistry department has great facilities and lots of resources. So far I’ve met a very friendly group of faculty and students.”

Professor Anne Peters — Government

Government students and current event enthusiasts alike will be happy to learn that a new professor is joining the highly popular and somewhat understaffed government department.

Professor Anne Peters will be teaching three courses this year, two of which focus on Middle Eastern politics. She will also be working to develop a certificate program in Middle Eastern studies and hopes to increase student interest in the topic.

“I love working in this region, and I am excited to share that enthusiasm with my students,” she said.

This year Peters will have plenty of chances to do just that. She is teaching “Comparative Politics of the Middle East” (GOVT 270) in the fall and the spring, as well as “Democracy and Dictatorship” (GOVT 157) this semester and “Middle Eastern States in Comparative Perspective” (GOVT 305) spring semester.

Peters is expecting a full classroom, considering how applicable her courses are to modern world politics, as well as how frequently the media covers the region.

“With elections-related turmoil in Iran, boots on the ground in Iraq, and the Internet to cover it all, getting students engaged in the Middle East is usually not very difficult,” she said.

The hard part, according to Peters, is getting students interested in the general theories of political science; many of which, she says, fail to take the Middle East into account.

Outside of the classroom, Peters will be working on a new book, which discusses how U.S. foreign policy shapes the politics of other countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and South Korea. She is also working on an article that highlights how the U.S. created its own infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan, bypassing local politics and governments to supply water, electricity and security to the population.

“I am interested in why the U.S. is so active in these sectors, what the quality of service is, and how the foreign provision of public goods may affect these states as they develop in the future,” Peters explained.

More important than her own work, Peters says, is the opportunity to guide students through their own academic experiences.
“I hope that I can be a resource for students who are interested in the Middle East,” she said. “I am glad to provide advice and guidance to those who are interested in studying Arabic, studying abroad, or applying for programs like Fulbright.”

Peters also warned that her own side interests may seep into class discussions.

“I like mob flicks,” she said. “Get used to the references.”