2025 Plumeri Award Winners

one column table with plumeri winners' bios & pictures

David Dominique Associate Professor of Music, Music Theory & Composition David Dominique is a musician, writer and educator living in Richmond, VA. He has presented work, as a bandleader, soloist, electronic musician, and opera/theater composer, across the United States and in Europe, and has authored numerous pieces of political journalism. Currently, he is composing a new multi-volume speculative fiction opera, for which he serves as composer and co-librettist. The opera synthesizes historical research, including the history of a Nineteenth Century revolt against Virginia enslavers, literary adaptation, and Dominique’s own community organizing and journalism.  In July 2024, in collaboration with New York artist Sable Elyse Smith, Dominique completed the score to and music directed the five premiere performances of a chamber opera on commission from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He also composed and produced a ten-minute score to a fixed installation at MoMA as part of the same exhibition. In November of 2024, his score to Kevin Everson’s “When the Sun is Eaten” premiered at the Virginia Festival. It subsequently made its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Plans are in progress for a commercial release of the soundtrack and supporting live performances of the score. Dominique’s recently completed LP, “Something Might Amount," is due for release on vinyl and digital in 2025, and applies electronic manipulation and intensive studio processing to both pre-composed and improvised acoustic ensemble performances. His 2018 album, “Mask,” received widespread acclaim, including praise from NPR, LA Times, Jazz Times, and The National Sawdust Log among others. His previous ensemble album, “Ritual,” received praise from the Boston Globe, Downbeat Magazine and New Music Box.  Dominique’s recent awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship, a New Music USA Grant, and the Alonzo Davis Fellowship from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Previous recognitions include the Aaron Copland Fellowship from MacDowell, and residencies and fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, the American Music Center, Bogliasco Foundation, and Yaddo.  Dominique is currently the Sallie Gertrude Smoot Spears Associate Professor of Music at William & Mary. He holds a PhD from Brandeis University, where his advisors were David Rakowski and Eric Chasalow.

Jozef J. Dudek Associate Professor of Physics Professor of Sociology and Director of the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Studies.  Professor Sohoni’s research focuses on the significance of race, ethnicity, and citizenship status across various social institutions, and their role in social inclusion and exclusion. His work has been featured in top academic journals such as Social Forces, Social Problems, Sociology of Education, Law and Society Review, and Ethnic and Racial Studies. His work has also been cited in legal cases and amicus briefs, and covered in media outlets including National Public Radio and The Atlantic. Currently, he is exploring the intersection between race, military, and citizenship through the lens of “military naturalization.”  Together with Professor Francis Tanglao Aguas, Sohoni helped establish the APIA studies program at W&M. As co-chairs of the W&M Asian Centennial commemoration, Sohoni and Aguas spearheaded the university's celebration of 100 years of Asian ancestry students at W&M. Beginning in 2021, the commemoration included a year and a half of academic collaborations, research, performances and other programs. Sohoni currently leads the APM Research Project, a student/faculty/library archivists collaboration exploring the experiences of the earliest Asian ancestry students at W&M. Alongside Professor Esther Kim, he co-leads the K-12 Asian American Student Education (KAASE) Initiative at W&M, creating academic content on Asian Americans. As part of the APM Project/KAASE Initiative, Sohoni works with students conducting archival research, creating a repository of lesson plans for K-12 Virginia educators, and developing public exhibits on the role of Asian Americans within the context of local and national histories. He regularly co-authors with students and prepares them to present at academic conferences. In 2022, Sohoni was honored as a Bold Leader at W&M. Sohoni holds an undergraduate degree in geography from UCLA, an M.A. in Asian Studies from UCSB, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington.

David Samuel Johnson Associate Professor of Marine Science As one of William & Mary’s Creative & Critical Thinkers, Professor Johnson is a storyteller, writer, and a scientist at the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS. He is a marine ecologist focused on how coastal animals, such as crabs, worms, and snails, adapt to global environmental changes like rising sea levels and sea levels. Johnson has received international attention for his work documenting the migration of fiddler crabs into northern states as a result of climate change. Other research has focused on invertebrate responses to ghost forests, parasite-host interaction, the impacts of burrowing crabs on carbon cycling, the effects of the BP oil spill on salt marshes and more.  He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with the public as well as future generations of scientists, as demonstrated during his Fall 2024 Tack Lecture. "If you love crab cakes, oysters, fishing, and birding," he says, "you love a salt marsh.” Johnson grew up in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas chasing squirrels, crawdads and snakes. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, and his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Johnson has worked at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and joined VIMS and William & Mary in 2015, where he now chases crabs, tides, deadlines and kids.

Jennifer Kahn Associate Professor of Anthropology Currently Director of Graduate Studies for the Anthropology Department, Professor Kahn’s research centers on the comparative archaeology of chiefdoms and the prehistory of Oceania.  She has directed archaeological projects in the Hawaiian Islands, Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Gambier Islands, and Austral Islands of Polynesia, in addition to New Caledonia, integrating rigorous scientific methods with community engagement.  She has embedded archaeology with inclusive practice and engaged work with historically marginalized communities in Eastern Polynesia to give descendant communities a voice in public presentations of their own histories.   Professor Kahn also makes significant contributions to the undergraduate and graduate program in anthropology, having advised 25 graduate students in their post-baccalaureate research.  In her teaching, she emphasizes scientific vigor and socially infused interpretations. She actively integrates students in her field and laboratory work and her field research into her teaching.   She has published two books, " Fenua and Fare, Marae and Mana: The Archaeology of Ancient Tahiti and the Society Islands " (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2025), and " Monumentality and Ritual Materialization in the Society Islands " (Bishop Museum Press, 2014).  She has published over 70 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Over $1.3 million dollars of funding from nationally and internationally competitive research grants has supported her research. She is on the editorial board of two journals (Journal of Pacific Archaeology, Australian Archaeology) and serves as a Research Associate at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Bishop Museum.  A recipient of the Directeurs d’Études Associés (DEA) award, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, France and the Rising Star award, Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, Kahn graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with her PhD in 2005. She held a post-doctoral research position at the University of Queensland, Australia, before moving to Hawaiʻi in 2008 to become an Associate Researcher in Archaeology at the Bishop Museum. She joined the William & Mary faculty in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016.

Mike London W&M Head Football Coach As he enters his seventh season leading the William & Mary Football Program, Head Coach Mike London has achieved four consecutive winning seasons, including a 7-5 record in 2024. The Tribe reached No. 10 in the national rankings in 2024, marking their fourth straight season with a national ranking and their third consecutive year in the top 10.  During this prosperous period, which stands as the top four year stretch in 25 years for the Tribe, London has guided the Tribe to earn 44 All-CAA honors, including 17 first-team selections. Additionally, 17 players have collectively received 65 All-America honors under his leadership.  London has also facilitated the development of five former Tribe players who signed NFL contracts: Nate Lynn (Lions), Colby Sorsdal (Lions), Owen Wright (Ravens), Andrew Trainer (Chargers), and Bill Murray (Patriots). Charles Grant, a consensus All-American left tackle and graduating senior, will likely join their ranks in the upcoming NFL Draft.  The Tribe achieved many milestones in their latest campaign, sustaining their winning season streak and earning national recognition. Five players collectively received 20 All-America honors, with Grant leading the way with seven and rising senior cornerback Jalen Jones being named to six All-America teams.  Known for their balance, the Tribe ranked in the top six for scoring offense and defense in the CAA, showcasing the league’s third most potent offense at 413.2 yards per game while leading the conference with 232.8 rushing yards per game.  Nationally, W&M ranked fourth in rushing (232.8) and 24th in total offense (413.2)  Moreover, the program maintained its tradition of academic excellence, with 54 players making the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll last fall.   In addition to leading our Tribe Football program on and off the field, Coach London is dedicated to spreading awareness and support of the Be The Match national bone marrow donor program. When Coach London’s daughter, Ticynn, was four-years old, she was diagnosed with Fanconi Anemia, a rare blood disorder that affects bone marrow and the ability to fight off infections. After extensive testing of family members, Coach London, with a 10,000-to-one odds, was found to be a perfect match and he donated his bone marrow to save the life of his daughter. Since that time, the London family created 2Marrow’s Kids to help with awareness, education and facilitating resources for any person or family who may endure the needs of a bone marrow donation. Coach London and his family organized this foundation to help children with blood diseases and their families, to aid in groundbreaking research, fund and support the operational process, drives, and initiatives of local and national Bone Marrow Registries, to actively advocate for the dissemination and education of the importance of registering potential bone marrow donors.  In Coach London’s words, “For years I stood on the shoulders of others before me. Men like football coaches, Tony Dungy, Tyrone Willingham, Eddie Robinson, and others. An influence for me also included Georgetown’s men’s basketball coach John Thompson. ‘Uneasy is the head that wears the crown’ as an African American in the job of being a Head Coach in Football, in the NFL or in college there are mountains to climb. It is my time to be of service. Coach London says that he learned to not ask God for a lighter load, but for a stronger back. Defining ‘Faith, Family & Football’ as his why and destiny in life.”  Coach London uses his life’s experiences to teach and inspire others not only in football but in all walks of life and he shines a spotlight on William & Mary and the William & Mary Football program.

Saskia Mordijck Associate Professor of Physics Prof. Saskia Mordijck received her PhD in 2011 from University of California San Diego and she is a global leader in fusion energy and plasma physics. She has twice been invited to the White House: first in 2022 for the launch of the Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, and again in 2024, where she represented U.S. universities on a panel discussing advancements in fusion research. Prof. Mordijck has also been a trailblazer in her field, becoming the first woman to lead a Joint Research Target for the Department of Energy - Fusion Energy Sciences in 2019. This same year she received an NSF Career award. She is the first-ever Arts & Sciences faculty member to be named a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences (2024), an honor bestowed to recognize the future leaders of science. Prof. Mordijck’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of fusion energy and plasma physics. She has published 68 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals and her research has earned two best paper awards. Prof. Mordijck’s expertise has been recognized through numerous invited talks at leading universities and conferences worldwide. She has received generous support from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Additionally, her insights have been sought by global media outlets, including BBC World and Scientific American.  Prof. Mordijck is a dedicated and transformative mentor focused on psychological safety and the well-being of her students, prioritizing the person first and the work second. As a result, her research group includes a higher-than-average proportion of gender minority students (36%) and overall minority students (45%) in physics. Under her guidance, her undergraduate students have excelled, winning four out of five Best Poster Awards at the annual American Physical Society - Division of Plasma Physics conference over the past six years. Prof. Mordijck has dedicated her career to improving equity and inclusion within the plasma and fusion community. She served 11 years on the Women+ in Plasma Physics Committee and 7 years on the University Fusion Association. Through her advocacy, she implemented systemic changes, including reforming award nomination processes, introducing double-anonymous experimental proposal reviews, and establishing an ally network supported by specialized training. Her contributions culminated in co-authoring the editorial “Wasted Talent: The Status Quo of Women in Physics in the US and UK” for Communications Physics (Nature).

Helen Murphy Associate Professor of Biology Professor Murphy is an associate professor of Biology, co-Director of the Computational Applied Math & Statistics Mathematical Biology Track, and a distinguished scholar in evolutionary biology and genetics. Since joining the faculty at W&M, her research has been continuously supported by prestigious funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Jeffress Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Her research uses the budding yeast, a biomedical model organism, to understand the evolution of fungal pathogens. She has been at the forefront of using experimental evolution to understand how a seemingly harmless fungal microbe can transition to become a pathogen. Her research is at the intersection of evolution, genomics, computational modeling, and image analysis. In her interdisciplinary lab, she has developed new experimental and computational approaches for her field.  Professor Murphy is a devoted educator and tireless research mentor of undergraduate students, having provided research mentorship to over 50 students. To date, all of her publications from W&M have undergraduates as first authors. Her students have won numerous awards at scientific meetings and W&M, including the Lord Botetourt Medal. In the classroom, she teaches mid- and upper-level evolution courses, and challenges students to see how science and society are inextricably linked. She also teaches a research-based lab course that combines field work in the College Woods with microbiology and genetics.  Professor Murphy serves her discipline through organizing conferences, participating in outreach events, and regularly serving on grant-review panels. Her contributions to research and teaching have previously been recognized at W&M with the Class of 1955 Distinguished Associate Professorship and the Coco Fellowship. Before coming to W&M, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, then conducted postdoctoral research at Wake Forest University and Duke University.

Margaret Saha Professor of Biology Dr. Margaret Saha is a Chancellor Professor of Biology at William & Mary with affiliate appointments in the Neuroscience Program and the Department of Applied Science. She completed a Ph.D in the History of Science from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Developmental Biology from the University of Virginia. She joined the faculty of the Biology department at William & Mary in 1993 where she has taught Developmental Biology, Introductory Biology, Phage Lab, Freshmen Genomics Lab, as well as upper level course in Bioinformatics and Synthetic Biology.  Dr. Saha has had a longstanding interest in mentoring undergraduates in research and in developing novel approaches to engage and retain students in the sciences. She has served as the Program Director for five consecutive Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Education grants to William & Mary and has also served as a member and Chair of the Executive Board for Beckman Scholars Program. As the mother of five children who all attended public schools, she has been actively involved in outreach to local high school students and teachers.  For the past ten years, she has served as the faculty advisor for the award-winning William & Mary Synthetic Biology iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying early embryonic plasticity of the developing nervous system, research that involves students at all levels.  Additional research passions include phage genetics, particularly developing novel tools for bioengineering and synthetic biology to promote environmental conservation and sustainability. Her research has been consistently funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Various awards include a Presidential Faculty Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, and election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science as Faculty Fellow.

Deenesh Sohoni Professor of Sociology, Director of the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Studies Professor Sohoni’s research focuses on the significance of race, ethnicity, and citizenship status across various social institutions, and their role in social inclusion and exclusion. His work has been featured in top academic journals such as Social Forces, Social Problems, Sociology of Education, Law and Society Review, and Ethnic and Racial Studies. His work has also been cited in legal cases and amicus briefs, and covered in media outlets including National Public Radio and The Atlantic. Currently, he is exploring the intersection between race, military, and citizenship through the lens of “military naturalization.”  Together with Professor Francis Tanglao Aguas, Sohoni helped establish the APIA studies program at W&M. As co-chairs of the W&M Asian Centennial commemoration, Sohoni and Aguas spearheaded the university's celebration of 100 years of Asian ancestry students at W&M. Beginning in 2021, the commemoration included a year and a half of academic collaborations, research, performances and other programs. Sohoni currently leads the APM Research Project, a student/faculty/library archivists collaboration exploring the experiences of the earliest Asian ancestry students at W&M. Alongside Professor Esther Kim, he co-leads the K-12 Asian American Student Education (KAASE) Initiative at W&M, creating academic content on Asian Americans. As part of the APM Project/KAASE Initiative, Sohoni works with students conducting archival research, creating a repository of lesson plans for K-12 Virginia educators, and developing public exhibits on the role of Asian Americans within the context of local and national histories. He regularly co-authors with students and prepares them to present at academic conferences. In 2022, Sohoni was honored as a Bold Leader at W&M. Sohoni holds an undergraduate degree in geography from UCLA, an M.A. in Asian Studies from UCSB, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington.

Chris Tucker Professor of Philosophy Chris Tucker is the Francis S. Haserot Professor of Philosophy and department chair.  He works broadly in ethics, philosophy of religion, and epistemology (the study of knowledge, rationality, and evidence).  His current work embraces the idea that what you ought to do or believe depends on what reasons you have and how weighty those reasons are.  That is, what you ought to do or believe is determined by weighing reasons.  In his The Weight of Reasons (Oxford University Press, 2025), Tucker develops this simple idea into a framework for ethics.  He currently is applying the idea to develop a framework for the rationality of belief.   In the past, his work in epistemology focused on how to understand the connection between what one seems to see and what it is rational to believe.  Among other things, this work resulted in a major grant and one paper was a finalist for 2012 dialectica essay prize.  When he applied this work to the epistemology of religion, he was awarded a 2011 Excellence in Philosophy of Religion Prize. Prior to joining the faculty at Wiliam & Mary, he completed his post-doctorate at the University of Notre Dame and taught at Stonehill College and the University of Auckland.  He earned his PhD in 2008 from Purdue University.