Graduate Fellows Alumni
Jonathan Stensberg
Physics
Jonathan was a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Physics. His research employed nonlinear and ultrafast optics to study nontrivial topology and superconductivity in solid state materials. He is broadly interested in the relationship of the sciences to diverse fields of philosophy, religion, economics, and politics.
Christopher Quintana
Philosophy
Christopher Quintana is a doctoral student in the Department of Philosophy at Villanova University. His dissertation focuses on the social and political philosophy of the Aristotelian tradition. In addition, he has interests in virtue theory, early modern political thought, and the philosophy of technology. He has presented papers on the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza as well as Alasdair Macintyre.
Adrienne Jacob
Computer Information Technology
Adrienne is working part-time on her Masters in Computer Information Technology (MCIT) through the online program at the University of Pennsylvania while also working as systems engineer in the defense industry. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, whether it is skiing in the winter or hiking in the summer and enjoys attempting to cook new cuisine. She is a parishioner at St. Patrick's.
Noah Zimmerman
Law
Noah Zimmermann was a law student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He received a Master of Theological Studies from Duke Divinity School, where he wrote a thesis on Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas Aquinas, and analogical reasoning. His undergraduate studies at Furman University were in philosophy, politics and international affairs, and poverty studies. Noah's primary intellectual interests include theology, political theory, and law, and in his free time he enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and playing basketball.
Joseph Nicolello
English
Joseph Nicolello received his M.A. in English at Fordham University, was 2022 Karmiole Fellow at UCLA, is 2022-2023 Schoenberg Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a doctoral student at Temple University. His research interests include Milton, William Blake, theology, philosophy, providence, phenomenology, and medicine. He is presently working on a textual and pictorial exegesis of William Blake's Milton: A Poem. Nicolello is also a poet and the author of several books, including a Künstlerroman in 100 chapters modeled on Dante's Comedia (3 volumes, 2021), a platonic dialogue concerning Thomism and medieval philosophy in the literary theory of Flannery O’Connor (2021), and an in-progress quartet of novellas based on the four seasons in New York City. His works are available in most Philadelphia bookstores.
Rodrigo Morales
Economics
Rodrigo Morales was an Economics PhD student at Penn. His research focused mainly on Numerical Macroeconomics and Networks. In his free time, he enjoys doing sports, hiking, dancing, climbing mountains and biking.
Frances Choi
Education
Frances Choi is a high school history teacher pursuing a Master's in Education at Saint Joseph's University. Before moving to Philadelphia, she had lived in Boston all her life and received her undergraduate degree in History of Science and Classics at Harvard College. She is active in the St. Agatha-St. James community.
Jack Beatty
Business
Jack Beatty was an MBA Candidate at the Wharton School of Business, focusing his studies on entrepreneurship and innovation. He was also a Wharton Teaching Fellow and teaches basic marketing courses at Wharton. He is a former Air Force Officer and received his Bachelor's in physics from the University of Virginia. He is a parishioner of St. Patrick's.
Ron Berna
Medicine
Ron Berna studied Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of Villanova University
Karl Hahn
Philosophy
Karl Hahn was doctoral student in philosophy at Villanova University. He specializes in the history and philosophy of German Idealism, with a concentration in the philosophy of religion.
Jacque Faylo
Chemistry
Jacque was a Ph.D Candidate in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a National Institutes of Health Fellow in the Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics program. Her research focused largely on the structural biology of enzymes synthesizing medicinally important products. She completed her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, where her research in the department of immunology revealed the regulatory mechanism of pro-inflammatory proteins in cancer.
Fariba Kanga
French and Francophone Studies
Fariba Kanga was a PhD student in the Department of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Penn, she completed her undergraduate and master’s in French at the University of Kentucky. Fariba’s research interests are in late medieval/early Renaissance hagiography and religious performance.
Devin Creed
History
Devin Creed was a Masters student in History at Villanova University. He studies modern European history with a focus on the British Empire and Ireland. Before Villanova he completed degrees in English and Economics from Hillsdale College. His research interests lie in the intersections between Catholic thought, postcolonial theory, and Marxism. He loves cooking, hiking, learning languages, and traveling.
Chris Fite
History and Sociology of Science
A PhD student in History and Sociology of Science at Penn, Chris also completed a Graduate Certificate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. His research focuses on botany and gardening in early modern Europe. More broadly, Chris is interested in the historical and theoretical entanglements of science, magic, and religion. In his spare time, he tends a small garden in South Philly and reads comic books. Find him online at www.chrisfite.com.
Eammon Hart
Mathematics
As an undergraduate Eammon double majored in math and philosophy, while also taking several courses in ancient history including a course on theological development in the fourth century. He then studied mathematics at Drexel University, where he continued to enjoy exploring his interests in philosophy and history. His main areas of interest within these fields are classical antiquity, philosophy of time, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of free will. He is active in the St Agatha-St James Newman community.
Bryn Ford
Ancient History
Bryn Ford was a PhD student in the Ancient History program within Penn's Department of Classical Studies. His work focuses on the emergence of the literary ideal of the Italian countryside and its relationship with the political and agricultural ruptures that followed Rome's conquest of the peninsula. Originally from Australia, he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Sydney; his research there examined the image of the North African desert from the Roman era to the early Christian period, with a particular focus on the Desert Fathers of Egypt. When not thinking about antiquity, he enjoys baking, watching birds, and reading across an excessive variety of genres.
