Eilyan Bitar

Faculty In Residence

I am an Associate Professor and the David D. Croll Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. My current research interests span optimization, control, and algorithmic game theory with applications in sustainable transportation systems and electric power networks.

A native Californian, I received my BS and PhD from UC Berkeley in 2006 and 2011. Prior to joining Cornell in 2012, I spent one year as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology and UC Berkeley. In 2016, I was an invited Visiting Scientist at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing as part of a research program on Algorithms and Uncertainty. I also currently serve as a Visiting Academic at Amazon, providing scientific guidance for their transportation decarbonization efforts. I am a recipient of the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER), the John and Janet McMurtry Fellowship, the John G. Maurer Fellowship, and the Robert F. Steidel Jr. Fellowship.

As the Faculty in Residence at Hu Shih Hall, I look forward to connecting with our students to create a strong, shared community that will be a source of strength and support as they navigate the many joys and challenges of their first undergraduate year.

Adrienne Bitar

Faculty Fellow in Residence

Adrienne Bitar is a lecturer in the Program in American Studies who specializes in the history and culture of American food and health.

My first book, Diet and the Disease of Civilization, was published in 2018 with Rutgers University Press. The first full-length study of diet books, Diet and the Disease of Civilization reveals how 20th century diets articulated a powerful response to anxieties about the costs of modernity. At Cornell, I have taught or will be teaching "Food in America," "Consumer Culture," "The History of Health and Fitness Culture," and "Introduction to Food Studies." I am currently working on a new project on lab-grown meat and meat analogues, as well as research on the history of time management.

I received my PhD from Stanford University and my BA from University of California, Berkeley. I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. I am looking forward to my role as a Hu Shih Faculty Fellow in Residence.

Community Fellow

Aaron Rovitz

I am currently the Director of Operations and Marketing at Ithaca Coffee Company, a small local business I joined in 2012. That same year I moved to Ithaca with my wife, ultimately settling in Trumansburg which is a small village just outside of Ithaca. We are currently raising two young children who keep us very busy and full of joy.

My road to Ithaca has been a long one, with several unexpected turns along the way. It has led me through studies at several universities, and careers in public school music education, marketing, and business operations.

In my professional career here in Ithaca, I have had the opportunity to interact with several student groups connected to both Cornell and Ithaca College. These opportunities are always stimulating and rewarding, and something I seek out whenever possible. I enjoy connecting with students and sharing the opportunity to learn from one another.

Faculty Fellow

Meejeong Song

Ms. Meejeong Song is a senior lecturer in the Dept. of Asian Studies and is a coordinator of the Korean Language Program. She has been at Cornell for more than 20 years since January 2001 and has experience teaching all levels of Korean at Cornell. She received a BA in Korean Language and Literature (minored in English Language and Literature) from Ewha Womans University in South Korea and a MA in Korean Studies specialized in teaching Korean as a second language from the same institution. Her research interests include Second Language Acquisition, CBT (Content-Based Teaching), PBLL (Project-Based Language Learning), and Technology-Aided Teaching Material Development.

Meejeong is an active member of AATK (American Association of Teachers of Korean), ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), NEALLT (Northeast Association for Language Learning and Technology), and IALLT (International Association for Language Learning Technology). She served as an elected board member for the AATK in 2019~2022 and was honored to host the 27th annual conference of AATK at Cornell in 2022. She has been rigorously participating and giving presentations at numerous language pedagogy conferences, workshops, and talks. She is also enthusiastic about material development for students' effective and efficient learning practices in and outside the classroom. With the awarded funds from the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning, she has completed numerous projects to improve students' linguistic and intercultural skills. Among them, her pedagogy application and her students' peer-review class activities were featured on FeedbackFruits Online Use Case Collection for global educators.

Working with students is her pleasure. Meejeong served as a non-residential Faculty Fellow for Alice Cook House in 2010~2013. She has been advising several student organizations on campus and also served as a CAS faculty advisor to help freshmen adapt to college life both academically and mentally. In addition, she served as a Faculty Senator in 2019~2022 and engaged in collaborative governance representing the Dept. of Asian Studies. In 2014 Meejeong was featured on Daily Edventures by Microsoft, which highlights global heroes in education.

Other than academic activities, Meejeong likes to hike and play the piano. She has been serving as a choir leader, sub-conductor, and sub-pianist at the Korean Church at Cornell. To raise the awareness of Korean language and culture, she has been hosting annual events such as the Korean Singing Contest, Korean Game Night, Korean Showcase, and etc. As the admin of the Cornell Korean Language Program's Facebook page and the Korean language certificate Issuer of the Translator-Interpreter Program (TIP), she provides information and service to fulfill the community needs. She also has engaged in Cornell's World Languages Day for the local junior high students' cultural exposure. Meejeong's mission is to create a positive environment for people with diverse backgrounds in and outside the classroom.

Faculty Fellow

Haiyuan Yu

I am the Tisch University Professor in the Department of Computational Biology and Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology. We perform research in the broad areas of Network Systems Biology, and use integrated computational-experimental systems biology approaches to determine protein interactions and complex structures on the scale of the whole cell. In particular, we focus on protein-protein and gene regulatory networks and seeks to understand how such intricate systems evolve and how their perturbations lead to human disease, especially Autism Spectrum Disorder and cancer.

I was born and raised in China, and went to Peking University for my BS (received in 2000). Upon graduation, I went to Yale University for my PhD, and then became a post-doctoral fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. I started my own lab here at Cornell as an Assistant Professor in 2010.

As a faculty fellow, I am passionate about interacting with the first-year students, sharing my experience, and helping as much as I can. I am eager to learn from and about the students about their diverse backgrounds, individual challenges, and personal strengths. I also hope to explore the name sakes of the residential halls, especially Hu Shih Hall and Barbara McClintock Hall, together with the students through presentations and discussion, focusing on their life stories and scholarly achievements.

Faculty Fellow

Chris Roh

I am an assistant professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering in CALS. My research focuses on insects' interaction with the fluid around them and its ecological and agricultural implications. My favorite bug, at the moment, is a whirligig beetle, the fastest swimming insect.

I received my Batchelor's degree in biology and biological engineering from Cornell University and MS and PhD in Aeronautics from Caltech. I returned to Ithaca with my family in 2021 to join Cornell as a faculty. As a Hu Shih Hall faculty fellow, I look forward to getting to know the students. I especially want to share the beautiful parts of Ithaca that I missed out on during my experience at Cornell.

Faculty Fellow

Robert H. Lieberman

Robert H. Lieberman ’62 is a long-time member of the Physics faculty at Cornell. He is also a film director and best-selling novelist. He did his graduate work at Cornell in the fields of Neurophysiology and Electrical Engineering.

Robert’s films include the newly released Echoes Of The Empire—Beyond Genghis Khan. His previous movies They Call It Myanmar and Angkor Awakens were New York Times Critics’ Picks and were broadcast worldwide on the BBC. This, his Asian Trilogy is now streaming on major channels.

In addition to these and other documentaries, he directed the comedy “Green Lights” shot largely in Ithaca.

Presently he is working with 5-time Academy Award nominated producer Didier Brunner in Paris, on the animated adaption of his novel “The Nazis, My Father & Me.”

His novels include: “The Last Boy,” “The Boys of Truxton,” “Baby,” “Paradise Rezoned,” “Goobersville Breakdown” “Neighbors” and “Perfect People. All are available on Amazon, Kindle and Audible.

His is a very “Cornell” family. His sons are both Cornellians: Zorba ’87 has an MBA from the Johnson School. Boris graduated in the class of ’90. Robert’s granddaughter, Zoe ‘22, will be entering Cornell’s Vet school this fall.