Joseph Lanning :: instructor
email Joe

Geoffrey Mlongoti was born in Blantyre, the "industrial capital" of Malawi.  Gowa Village, the site of the Immersion Seminar's homestay and Geoffrey's home village,  is about three hours from the city of Blantyre.  A natural engineer, he has been constructing small machines, fixing cars, televisions and radios from an early age. Geoff currently studies Computing and Information Technology at Skyway Business College in Blantyre.  He enjoys participating in the program because he values being a catalyst in the change that occurs for the American students while in Malawi.  Geoff finds the exchange of ideas that comes from interacting with students to be the most important tool in developing a global perspective that respects all cultures. In Geoff's words, "The program has so far been quite beneficial to me and to most of the individuals living in Gowa and surrounding communities.  One of these areas is Chauluka Village, where there is an irrigation scheme at which the American students have been helping for over 5 years now."  In the past, Geoffrey has worked for the Permaculture Network of Malawi and as a counterpart to Peace Corps volunteers in Malawi. He currently assists with community assessment, homestays, and program planning for the Malawi Immersion Seminar.

Dr. José Perillán received his Ph.D. jointly in the Departments of Physics and History at the University of Rochester in 2011. His teaching and research interests include 20th century history of science, the foundations of quantum theory, innovation and sustainability, and marginalization in the sciences. Perillán’s interdisciplinary interests were cultivated early on as an undergraduate studying physics and comparative religion and continued throughout graduate school as he combined research in experimental quantum optics with historical studies of 20th century physics. His dissertation focused on the early interpretation debates surrounding alternate formulations and interpretations of quantum theory, in particular Louis de Broglie’s work in the 1920s and David Bohm’s research program in the early 1950s. As part of the Malawi Immersion Seminar since 2002, Perillán has been an instructor with the program, helping Lanning to define the curriculum that gives students an invaluable introduction to anthropological fieldwork methodologies. While in Malawi he has conducted field work and explored his research interests in innovation and sustainability. Dr. Perillán is currently a full-time visiting faculty member at New York University’s Gallatin School for Individualized Study, where he teaches courses on Cold War espionage, the science behind science fiction, implications of quantum theory, innovation and sustainability, and great debates in the history of science.