Faculty Directory

Learn from scholars across linguistics and language programs

Faculty in the Department of Linguistics at UB include researchers, lecturers and instructors who support students across disciplines and languages. Together, they create a learning environment that connects theory, language study and real-world application.

Core Faculty

Core faculty are active researchers and mentors who guide students through coursework and research in linguistics.

Jodie Ackerman, EdD
608 Baldy Hall
jodieack@buffalo.edu
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: American Sign Language, Visual Gestural Communication, Second Language Acquisition, Pedagogical Focus, Lived Experiences of Deaf Women with Breast Cancer, Interpretation
Email Jodie Ackerman Profile for Jodie Ackerman
608 Baldy Hall
jodieack@buffalo.edu
Jürgen Bohnemeyer, PhD
642 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0127
jb77@buffalo.edu
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Semantic typology, Conceptual and Formal Semantics, the Syntax-Semantics Interface, the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface, Linguistic Anthropology, Mesoamerican Languages
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642 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0127
jb77@buffalo.edu
Andrew Byrne, PhD
611 Baldy Hall
abyrne@buffalo.edu
American Sign Language Program Director
Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: American Sign Language literature, literary theory and criticism, literary canon formation
Email Andrew Byrne Profile for Andrew Byrne
611 Baldy Hall
abyrne@buffalo.edu
Gladys Camacho Rios, PhD
602 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0118
gcamacho@buffalo.edu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Language Documentation; Descriptive Linguistics; Morphology; Lexical Semantics; South Bolivian Quechua Language Varieties; Andean Languages
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602 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0118
gcamacho@buffalo.edu
Rui P. Chaves, PhD
604 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0133
rchaves@buffalo.edu
Department Chair
Professor
Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies for the BS and MS in Computational Linguistics
Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Affiliate
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts of Sciences
Specialties: Syntax, Syntax-Semantics Interface, Constraint-Based Grammar, Long-Distance Dependencies, Coordination, Experimental Syntax, and Grammar Implementation
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604 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0133
rchaves@buffalo.edu
Christian DiCanio, PhD
601 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0113
cdicanio@buffalo.edu
Director of Graduate Admissions
Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Acoustic and Articulatory Phonetics, Corpus Phonetics, Phonology, Lexical Tone, Prosody, Fieldwork, and Oto-Manguean Languages
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601 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0113
cdicanio@buffalo.edu
Matthew Faytak, PhD
616 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0122
faytak@buffalo.edu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, ultrasound, languages of China, languages of West Africa
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616 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0122
faytak@buffalo.edu
David Fertig, PhD
638 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0129
fertig@buffalo.edu
Director of Graduate Studies
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Germanic Linguistics, Historical linguistics, Dialectology, Sociolinguistics, Morphology, and Phonology
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638 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0129
fertig@buffalo.edu
Jeff Good, PhD
613 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0126
jcgood@buffalo.edu
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Associate Chair
Department of AI and Society
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Morphosyntactic typology, Niger-Congo languages, Language documentation
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613 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0126
jcgood@buffalo.edu
Chihiro Heckman, PhD
641 Baldy Hall
chihiroa@buffalo.edu
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Second Language Acquisition, Emotions in Language Learning, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), Japanese as a foreign language
Email Chihiro Heckman Profile for Chihiro Heckman
641 Baldy Hall
chihiroa@buffalo.edu
Cassandra Jacobs, PhD
614 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0121
cxjacobs@buffalo.edu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Computational modeling, psycholinguistics, learning and memory, natural language processing
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614 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0121
cxjacobs@buffalo.edu
Hyein Amber Kim, PhD
643 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0134
hkim55@buffalo.edu
Director of the Korean Program
Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Identity, Korean Language, Multicultural Education, Race and Ethnicity, Second Language Acquisition, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Translation and Interpretation
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643 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0134
hkim55@buffalo.edu
Jean-Pierre Koenig, PhD
618 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8482
jpkoenig@buffalo.edu
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Syntax, Semantics, Psycholinguistics
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618 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-8482
jpkoenig@buffalo.edu
EunHee Lee, PhD
606 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0125
ehlee@buffalo.edu
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Semantics and Pragmatics, Second Language Acquisition, Korean Linguistics.
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606 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0125
ehlee@buffalo.edu
Chuan Lin, PhD
Baldy 639
Phone: 716-645-0130
clin97@buffalo.edu
Associate Teaching Professor
Director of Chinese Program
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Second Language Acquisition; Chinese Linguistics; Chinese Language Pedagogy; Second Language Teacher Education
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Baldy 639
Phone: 716-645-0130
clin97@buffalo.edu
Mitsuaki Shimojo, PhD
640 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0131
shimojo@buffalo.edu
Associate Chair for Language Programs
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Director of Japanese Program
Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Specialties: Japanese linguistics, Syntax, and Discourse
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640 Baldy Hall
Phone: (716) 645-0131
shimojo@buffalo.edu
Tarek Ziadna, PhD
320 D Baldy
tarekzia@buffalo.edu
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Email Tarek Ziadna Profile for Tarek Ziadna
320 D Baldy
tarekzia@buffalo.edu

Full-Time Lecturers

Full-time lecturers specialize in language instruction and student learning. They bring deep expertise in teaching and help students build strong communication skills across languages.

Mindy Brightman

Full-Time Lecturer (ASL)

Department of Linguistics

606 Baldy

Email: mindybri@buffalo.edu

Xianxian Fang

Full-time Lecturer (Chinese)

Department of Linguistics

466 Baldy

Email: xianxian@buffalo.edu

Sigrid Fertig

Full-time Lecturer (German)