School of Psychology

Six Sciences Graduate Scholars Join the Ranks of Haley Fellows

dgivens8 — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:40:12 +0000

Six Sciences Graduate Scholars Join the Ranks of Haley Fellows dgivens8 Mon, 10/23/2023 - 11:40

The College of Sciences congratulates six of its graduate scholars who have won Herbert P. Haley Fellowships for the 2023-24 school year.

The new Haley Fellows are:

Haley scholars receive a one-time merit award of up to $4,000 thanks to the generosity of the late Marion Peacock Haley. Haley’s estate established the creation of merit-based graduate fellowships at Georgia Tech in honor of her late husband, Herbert P. Haley (ME 1933). It is an award which may be held in conjunction with other funding, assistantships, or fellowships, if applicable.

Meet the Haley Fellows

Jessica Deutsch

Jessica Deutsch is a fifth-year Ph.D. student studying analytical chemistry. “One of the most intriguing aspects of analytical chemistry is that the field focuses on studying invisible things in order to make sense of the visible,” Deuthsch says. “I am researching a deadly coral disease that affects Florida and Caribbean reefs. I aim to provide insight into how this disease impacts the production of small molecules using a mass spectrometry-based approach, which can provide insight into how relationships between the coral animal, algae, and bacteria may be impacted by this disease.”

She wishes to thank Assistant Professor Neha Garg “for her mentorship and the opportunities she has provided that have enabled me to develop my research skills.”

Quynh Nguyen

Quynh Nguyen is a third-year Ph.D. student looking into phase- and shape-controlled synthesis of nanocrystals for catalysis and energy-related applications. “What fascinates me is the ability to manipulate matter at the nanoscale to drive sustainable advances,” Nguyen says. “This field places me at the exciting intersection of chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, aiming to address current challenges in sustainability and renewable energy.”

Nguyen’s Ph.D. advisor is Younan Xia, professor, Brock Family Chair and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Nanomedicine. “Xia's guidance and expertise have been instrumental in shaping my research focus and methodology. Beyond the lab, he has consistently encouraged me to pursue opportunities that contribute to both my academic and professional development, for which I am immensely grateful.”

Eliza Gazda

Eliza Gazda, a fifth-year graduate scholar, is working in the field of multi-messenger particle astrophysics.

Gazda designed, tested, and integrated a telescope camera which was the payload on a scientific balloon launched in May. “The telescope launched is the first optical balloon of this type that operated at high altitudes over 30 kilometers,” Gazda says. “Our telescope observed radiative air showers from high energy cosmic rays and particles which travel across the Earth from extreme astrophysical objects like neutron stars and black holes. Once analyzed, this work will give us insight into high energy events that occur in space, and allow us to design and launch future similar telescopes.”

Gazda’s mentor is Associate Professor Nepomuk Otte, “who guided me in the past through a summer internship at Georgia Tech and inspired me to come back to work on my Ph.D. here. Not only has he taught me lab skills, but he helps me with my career goals, and guides me in exploring our research field, networking, and learning about various disciplines within the field.”

Sydney Popsuj

A fifth-year Ph.D. student, Sydney Popsuj is researching the gene Dkk3 and how it might regulate neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration in tunicates, close siblings to vertebrates. “This gene is implicated in Alzheimer's disease and dementia, but because it is hard to study in disease models, we don't have a strong grasp on the general functionality of the gene. I am using tunicates as a model system to study because they are biphasic, meaning they have both a larval and adult stage. This work is very exciting to me because it incorporates large scale evolutionary questions, while also having an impact on better understanding a gene that seems quite important to diseases and disorders.”

Popsuj thanks Georgia Tech faculty members Shuyi Nie, Joe LaChance, Patrick McGrath, Tim Cope, and Billie Swalla at the University of Washington “for pushing me to find new and exciting avenues into how to relate and generalize my work. These mentors have also encouraged me to expand outside my comfort zone in academics and to embrace new technologies and approaches that will hopefully further expand methods and protocols available to tunicate researchers.”

Jose Luis Ramirez-Colón

A third-year graduate scholar, Jose Luis Ramirez-Colón “has always been fascinated by the question of where we come from, and my time at Georgia Tech has been dedicated to using science as a tool to further explore this question.” His research focuses on exploring the organic inventory present in carbonaceous chondrites, meteorites that are like time capsules from the early days of the Solar System.

“Many organic classes present in all life as we know it, such as amino acids, sugars, and nucleobases, have been detected in these meteorites; therefore, there’s this idea that these meteorites might've delivered these essential building blocks to early Earth to kick-start life as we know it,” Ramirez-Colón says. His mission at Georgia Tech is to develop methods to detect, extract, and characterize those building blocks.

Ramirez-Colón wants to acknowledge “the remarkable contributions of my advisor and mentor, Christopher Carr, who has played a pivotal role in propelling my journey as an advancing Puerto Rican scientist. Carr not only granted me the freedom to pursue the questions that have always ignited my passion for science, but also equipped me with the essential tools and resources needed to conduct meaningful research.”

Sidney Scott-Sharoni

Sidney Scott-Sharoni is entering her fourth year of Ph.D. studies. An engineering psychology major, Scott-Sharoni focuses on “understanding how humans interact and conceptualize artificial intelligence devices,” she explains.

“Specifically, I investigate creative methods to convey information to calibrate users’ trust, and understand their psychological well-being, most often in automated vehicles,” Scott-Sharoni says. “I love my area of research because it combines the study of people with the study of innovative technology. I feel like I am researching the people of the future!”

Scott-Sharoni’s advisor, Professor Bruce Walker, “has significantly helped my personal and professional development as a researcher. I am very grateful for his continued mentorship throughout my graduate education.”

Subtitle

The College of Sciences graduate students were chosen as 2023-24 Herbert P. Haley Fellowships for their research and academic achievements

Summary sentence

The College of Sciences graduate students were chosen as 2023-24 Herbert P. Haley Fellowships for their research and academic achievements

Summary

The College of Sciences graduate students were chosen as 2023-24 Herbert P. Haley Fellowships for their research and academic achievements.

Dateline

Wed, 09/20/2023 - 12:00

renay.san@cos.gatech.edu

Contact

Writer: Renay San Miguel
Communications Officer II/Science Writer
College of Sciences
404-894-5209

Editor: Jess Hunt-Ralston

Keywords

College of Sciences

School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

School of Biological Sciences

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

School of Physics

School of Psychology

Jessica Deutsch

Quynh Nguyen

Eliza Gazda

Sydney Popsuj

Jose Luis Ramirez-Colón

Sidney Scott-Sharoni

Herbert P. Haley Fellowships

graduate students

New Minor in the Science of Mental Health and Well-Being Launches in the School of Psychology

admin — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:14:41 +0000

New Minor in the Science of Mental Health and Well-Being Launches in the School of Psychology admin Tue, 07/25/2023 - 17:14

Whether it’s diagnosing an ailment, preventing it, or alleviating its symptoms, conversations about health often center around illness. The same can be said about mental health.

“The concept of mental health is a euphemism,” explains Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman, a professor of practice in the School of Psychology and a licensed psychologist. “Often people use the term ‘mental health’ as a catch-all phrase when they're really talking about mental illness. But mental illness and mental health are actually discrete and dichotomous terms. Good health is indicated by positive emotions and productive functioning, not just the absence of illness.”

With a new minor in the Science of Mental Health and Well-Being in the School of Psychology, Hughes-Troutman is hoping to balance the conversation. Launching this fall, the minor will work to give students practical tools to build mental wellness and gain the ability to conceptualize mental health, well-being, and other constructs firmly grounded in neuroscience.

“It’s critical that we create a psychologically safe atmosphere in the classroom, the lab, and other spaces so that students have opportunities to connect with others and build resilience and other key skills,” says Hughes-Troutman. “I view this new minor as a really great opportunity not only to infuse content about health and well-being into the curriculum for students, but also, it’s a pivotal step that students can take to foster a greater sense of health and well-being for themselves. Through this minor, we aim to help students cope with pressures and stress, and ensure that they understand the relation between increased well-being, higher productivity, enhanced learning, and a stronger sense of connectedness and purpose.”

“As we aim to instill students with a wide range of fundamental knowledge and skills that can benefit them throughout their lives,” says Tansu Celikel, professor and chair in the School of Psychology, “this minor will be of interest to all students across the Institute.”

Exploring the link between brain, behavior, and mental health and well-being

Cultivating well-being is a key component of Georgia Tech’s strategic plan. With courses like Flourishing: Strategies for Well-Being and Resilience (APPH 1060) and Resilience Building Strategies 4801/8801, bringing wellness into the curriculum has been a vital step toward that goal across the Institute.

“We have excellent courses that span topics fundamental to human well-being offered on campus, and this new minor gives students another option on a rich menu,” said Hughes-Troutman. “Unique elements of this minor include a focus on the distinct psychological processes and neural mechanisms of well-being. Psychological science plays a distinct role in improving the human condition for individuals and communities on many levels; students who take our courses will be exposed to the latest research and practice innovations.”

The minor will debut Neuroscience of Mental Health: Research and Practice (PSYC 3803), a new course co-taught by Celikel and Hughes-Troutman. In the course, Hughes-Troutman says, “we're taking a deep dive into what happens in the brain, practical applications to enhance well-being, and other ways that students can increase positive affective states such as joy and happiness while minimizing stress.”

That course will be linked with a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) team led by Celikel and Hughes-Troutman that will give students hands-on experience assessing and building mental health and wellness. “Well-Being VIP students will work with students in the class using survey and biosensing data to give them accurate data and monitoring of their mental health,” says Hughes-Troutman. “They’ll use apps and other e-tools to measure their levels of mindfulness, help them meditate, and reach their goals related to focus, attention, and relaxation. By the end of the class, students will have developed a portfolio that allows them to reflect upon and document a cadre of skills and experiences.”

Students in the minor will also choose 12 credits of other courses offered as part of the program, including Science of Stress, Anxiety, and Happiness (PSYC 3000), Mindfulness: Science and Practice (PSYC 3005), Health Psychology (PSYC 3009), and many more exploring the neuroscience and psychology of mental health.

“The Science of Mental Health and Well-Being curriculum highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach that considers both psychological and neurological factors maintaining mental well-being,” adds Celikel, the School of Psychology chair. “A deeper appreciation for the complexities of mental health conditions and their underlying mechanisms will help to reduce stigma and drive research and innovation in the field.”

The minor is open to all students across Georgia Tech, though Hughes-Troutman and Celikel are hopeful that psychology, neuroscience, and pre-health students will take particular interest in the program.

“When I think about students going to medical school or entering clinical programs in particular, there is a need to take an inclusive and holistic approach to health so that they can attend to the mind, body, and spirit of their clients and patients,” says Hughes-Troutman. “So many medical models ignore the concept of wellness when solely focusing on eradicating illness and this can lead to an unfortunate disconnect.”

“These are skills that pre-health, public health, counseling, and clinical students are going to learn very early,” she says. “I think that will augment their education and their future careers as they provide excellent care to clients and patients as well as help themselves.”

“The degree to which we can provide education about health and well-being,” Hughes-Troutman adds, “that we can get students excited about those concepts, and that we can contribute to the greater good of our community at Georgia Tech so students are equipped with the skills to help themselves and others — it's just fantastic.”

The minor is officially launching this fall and is currently accepting enrollment. To learn more about the minor, visit the School of Psychology website or contact Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman at tiffiny.hughes-troutman@psych.gatech.edu.

Subtitle

Starting this fall and currently accepting enrollment, the minor will work to give students practical tools to build mental wellness while exploring the neuroscience behind different aspects of mental health.

Summary sentence

Summary

Conversations about health often center around illness. With the new minor starting in the fall, the School of Psychology is working to infuse wellness into the mix, exploring the neuroscience behind different aspects of mental health while giving students practical tools to build their own mental wellness.

Dateline

Tue, 07/25/2023 - 12:00

davidson.audra@gatech.edu

Contact

By: Audra Davidson
Communications Officer II
Georgia Tech College of Sciences

Associated importer

Keywords

School of Psychology

cos-students

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Health and Medicine

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 03:46:02 +0000

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond admin Wed, 02/08/2023 - 22:46

What differentiates how people are able to hold their attention on a task? How do people acquire new skills? These are tough questions that Georgia Tech cognitive scientist Alex Burgoyne is trying to find good answers to.

For decades, schools, companies, and federal agencies have tried to use standardized tests to determine whether someone will be a success before they are hired or assigned. But Burgoyne says there are better ways to figure out if a candidate is likely to be a good fit.

“We’re looking at more fluid abilities like problem-solving, working memory, and how people can control their attention,” explains Alexander Burgoyne, a cognitive scientist in the School of Psychology.

Burgoyne and his fellow researchers are taking a closer look at the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, better known as the ASVAB. With the U.S. Navy, Burgoyne and his colleagues are using modeling to determine if pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight officers are hitting the mark during their training. The ASVAB, which is highly focused on acquired math and verbal skills, may not measure more specific skills necessary for success.

“Air traffic controllers, for example, need to be able to maintain focus for long periods of time. Whether or not they can make change for a $10 bill is less important for their day-to-day jobs,” he says.

Burgoyne says his work also addresses adverse impact in employment and selection practices. Acquired knowledge tests like the ASVAB often have stratified results that make it harder for applicants from minority communities to succeed.

“The military has a duty to improve their selection procedures to reduce inequities, and they can all better predict who will do well in certain types of training,” he says.

Burgoyne is conducting testing with naval trainees at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, but Fortune 500 companies have also been in contact with him about this cognitive ability research.

Because every failed personnel search or newly assigned team member who can’t pass training costs an organization valuable time, money, and resources, says Burgoyne, “Every company that is hiring must worry about whether they have equitable selection measures in place.” He says it’s a systemic issue and currently a hot topic of conversation.

In the next year, Burgoyne and his colleagues in the Attention and Working Memory Lab at Georgia Tech will continue identifying how to measure different levels of memory capacity and mental focus, as a better determinant for successful performance in a variety of settings.

Learn more about Burgoyne and five fellow researchers in the Georgia Tech newsroom.

Summary sentence

As we kick off a new year, hear from six young, pioneering Georgia Tech researchers who are tackling some of the world’s most complicated issues and working on solutions.

Summary

As we kick off a new year, experts at Georgia Tech are working to understand how some of the world's most pressing concerns will play out over the next 12 months. Hear from six young, pioneering Georgia Tech researchers who are tackling some of the world’s most complicated issues and working on solutions — ranging from feeding an ever-growing population to controlling wheelchairs via wireless brain wave patches.

Dateline

Thu, 01/05/2023 - 12:00

jess@cos.gatech.edu

Contact

Steven Norris
Senior Director of Social Media and Media Relations
Georgia Tech

See the full story here.
Writers: Benjamin Hodges and Steven Norris
Layout: Brice Zimmerman and Steven Norris
Design: Mark Ziemer
Editing: Brigitte Espinet

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

cos-community

School of Psychology

Cognition

Research

psychology

skills acquisition

memory

brain science

Core research areas

National Security

People and Technology

Public Service, Leadership, and Policy

Mercury ID

664424

Source updated

Thu, 01/05/2023 - 14:45

Researchers Find Education Intervention Doesn't Live Up to Promise

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 19:13:40 +0000

Researchers Find Education Intervention Doesn't Live Up to Promise admin Mon, 11/07/2022 - 14:13

This story by Mike Scott is shared with the Case Western Reserve University newsroom.

New research suggests the “growth mindset” strategy favored by some educators to improve student performance hasn’t lived up to its promise—resulting in time and effort dedicated to growth mindsets in the classroom without meaningful gains in grades or test scores.

More than 30 years ago, noted psychologist Carol Dweck proposed that students with a growth mindset—those who believe their intelligence can “grow” with effort— focus more on learning, work hard, seek challenges and are resilient to setbacks.

Teaching students to hold a growth mindset, Dweck has said, will lead to greater academic achievement.

But recent research from Brooke Macnamara, of Case Western Reserve University, and Alexander Burgoyne, of the Georgia Institute of Technology examining all relevant studies on the topic, found little to no positive effect of growth mindset interventions on student performance.

Growth Mindset Popularity

Since Dweck’s theory first emerged in the 1980s and especially following her 2006 book, “Mindset: The new psychology of success,” an entire industry of nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies has emerged.

Some of those organizations distribute the interventions to schools, teachers, parents and students, claiming the motivational materials boost academic achievement.

Despite growth mindset’s popularity in schools and other settings, the interventions may be largely ineffective and may even be harmful by pulling resources away from more promising efforts, the researchers said.

“Taken together, the research suggests that time and money might be better spent elsewhere,” said Macnamara, an associate professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve and the study’s lead author. “Those resources could be used to update class materials, develop more promising interventions, or make systemic changes.”

Their findings, based on analyzing previous studies of interventions designed to give students a growth mindset, were published recently in the journal Psychological Bulletin.

The Research

Macnamara and Burgoyne examined every study they could find—more than 60—that compared the academic achievement of students receiving a growth mindset intervention to a control group.

They also evaluated the quality of each intervention study and whether the study authors had potential financial conflicts of interest.

The researchers found that:

Study authors with a financial incentive to report positive effects—such as those employed by a company that sells growth mindset interventions—were more than twice as likely to report positive effects;
Financial incentives also appeared to influence which results were published and which were not. In one study, thousands of students whose academic achievement suggested the growth mindset intervention was ineffective were discarded from the main results pre-publication;
Many growth mindset interventions couldn’t demonstrate they changed students’ beliefs about intelligence—the intervention’s primary aim;
Of the interventions that did change students’ mindsets, there was no observable impact on academic achievement. This suggests that a student’s mindset might not mean much when it comes to performing well in school; and
When low-quality studies were analyzed, such as those where teacher expectations were not controlled and where the researchers had financial incentives to report positive effects, growth mindset interventions appeared to work, but the effect was very small. Achievement was only a fraction higher for students who received an intervention than students in the control groups. By contrast, when only the highest-quality studies were examined, the effect disappeared.

Why might low-quality studies yield more promising results?

“We found that teachers frequently knew which students had been assigned to receive the intervention,” Burgoyne said. “Expectations can influence study outcomes. Teachers may expect students who receive growth mindset training to work harder, which could, in turn, influence how they interact with those students and grade them.”

“Couple that with financial incentives and popular-press hype,” Burgoyne said, “and you have a recipe for the widespread adoption of growth mindset interventions in schools without much solid evidence to back it up.”

“The concept of growth mindset is appealing; it’s a feel-good idea,” Macnamara said. “But the claims of growth mindset interventions do not stand up to rigorous scientific inquiry.”

Citation: Macnamara, B. N., & Burgoyne, A. P. (2022). Do growth mindset interventions impact students’ academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000352

Summary sentence

Analysis of ‘growth mindset’ research suggests little to no positive effect on student performance

Summary

Dateline

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 12:00

Contact

Mike Scott
Media Relations
Case Western Reserve University

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

cos-community

go-researchnews

School of Psychology

growth mindset

learning

Research

News room topics

Society and Culture

Core research areas

People and Technology

Public Service, Leadership, and Policy

Mercury ID

662931

Source updated

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 14:12

School of Psychology

Six Sciences Graduate Scholars Join the Ranks of Haley Fellows

Jessica Deutsch

Quynh Nguyen

Eliza Gazda

Sydney Popsuj

Jose Luis Ramirez-Colón

Sidney Scott-Sharoni

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New Minor in the Science of Mental Health and Well-Being Launches in the School of Psychology

Exploring the link between brain, behavior, and mental health and well-being

Keywords

News room topics

Categories

Research Out Front: Experts Look Ahead to 2023 and Beyond

Keywords

Categories

Core research areas

Researchers Find Education Intervention Doesn't Live Up to Promise

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News room topics

Core research areas