Knox Welcomes New Tenure-Track Faculty
Galesburg, IL (09/10/2025) — As the new academic year begins, Knox College announces the addition of six new tenure-track faculty to its academic program. The new faculty span the arts and sciences, including art, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, and psychology.
"Knox is very lucky to have an exceptional cohort of new faculty joining our ranks this year," said Provost and Dean of Faculty Melissa Glenn, who is also starting her first year at Knox. "They are a remarkable group of teacher-scholars, and I can't wait for our students to learn from them."
Here is a closer look at the newest tenure-track faculty members:
Eugene Ofori Agyei Assistant Professor of Art
Ofori Agyei is a Ghanaian-born artist and educator based in the United States, whose interdisciplinary practice explores themes of migration, identity, cultural hybridity, and the concept of home through ceramics, textiles, wood, found materials, and performance. He holds a B.A. in industrial art from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and an M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Florida.
He has been honored with the Robert C. Turner Teaching Fellowship at New York State College of Ceramic Art; Alfred University, two National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) fellowships; an Artaxis Fellowship; the Zenobia Award, and the 2022 Pathways: Carlos Malamud Prize. His works have appeared in group exhibitions across the United States.
"I chose to join Knox because it was the right time to share my work more widely. Since arriving, I have been continually impressed by the faculty, students, and overall engagement throughout the campus community."
Hannah Bradshaw Assistant Professor of Psychology
Bradshaw earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Texas Christian University in 2020, where she specialized in social and evolutionary psychology. Her research explores how interpersonal and environmental cues shape our perceptions and judgments of others, with a particular interest in topics related to disgust and friendship.
She previously held faculty roles at Washington & Jefferson College and Monmouth College, where she taught a variety of psychology courses and mentored undergraduate research projects.
"Growing up nearby in Abingdon, I always aspired to attend Knox. Now, I am grateful for the opportunity to be here and particularly enjoy seeing the impressive whale skeleton each day."
Shengting Cao Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Cao holds a B.S. in computer science and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Alabama. His research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and mixed reality, with applications in healthcare and rehabilitation. He develops systems that enable computers to understand human movement, such as AI-powered treadmills that adapt in real time to a patient's gait, and neural rendering techniques that produce 3D holographic views of patients for remote physical therapy.
His long-term research goal is to advance spatial and multimodal intelligence-enabling machines to interpret complex, real-world environments through the integration of visual, textual, and physical cues. In teaching, he emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning that empowers students to apply cutting-edge AI to meaningful, real-world challenges.
"I'm looking forward to teaching passionate students about programming."
Jurdana Masuma Iqrah Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Iqrah earned her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at San Antonio in May 2025. Her research focuses on polar sea ice classification and prediction using scaled and distributed machine learning techniques applied to large-scale remote sensing satellite datasets.
Iqrah is particularly interested in applying advanced deep learning techniques, data-parallel strategies, and high-performance computing to environmental and geoscience problems to improve the efficiency and accuracy of environmental monitoring. She encourages student involvement in hands-on research projects, including satellite data analysis, machine learning pipeline development, and distributed computing applications. She is committed to fostering inclusive, curiosity-driven, student-centered learning environments along with interdisciplinary collaboration and hands-on research opportunities that connect computer science research with real-world environmental challenges.
"Knox is a great place; it is a welcoming community here. I'm excited to teach the students and have research opportunities with them."
Kaleigh Karageorge Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences
Karageorge most recently served as a Predoctoral Community and Environment Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum. She received her Ph.D. in public policy in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University. She also received her B.A. in corporate communication and her M.A. in political science from Purdue.
Her research lies at the intersection of public policy and social movement theory, with substantive interests in environmental justice (EJ), coalition-building, interest groups, and community engaged methods. Her current research agenda aims to ensure that the authentic voices of communities that are the most impacted by environmental issues, yet also the most overlooked, are adequately heard in formal and informal policy spaces. Accordingly, she asks how grassroots EJ groups can partner with mainstream environmental organizations and still maintain autonomy, staying accountable to the needs of the communities they represent.
"I appreciate Knox's focus on teaching and its commitment to campus culture and engagement. Working closely with students on research and contributing to the local area are important to me."
Lumala Nelum Perera Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Perera holds a B.S. specialization in chemistry from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from New Mexico Tech. Perera brings a dynamic background that includes research experience as a research scientist at FluidiSpec and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
With six years of experience teaching undergraduate chemistry, she is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment for students. Her research focuses on analytical chemistry, specializing in microfluidic-based viral detection, spectroscopy, and microplastic analysis. She develops lab-on-a-chip systems integrated with acoustic waves, electroosmosis, and advanced spectroscopic techniques to enable rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective diagnostic tools. Additionally, she investigates the separation and chemical characterization of microplastics to understand their environmental and health impacts.
"I'm very excited to be here and looking forward to teaching students. They're really inquisitive, you can tell they think about how things connect together, and that's what makes teaching fun for me."