School Notes: Faculty of Arts & Sciences
January/February 2025

Evolutionary biologist awarded MacArthur grant

Martha Muñoz, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, was named a 2024 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. MacArthur “genius” fellows receive an $800,000 award over five years. Muñoz has published groundbreaking work on the behavioral and environmental drivers and brakes of evolution. 

FAS dean steps down

Tamar Szabó Gendler ’87 completed her second five-year term as the inaugural dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on December 31.  

Gendler led the expansion and revitalization of the FAS faculty, presiding over the hiring of nearly 500 ladder and instructional faculty in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences over the course of a decade. In addition, she oversaw initiatives in areas from data science to Silk Road history; reimagined faculty governance; and introduced new programs and initiatives to support faculty as researchers and teachers. Her achievements in this realm include creating the innovative Scholars as Leaders, Scholars as Learners program; securing financial support for the renovation of the Humanities Quadrangle, as well as the Tobin Center for Economic Policy; and overseeing FAS participation in campus efforts from the Wu Tsai Institute (neuroscience) to the Institute for the Foundations of Data Science (data science) to the Yale Science Building (biology). 

Gendler, Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy and professor of psychology and cognitive science, will return to the Yale faculty after a sabbatical in northern California, where she will explore recent developments in artificial intelligence and educational technology. 

FAS faculty launch innovative companies

Four FAS faculty were celebrated at the Yale Faculty Innovation Awards in recognition of their world-changing startups. Recognized were: Anna Pyle (molecular, cellular, and developmental biology and chemistry) and her innovative scientific reagent company RNAConnect; Noah Planavsky (earth and planetary sciences) and his carbon removal and storage company Crew Carbon, Inc.; Hailang Wang (chemistry) and his company Oxylus Energy, which converts carbon dioxide into carbon-neutral fuels and feedstocks; and Walter Jetz (ecology and evolutionary biology) and his ecology company Merops.