News Archives
Alumni | Research | Faculty | Graduate Studies | Undergraduate Studies
2009
Clinical Psychology Program Ranked Second in North America for Scholarly Publications In a study of 166 APA-accredited clinical programs, Pitt ranked second in total publications and publications per faculty member. More
NEW FACULTY
Fall 2005
The department has added two faculty members who are offering a range of new quantitative courses for graduate students.
JeeWon Cheong comes to us from the State University of New York, Albany, where she was an assistant professor. She earned her doctorate in social psychology at Arizona State University. Her research interests include the application of statistical techniques to data concerning health-related risk behaviors, such as substance abuse.
Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal obtained her PhD in human development and social policy from Northwestern University and formerly worked for the Children’s Defense Fund. Her research focuses on social policies affecting the lives of young children and families. JeeWon and Elizabeth are sharing responsibility for the Statistical Analysis 1 and 2 graduate course sequence this year.
Research News
Spring 2006
Micki Chi wins Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award
Michelene (Micki) Chi has been awarded the 2006 Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award. Micki was honored for her landmark research on the role of knowledge in the development of short-term memory; the significance, development, and assessment of expertise in human performance; the role of self-exploration in learning; and the nature of conceptual change. The Chancellor commented to Micki, "Your papers in each of these areas have been remarkably influential. They are cited over and over again and have become 'citation classics.' Your research is highly significant both to understanding how the mind achieves new insights and for improviing how educators upgrade the scientific literacy of the country."
LRDC-ers make Post-Gazette list
Congratulations to the 7 LRDC researchers who made today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette list of men and women who are shaping the educational landscape in western Pennsylvania.
Lauren Resnick and Isabel Beck were in the group of 48 educators who received at least three nominations to the list. Other nominated LRDC colleagues were William Cooley, Judy Johnston, Alan Lesgold, Kalyani Raghavan, and Margaret Smith. More »
Congratulations to LRDC and Kurt VanLehn
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Pitt and Carnegie Mellon a five-year, $25 million grant to establish the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, one of three such centers in the country. LRDC Senior Scientist Kurt VanLehn is co-director, and quite a few LRDC colleagues will be involved in the project. The new center will engage in basic research and serve as a hub for a national network of research focused on learning.
More »
Faculty Research & Professional Activity
Faculty of the Department of Psychology continue to expand on an already impressive base of extramural research support. Twenty-eight faculty with primary appointments in Psychology (26 tenure-stream and 4 NTS research faculty) are PI’s on 69 external research or training grants or contracts totaling $7.05 million in direct costs awarded or in effect during the 2004 year. Thirteen faculty also serve as Co-PI’s on 15 external grants totaling $1.08 million in direct costs.
In addition to the grants awarded to our faculty, 39 new applications, on which our faculty were listed as PI’s, have been submitted during the past year and are currently under review. All of our new faculty – Eric Donny (to arrive in January), Suzanne Curtin, Jana Iverson, Bill Klein, Anna Marsland, and Tessa Warren – have submitted major grant proposals. In addition, Erik Reichle received major funding from the Department of Education; Anna Marsland has a major award from NIH; and Jenny Ganger, despite her large teaching load, continues her R03 award from NIH. Jana Iverson’s R01 award will transfer to the University on July 1, 2004, and Bill Shadel, a Research Associate Professor, has eight external grants of varying sizes.
Faculty News
Fall 2006
The American Psychological Association has selected Lauren Resnick, professor of psychology and director of the Learning Research and Development Center, as the recipient of its 2007 Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award. The award recognizes a psychologist for evidence-based applications of psychology to education and training.
Summer 2006
Celia Brownell has received the 2006 Provost's Award for Excellence in Mentoring, which recognizes faculty for their mentoring of doctoral students. Celia has made significant contributions to the lives of graduate students in her 23 years at Pitt as a teacher, mentor, and director of graduate studies. She has chaired 11 dissertation committees and served on 27 dissertation committees. Her graduate students have received a number of honors and awards, including two Mellon Fellowships and two Sloan Fellowships. Known for encouraging her students to publish and present papers at conferences, Celia has co-authored 14 publications and 45 presentations with her students. A common theme in the letters of recommendation written by her students is Celia's focus on developing independent thinking.
Spring 2006
Stephen Manuck has been named University Professor of Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. Steve directs Pitt's Behavioral Physiology Laboratory, which houses the Initiative for Neurobehavioral Genetics. He was the founding chair of the graduate program in biological and health psychology, and served in that position from 1996 to 2004. His current reserch focuses on the role of behavior in the origins of cardiovascular disease and on the neurobiology of aggressive behavior and impulse control. He is the principal investigator for Pitt's Adult Health and Behavior Project, which has established an extensive registry of behavioral and biological measurements collected on a large sample of community volunteers.
Fall 2005
Professor Frank Colavita Retires
Professor Frank Colavita was recently honored by department faculty, staff, students and alumni on the occasion of his retirement. All great things must come to an end, and Frank has decided to retire after 39 years of enthralling countless undergraduates with his clarity, insight, enthusiasm and humor. Frank came to the Department in 1966 from the University of Indiana and immediately established himself as a hit with our students, both through his teaching and the mentorship of students in his research laboratory. His reputation as one of the best teachers in the University steadily grew and was finally acknowledged by his receiving the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997. His popularity and the respect he commanded extended well beyond his classroom performances as reflected by the fact that the faculty made him chair of the department from 1980-88, during which time Frank was instrumental in hiring a large number of the faculty who are currently in the department.
October 2004
Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association Honors Prof. Susan B. Campbell & Department of Psychology
During its seventh annual Legacy Awards Dinner, the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association will recognize several individuals for their contributions to psychology, among them Susan B. Campbell, a member of the Clinical & Developmental programs in the Department of Psychology, and currently the chair of the Developmental Program. Dr. Campbell is well known for her work in developmental psychopathology. She is the editor of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, and chairs the Publication Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development. She is also a principal investigator on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, an internationally renowned longitudinal study of the developmental sequelae of child-care experience.
The GPPA will also honor the Department of Psychology in celebration of its 100th anniversary.
Learn more about the GPPA.
Graduate Studies News
February 2005
Student Travel Award from the Society for Research in Child Development
Congratulations also to Stephanie Zerwas for receiving a coveted Student Travel Award from the Society for Research in Child Development to support attendance at the 2005 Biennial Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, April 7-10.
APA Dissertation Research Award
Congratulations to Bob Hausmann for being one of only 5 recipients of the prestigious APA Dissertation Research Award. These highly competitive awards provide funding to support the costs of dissertation research.
November 2004
Psychology Graduate Students Win David Lazovik Awards
I am pleased to announce the winners of the 2004-2005 A. David Lazovik Awards - Becca Ringham and Judy Thompson. The title of Becca's project is "Eating behaviors in children of binge-eating mothers" and Judy's project is on "Pre-onset abnormalities, psychosocial stressors and the development of psychosis: A prospective population-based study". This award was established by Grace Lazovik, Ph.D., Emeritus Faculty Member, in memory of her husband, David Lazovik, Ph.D., who was one of the founders of the Clinical Psychology Program and was chair of the Department of Psychology from 1974 to 1980. The purpose of the award is to support research by clinical psychology program students and it consists of $1,000.
The winners of this year's Huey Awards are Wendy Troxel and Sarah Tarbox. Wendy's project is on "Marital Quality, strength, and physical health" and Sarah's is on "Spontaneous dyskinesia and familial liability in schizophrenia". The annual E.B. Huey Awards (now in their eighth year) were established by Don Routh, Ph.D., an alumnus of the program and former Director of the Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Miami. The awards honor E.B. Huey, a noted psychologist at the turn of the century and the first chair in 1904 of the Department of Psychology at the University. The awards provide $1000 to a clinical psychology student to support their research.
Congratulations to them all!
October 2004
Psychology Graduate Students Win Fellowships
Congratulations to several of our graduate students who have successfully competed for prestigious Mellon Fellowships, Provost Development Fellowships, and Arts & Sciences Fellowships.
For 2004-2005, our new Mellon Fellows are Leslie Hausmann (Social), Wendy Troxel (Clinical-Health), and Stephanie Zerwas (Clinical-Developmental). Our new PDF Fellows are Geetha Balaraman (Developmental), Amy Overman (Cognitive Neuroscience), and Rhiannon Ellis Hart (Cognitive). Two first year students also won Arts & Sciences Fellowships: Karen Cox (Cognitive Neuroscience) and Kerry Anne McConnell (Cognitive).
Learn more about University and national fellowships available for graduate study.
Undergraduate Studies News
October 2004
Psi Chi chapter to induct new members, elects officers
Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, recognizes outstanding scholarship among students pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology. Its purpose is to advance the science of psychology through encouraging excellence in scholarship.
This year’s new member induction ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 20, 8:30 p.m., Martin Colloquium Room, Sennott Square.
The recently elected Psi Chi officers for 2004-2005 are: Shannon Miller (President); Colleen Walsh (Vice President); Katie Merkel (Treasurer); Jennifer Comer (Secretary); Megan Palminsano (Social/Community Chairperson). Congratulations to all.