I am a full professor and head of the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 2016-2017 I was a Congressional fellow in Washington, D.C., dually sponsored by the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology. In this position, I worked for Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon) and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on child welfare policy. ... View Profile
Crystal H. Brown earned her Ph.D. in Political Science with a focus in the subfields of Comparative Politics, International Relations, and U.S. Foreign Policy at the University of Oregon. She also has a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Pennsylvania State University. Her areas of interest include comparative immigration and integration policies, human rights, refugees, race/ethnicity and politics, and international security studies. ... View Profile
James Kevin Doyle
Associate Professor
Office: Salisbury Laboratories 317A
Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x5583
I am a social psychologist trained in the interdisciplinary field of judgment and decision making. I am particularly interested in how people develop an understanding of complex environmental and societal problems and how their "mental models" of complex systems can best be studied and improved to aid both personal and public decision making. I firmly believe that environmental and social problems can't be solved without understanding how they are represented in the mind and identifying what cognitive processes people bring to bear upon them. ... View Profile
Laureen's interest in environmental studies grew as she traveled through Southeast Asia and South America, noticing that local resource users' idea of environmentalism often bore little resemblance to familiar interpretations. She has since been particularly interested in the environment-development nexus, examining how politics shapes global environmental policy that can, and often does, have profound impacts on local livelihoods. ... View Profile
Angela Incollingo Rodriguez is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. She is also a faculty member with the Neuroscience Initiative, a co-director of the Global Public Health minor program, and an affiliated faculty member in the WPI Healthcare Delivery Institute. Her research program uses a biopsychosocial approach to study health and health behaviors. ... View Profile
As a research methodologist, I am very interested in exploring new ways to use modeling methods to explore nuanced research questions from simpler models to more advanced. With a background in measurement, I focus on validity especially with respect to psychometric properties of the measurement tools. But I am also a mathematician, and so substantively, I am interested in learning mathematics, especially related to motivation to persist such as when studying mathematics. ... View Profile
Robert Krueger is a human geographer whose scholarship and teaching focus on creating sustainable, socially just, improvements to development projects in the global north and south. His work has taken him around the world. He has worked in countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, on issues of economic development and institutional change. His scholarship and teaching challenge conventional notions of economic development, economy-environment relationships, and social change. ... View Profile
Erin Ottmar is an assistant professor of psychology and learning sciences at WPI. She received her BA in psychology and elementary education from the University of Richmond. After college, she spent several years teaching in Ecuador and Japan. In 2011, she received her PhD in Educational Psychology: Applied Developmental Science from the University of Virginia. After graduate school, returned to a small liberal arts environment and spent 3 years as a post-doctoral research scientist at the University of Richmond. ... View Profile
Professor Pavlov earned a BS degree in Physics/Computer Science and a PhD in Economics from University of Southern California and an MBA from Cornell University. He has taught at WPI since 2002. He has been to many universities in the US, Russia and Western Europe, but he thinks WPI is like no other university. The project-based approach at WPI allows him to involve students in research projects. He values the opportunity to include students in his research through IQPs and MQPs. ... View Profile
Professor Radzicki is an economist, creator of WPI’s program in system dynamics, and co-creator of WPI’s program in trading and investment system development. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame and his training in system dynamics computer simulation modeling from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, he is a certified Rapid-I Predictive Analytics Analyst. Professor Radzicki’s research focuses on predictive analytics, simulation science, and the application of techniques from these areas to problems in economics, finance, and management. ... View Profile
Kent J. Rissmiller
Dean of IGSD ad interim
Email: kjr@wpi.edu
Office: 240 Foise Innovation Studio
Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x5019
Kent Rissmiller completed studies in political science at Muhlenberg College (AB) and Syracuse University (PhD). Along the way, he also completed a JD at the University of New Hampshire Law School, where he worked in the Energy Law Institute. Professor Rissmiller also worked for three years as an attorney for the Public Service Commission of Nevada, where he was involved in setting rates and policies for electric and water utilities. At WPI, Professor Rissmiller teaches government, law, and public policy. He also directs the Pre-Law program and oversees the Law and Technology minor. ... View Profile
The overarching goal of my teaching and research is to contribute to an interdisciplinary understanding of environmental governance and policy. More specifically, I focus on the building of individual, organizational and institutional capacities to participate in collaborative efforts to address complex social and environmental sustainability problems through the application of science and technology. ... View Profile
Khalid Saeed is professor of economics and system dynamics. Widely recognized for his work on computer modeling and experimental analysis of developmental, organizational, and governance-related issues, he has written two books and numerous articles and book chapters on a variety of developmental and management agendas, including sustainable economic development, infrastructure planning, political economy, supply chain management, and system dynamics modeling. ... View Profile
Jeanine LM Skorinko
Professor- Social Science
Office: Salisbury Labs 317D
Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x5451
Jeanine Skorinko is a professor of psychology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. She also is the director of the Psychological Science undergraduate program. She received her PhD in social psychology at the University of Virginia. Her research program attempts to understand how factors in our social environment, especially those factors we are unaware of, influence decisions and interpersonal interactions. ... View Profile
Alexander Smith’s research focuses on altruism, trust, cooperation and honesty. In particular, he is interested in learning how behavior relates to beliefs about the actions of others and how psychology can be used for promoting pro-social behavior. These areas of research provide a better understanding of the factors underlying real-world pro-social behaviors such as volunteering and charitable giving. In essence, they provide insight into how to make the world a better place. Smith is passionate about economics and enjoys teaching because it allows him to share his passion with others. ... View Profile
My research is policy-oriented and focuses on development from the perspective of applied economics and policy evaluation. From my experience as economist and development practitioner in West Africa, I came to realize that as long as actual or potential growth is lagging, promoting economic and social development can be extremely challenging. That is why my research focuses on how economic theory and empirical analysis can provide insights to improve growth and development strategies. ... View Profile
Professor Stapleton’s research focuses on food regulation, particularly the role of technology in food safety and security. Her interest in agricultural biotechnology regulation and the differences between the American and European approaches to risk assessment and management for genetically modified organisms were the foundation of her doctoral research. She has continued this work on agricultural biotechnology regulation in the European Union, as well as expanded her focus to include how biotechnology regulatory frameworks impact food production and trade. ... View Profile
Prof Stoddard is a human-environment geographer who is interested in the intersection of nature, society, and social justice. She looks at the ways in which farmed animal production can create environmental hazards and injustice for local communities, including water, air, and soil pollution, as well as the spread of disease. She examines how a changing climate and global economy can exacerbate these issues. Stoddard also looks at the ability of social movements to make powerful changes, especially in the age of social media. ... View Profile
Adjunct Professors
Alice holds a Master's in Library and Information Science. In technical terms, this makes her both a jack-of-all-trades and a professional helper. She loves the growing social science and social justice aspects of WPI and is excited to be a part of extending those to the wider campus and the world at large. Additional special interests include: graveyard documentation, general conservation work, home improvement, podcasts, collecting random facts and baking.
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Post-Doctoral Scholars
Associated Faculty
| First Name | Last Name | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen | Oates | Professor (Biology & Biotechnology) | koates@wpi.edu |
| Ingrid | Shockey | Associate Teaching Professor (IGSD) | ishockey@wpi.edu |
| Seth | Tuler | Associate Teaching Professor (IGSD) | stuler@wpi.edu |
| James | Thompson | Adjunct Associate Professor | jpthompson@wpi.edu |
| Kim | Warren | Adjunct Associate Professor | kwarren@wpi.edu |
| Janice | Yee | Adjunct Associate Professor | janiceyee@wpi.edu |