Welcome new CAS faculty
Meet many of the newest members of the CAS community whose disciplinary expertise—from high-energy-density physics to mindfulness to chamber music—enriches and expands the arts and sciences at WSU.
Research and teaching interests: Adolescent self-perception; personality factors in child and adolescent conduct problems and aggression; self-perception and social media behavior; evidence-based assessment of child psychological functioning; teaching developmental psychopathology; adolescence; assessment of children
Previous post: University of Southern Mississippi
Education and training: PhD, MS, University of Alabama; BS, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Honors and achievements: Clinical assessment of child and adolescent personality and behavior (3rd edition). With P.J. Frick, C.T. Barry, and R.W. Kamphaus, New York: Springer, 2010
Outside of work, I enjoy running and travel.
Tammy Barry
Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
Research and teaching interests: biologically-based and contextual correlates of child externalizing behaviors, including ADHD, aggression, and disruptive behaviors associated with autism; teaching cognitive assessment as well as assessment/therapy practicum for doctoral students
Previous post: University of Southern Mississippi
Education and training: PhD, MA, Clinical Psychology; BS, Psychology, BA, Communication, University of Alabama
Honors and achievements: National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellow, University of Alabama, 2000-2003; two National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)-funded grants; University of Alabama at Birmingham Maternal and Child Health Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Project, Outstanding Former Trainee, 2006
Outside of work, I enjoy reading, outdoor activities, home improvement projects, spectator sports (especially college football), travel, and spending time with my 12-year-old son and my husband.
Research and teaching interests: novel methods of classroom instruction, especially for large lecture sizes; analytical and instrumental chemistry; environmental analysis
Previous post: Lewis-Clark State College
Education and training: PhD, Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder; BS, Chemistry, Northern Arizona University; BS, Forestry, Northern Arizona University
Honors and achievements: President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, Lewis-Clark State College, 2014-15
Outside of work, I enjoy the outdoors, playing guitar, and camping with my daughter.
Teaching and research interests: Environmental sociology; global and comparative sociology; political economy; development and well-being; climate change; quantitative methods
Previous post: University of Utah
Education and training: PhD, MS, Sociology, University of Utah; MEd, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; BS, Business, Northeastern University
Honors and achievements: “Sociology: Drivers of Climate Change Beliefs” in Nature Climate Change, 2014; “Global Climate Change Negotiations, the Treadmill of Destruction, and World Society: An Analysis of Kyoto Protocol Ratification” in International Journal of Sociology, 2014.
Outside of work, I enjoy mountain biking, skiing, hiking, running, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Patricia Glazebrook
Professor and Director
School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs
Research and teaching interests: Environmental philosophy, international development, ecofeminism, climate change, philosophy and history of science and technology, ancient philosophy, French and German philosophy
Previous post: University of North Texas
Education and training: PhD, MA, University of Toronto; BA, University of Alberta
Honors and achievements: Heidegger’s Philosophy of Science (Fordham University Press); “Women and climate change: A case-study from northeast Ghana” in Hypatia; board member, Gender CC: Women for Climate Justice, Berlin
Outside of work, I enjoy African drumming, cats, travel, wine-tasting, swimming, and biking.
Research and teaching interests: Using painting and digital technologies to explore the tension between seemingly natural and unnatural environments and objects; links between art and science; media archeology; painting history (Dutch Golden Age and early American trompe l’oeil); intermedia and interdisciplinary collaborations
Previous post: Northern Kentucky University
Education and training: MFA, University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning; BFA, Northern Kentucky University
Honors and achievements: Artist, Solgonda exhibition, Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM, 2015; curator and artist, Momento/Memento, four-person exhibition at Reverse Space, New York City, 2015; presenter, Finding Magenta, Foundations in Art: Theory and Education Conference, Indiana University, 2015.
Outside of work, I enjoy exploring with my wife, Mei, camping, writing, recording music, cats, and learning Mandarin Chinese.
Research and teaching interests: Orchestral and chamber music performance; French solo literature and music for horn alone; teaching future teachers, with emphasis on personal musicianship and practical knowledge
Previous post: Mississippi State University
Education and training: DMA, Horn Performance (in progress); MMus, Horn Performance, University of Alabama; BMus, Music Education, James Madison University
Honors and achievements: Soloist, 2015 Southeast Horn Workshop; professional division soloist, 2015 International Horn Competition of America
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, and gardening, and the company of my wife, Amber, and two-year-old daughter, Lily. I also enjoy reading and following college football.
Conny Kirchhoff
Assistant Director
WSU Psychology Clinic
Department of Psychology
Research and teaching interests: Cross-cultural research on temperament and behavioral problems in children; teaching clinical skills and assessment
Previous post: University of Idaho, Moscow
Education and training: PhD, Washington State University; MEd, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Diploma, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and children, outdoor activities, and traveling.
Marcus Knudson
Research Professor
WSU Institute for Shock Physics/Sandia National Laboratories
Research and teaching interests: Dynamic compression of materials to extreme pressure and temperature; how these conditions relate to basic fundamental science, planetary science, and the evolving field of high-energy-density physics
Previous post: Sandia National Laboratories
Education and training: PhD, Physics, Washington State University; BA, Physics and Mathematics, St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.
Honors and achievements: Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2013); authored “Direct observation of an abrupt insulator-to-metal transition in dense liquid deuterium,” Science (2015); “Shock-wave exploration of the high-pressure phases of carbon,” Science (2008)
Outside of work, I enjoy outdoor activities, refereeing my daughter’s soccer matches, and spending time with my wife, Shannon, and our daughters, Lynnea and Brianne.
Research and teaching interests: Alcohol and drug abuse and prevention; mechanisms of behavior change; alcohol use and social support/context; motivational interviewing
Previous post: Reed College
Education and training: PhD, MS, Clinical Psychology, University of New Mexico; BS, Psychology, Brown University
Honors and achievements: Feasibility and reliability of a coding system to capture in-session group behavior in adolescents,” with K. Tomlinson, M.G. Myers, and K.G. Anderson, in Prevention Science (2015); “Typology of couples entering Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy: An empirical approach and test of predictive validity on treatment response” with B.S. McCrady in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (2015); “When you see it, let it be: Urgency, mindfulness and adolescent substance use” with J.M. Robinson and K.G. Anderson in Addictive Behaviors, 39, 1038-1041.
Outside of work, I enjoy playing soccer, hiking, and camping.
Research and teaching interests: The construction of mountain belts and the processes that thicken the crust where tectonic plates are colliding; related projects in the Himalayas, Andes, and western USA; teaching structural geology and field camp
Previous post: University of Nevada, Reno
Education and training: PhD, Geology, Princeton University; MS, Geology, Idaho State University; BS, Mathematics, The College of Idaho
Honors and achievements: “Synorogenic Extension Localized by Upper-Crustal Thickening: An Example from the Late Cretaceous Nevadaplano” in Geology; “Variable Shortening Rates in the Eastern Himalayan Thrust Belt, Bhutan” in Tectonics; Arnold Guyot Teaching Award, Princeton University, 2010
Outside of work, I enjoy outdoor recreation with my wife, Heather, who is also a geologist, our year-old son, Evan, and our black lab, “Ziggy”; camping, mountain biking, skiing, and fly-fishing; 20 years of playing bluegrass guitar, and now getting to know the Moscow-Pullman bluegrass scene.
Research and teaching interests: Organic polymer synthesis, chemical biology, and immunology; particularly development of synthetic strategies for immune-modulating molecules that can be used in cancer immunotherapies
Previous post: University of California, Irvine
Education and training: Postdoctoral scholar, University of California, Irvine; PhD, Organic Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles; BS, Polymer Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
Honors and achievements: “Controlling the Origins of Inflammation with a Photo-Active Lipopeptide Immunopotentiator,” with L. Stutts and A.P. Esser-Kahn, in Angewandte Chemie International Ed. Engl., 2015, 54, 20, 5962-5965—selected as Wiley-VCH “Hot Paper” and highlighted by Chemical & Engineering News
Outside of work, I enjoy rowing, running marathons, and brewing beer (which I enjoy almost as much as drinking it!).
Research and teaching interests: topics central to the McMahon Research Group, including quantum simulations of condensed matter as well as electrodynamics simulations of materials; teaching a broad range of courses, as each presents unique, yet rewarding challenges.
Previous post: Northwestern University
Education and training: PhD, Chemistry, Northwestern University; BS, Chemistry, Western Washington University
Honors and achievements: US Department of Labor Springer Thesis Prize for Outstanding PhD Research; Springer & Northwestern University Graduate Student Award in Computational Chemistry, American Chemical Society
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and, being a licensed pilot, I enjoy flying—both for the fun of it as well as for traveling.
Sarah Miller
Professor of Trombone
Assistant Director of Athletic Bands
School of Music
Research and teaching interests: Teaching musical performance through narrative theory and defining successful brass pedagogy concepts from a narrative perspective; and expanding this topic across other musical disciplines, from conducting to music education
Previous post: University of Kansas
Education and training: DMA, Low Brass Performance, University of Kansas; MMus, Euphonium Performance, University of Arkansas; BMus, University of Georgia, Music Education
Honors and achievements: Toured and recorded with international brass ensemble Eurobrass; grant to record and tour with In Motus Quartet; associate editor, International Tuba and Euphonium Association Journal
Outside of work, I enjoy cooking and grilling with my husband, especially when watching sporting events. We are huge fans of the Indianapolis Colts and Pacers, and watch as many games as we can!
Research and teaching interests: Linked roles of groundwater, surface water, plant-water interactions, and human water use in the spatially and temporally variable physical, chemical, and biological cycles of the Earth System
Previous post: University of Texas at Austin
Education and training: PhD, Environmental Earth System Science (Hydrogeology), Stanford University; BS, Environmental Engineering, Yale University
Honors and achievements: 2014 nominee, Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering; Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring 2012, Stanford University School of Earth Science; authored competitive national grants (NSF, ACS) and papers in top hydrology, environment, remote sensing journals.
Leslie New
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
WSU Vancouver
Research and teaching interests: Hierarchical Bayesian models; state-space models; ecological modeling; effects of anthropogenic disturbance; human-wildlife conflict
Previous post: U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Education and training: PhD, University of St Andrews; BSc, Cornell University
Honors and achievements: National Research Council Fellow with the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission; Invited Participant to the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee Meeting; published in American Naturalist, Journal of Applied Ecology, Ecological Modeling and other scientific journals
Outside of work, I enjoy baking, reading, horseback riding, traveling, Star Wars, and the opera.
Amelie Pedneault
Assistant professor
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Research and teaching interests: Sexual offending, situational crime prevention, environmental criminology
Previous post: Simon Fraser University
Education and training: PhD, Criminology, Simon Fraser University; MS, Justice Studies, San José State University; LLB, Université, Sherbrooke, Québec
Honors and achievements: Published in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment and Journal of Criminal Justice
Outside of work, I enjoy running and hiking.
Stephanie Porter
Assistant Professor
School of Biological Sciences
WSU Vancouver
Research and teaching interests: How cooperation between plants and microbes affects their evolution and ecology; how intimately intertwined life histories shape interactions, patterns of adaptation, and invasion biology in plants and their symbionts using quantitative genetic and genomic techniques
Previous post: University of California, Riverside
Education and training: PhD, Population Biology, University of California, Davis, BA, Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
Honors and achievements: UC Davis dissertation year fellowship and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; currently leading an NSF-funded project to examine ecological and evolutionary shifts in the interaction between nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbionts and their host plants during a biological invasion
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and three pet chickens, and hiking in natural areas when I can.
Research and teaching interests: technical communication, risk communication, public policy, Cold War-era secrecy culture at Hanford, technical communication pedagogy, writing in science and engineering, service learning, and civic engagement
Previous post: University of South Florida
Education and training: PhD, Rhetoric and Composition, MA, English, Purdue University; BA, English, University of Washington
Honors and achievements: Co-chair, 2014 National Conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing; chapter coauthor, The New Normal: Pressures on Technical Communication Programs in an Age of Austerity
Outside of work, I enjoy being a native of the Yakima Valley and now exploring the Inland Empire with my basset hounds, “Ruby” and “Tank,” and their dachshund, “Mildred Fierce.”
Ashly Townsen
Assistant Professor
School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs
Research and teaching interests: Civil war, rebel groups, conflict management, post-conflict negotiation, peacekeeping, political psychology, spatial methodology, experimental methodology, and understanding which individuals join rebellions and why
Previous post: University of Illinois
Education and training: PhD, Political Science, University of Illinois; BS, Political Science, Sam Houston State University
Honors and achievements: “Hot Spot Peacekeeping,” with Bryce W. Reeder and Matthew Powers, in International Studies Review 18(1): 69-91 (2015)
Outside of work, I enjoy, traveling, hiking with my lab-mix (“Charlie”), concerts, camping, cooking new dishes, and watching baseball.
Research and teaching interests: Statistical learning of complex data objects including tree-structured data, functional data, and imaging data; Bayesian discriminant analysis; signal processing and channel design; clinical trial design; cancer related collaborative research
Previous post: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Education and training: PhD, Colorado State University
Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, swimming, indoor rock climbing, snowboarding, basketball, and badminton.
Dale Willits
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Research and teaching interests: Policing, criminological theory, juvenile delinquency, research methods
Previous post: California State University, Bakersfield
Education and training: PhD, University of New Mexico
Honors and achievements: “Police Organisation And Deadly Force: An Examination of Variation Across Large and Small Cities,” with J. Nowacki, in Policing And Society, 24, 63-80; “Situational Predictors of Violent Intentions: Results from a Factorial Survey” in The Social Science Journal, 52, 176-187.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and our pets, traveling, and reading.