Gillian Lynn Ryan
Director of Undergraduate Affairs
Associate Teaching Professor
412-268-8515
Education & Professional Experience
Ph.D.: Dalhousie University (Canada), Physics (2010)
M.Sc.: Dalhousie University (Canada), Physics (2006)
B.Sc.: Honors (1st class), St. Francis Xavier University (Canada), Physics (2004)
Professional Societies:
American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers, American Society for Cell Biology
Honors & Awards
CETL Outstanding Teaching Award, Kettering University (2017)
Waves Award for promoting gender equity on campus, Lehigh University (2011)
Director of Undergraduate Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, 2020–
Associate Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, 2020–
Associate Professor, Kettering University, 2019–2020
Assistant Professor, Kettering University, 2013–2019
Post-doctoral Research Associate, Lehigh University, 2010–13
Professional Profile
Gillian Lynn Ryan is the Director of Undergraduate Affairs and an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Physics. As the Director of Undergraduate Affairs Ryan supports student development and success at all stages of the Carnegie Mellon undergraduate physics program. Ryan works closely with physics students as they navigate their undergraduate experience and provides individualized support to assist physics students as they pursue their goals. In the classroom Ryan cultivates an inclusive environment so that all students can be active and engaged participants in learning. Ryan works to encourage students to think about how they think and to think about how they learn. Through teaching, advising, and by fostering meaningful extracurricular activities Ryan aims to help undergraduate physics students at Carnegie Mellon University meet their full potential.
Selected Publications
T.S. Chuanromanee, J.I. Cohen, and G.L. Ryan, Morphological Analysis of Size and Shape (MASS): An integrative software program for morphometric analyses of leaves, Appl. Plant Sci. 7: e11288 (2019)
D. Holz, L.M. McMillen, G.L. Ryan, and D. Vavylonis, Lamellipodia in Stationary and Fluctuating Steady States, Springer volume "Cell movement: Modeling and Applications" (2018)
Uma Ramabadran et al., Reduced Graphene Oxide on Nickel Foam for Supercapacitor Electrodes, Materials 10, 1295 (2017)
Gillian L. Ryan et al., Cell Protrusion and Retraction Driven by Fluctuations in Actin Polymerization: A Two-Dimensional Model, Cytoskeleton 74:490-503 (2017)
Sawako Yamashiro et al., New single-molecule speckle microscopy reveals modification of the retrograde actin flow by focal adhesions at nanometer scales, Mol. Biol. Cell 25:1010-1024 (2014)
G.L. Ryan, N. Watanabe, and D. Vavylonis, Image Analysis Tools to Quantify Cell Shape and Protein Dynamics near the Leading Edge, Cell Structure and Function 19:1-7 (2013)
G.L. Ryan, N. Watanabe, and D. Vavylonis, A review of models of fluctuating protrusion and retraction patterns at the leading edge of motile cells, Cytoskeleton 69: 195-206 (2012)
G.L. Ryan, H.M. Petroccia, N. Watanabe, and D. Vavylonis, Excitable Actin Dynamics in Lamellipodial Protrusion and Retraction, Biophys. J. 102: 1493-1502 (2012)