ZACK BEER
Zack Beer received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University (2004) and then spent ten years studying and teaching in Nepal, during which time he also completed an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Kathmandu University (2010). His research interests center on the history and theory of Tibetan Buddhist ritual practice, particularly the origins of the tradition of three year meditation retreat.
Email: beer@berkeley.edu
CETOVIMUTTI CONG
Email: cetovimutti@berkeley.edu
FEDDE DE VRIES
Fedde de Vries holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Leiden University, the Netherlands, (2012) and an M.A. in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley (2015). After obtaining his M.A. he spent a year at Dharma Realm Buddhist University, Ukiah, California, as resident translator. His primary research interest is the thought of the prolific Huayan author Chengguan. Fedde endeavors to put this research in the context of the history of Buddhist thought and, where possible, modern philosophy.
Email: fedde_devries@berkeley.edu
NIR FEINBERG
Nir Feinberg received a B.A. in Philosophy and East Asian Studies from Tel Aviv University, and an M.A. in South Asian Studies from Tel Aviv University. He is primarily interested in Indian Buddhist philosophy and Sanskrit literature, particularly in the understanding of emotions, as presented in Buddhist scholastic, poetic, and disciplinary texts.
Email: nirfeinberg@berkeley.edu
MEGAN HOWARD
Meghan Howard received a B.A. in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies from Harvard University (2004). She then spent four years at Songtsen Library in Dehradun, India, working on a translation project involving Dunhuang materials related to the history of Tibet's imperial period (6th to 9th centuries). Her research interests center on cultural and religious exchanges between Tibet and neighboring peoples from the imperial period through the fourteenth century.
Email: meg.howard@berkeley.edu
WEIYU LIN
Weiyu received a B.A. in Spanish and French Literature from Trinity University (2016) and received an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of British Columbia, in addition to spending a semester in Paris at the École pratique des hautes études. During his M.A., he focused on Chinese Buddhist medieval exegesis, especially Fazang’s commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. At Berkeley, he is making his transition to the study of early Tibetan Buddhist tantrism, by mainly drawing from Dunhuang manuscripts. The topic that presently grips him bears on the ‘sexualization’ of early tantric rituals. He is also developing a parallel interest in tantrism in medieval China and Japan. Weiyu also worked as a translator, having translated a dozen academic articles, and three books.
Email: weiyu_lin@berkeley.edu
JACKSON MACOR
Jackson Macor received a B.A. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations (2017) and an M.A. in Divinity (2020) from the University of Chicago, both supplemented by language study in India and Japan. His research interests include doctrinal developments in Chinese Buddhism during the Sui and early Tang, in particular the writings of the Sanlun (Three Treatises) exegete Jizang.
Email: jmacor@berkeley.edu
TANNER MCALISTER
Tanner McAlister received a B.A. in Religious Studies, and a B.A. in Economics (2019), at Utah State University and a MTS in Buddhist Studies at the Harvard Divinity School (2021). He also spent a year teaching Classical Tibetan translation for the Sarnath International Nyingma Institute. His research focuses on issues of legitimation and innovation in the Tibetan Treasure (gter ma) tradition, particularly in relation to biographies of Padmasambhava.
Email: tanner_mcalister@berkeley.edu
HOWARD MU
Email: howardmu@berkeley.edu
ROBERT MILLER
Robert Miller received a B.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1998). After learning Tibetan in India, he worked for several years as an interpreter, translator, and monastic administrator. His research interests include the use of narrative in Vinaya literature, translation in imperial-era Tibet, and the history of Buddhism in northwest India.
Email: bob_miller1@berkeley.edu
RYOZE WADA
Email: rwada@berkeley.edu
JOSEPH WOOD
Joseph Wood received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota (1966), an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin (1972), and a J.D. from the University of California-Berkeley (1981). His research interests include philosophical/legal principles underlying rules of monastic conduct, and causation theory as it relates to effect of vows, rituals, etc.
Email: jwood@hennefer-wood.com
CHIH-YING WU
Chihying Wu received a B.A. in European Cultures and Languages (2014) and an M.A. in Religious Studies (2017) at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Her research interests primarily lie in 2nd to 7th century Indian Buddhist epistemology, logic, and philosophy of mind, particularly the notion of conceptuality and the function of mental concomitance.
Email: chihying_wu@berkeley.edu