Academic Affairs Research Fellows, 2010-2011
Curt Dommeyer
Department
Business Administration and Economics
Synopsis
Curt Dommeyer will be working on two projects. In his first project, he will conduct a survey of business students and executives to determine their knowledge of the various aspects of business etiquette.
His second project will investigate whether a new method for grading group projects, the Segment Manager Approach (SMA), will deter social loafing on the group project. With the SMA, each group member is assigned primary responsibility for several segments of the group project. Each member's grade on the project will then be largely determined by how well his or her assigned segments are executed.
Nathan Durdella
Department
Education
Synopsis
Nathan Durdella is working on his project, "A New Look at Transfer: A Predictive Study of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Attitudinal Changes in Student Veterans after Transferring from Community Colleges to Universities in California." In his research he will examine how the precollege characteristics, college experiences, and college outcomes of student veterans who are community college transfers differ from their civilian peers who are also community college transfers.
Ramon Garcia
Department
Chicana/o Studies
Synopsis
Ramon Garcia's research focuses on visual culture and literary studies. The project for which he was selected is a book-length artist monograph of L.A. photographer Ricardo Valverde.
Kristy Michaud
Department
Political Science
Synopsis
Kristy Michaud's research focuses on political behavior and policymaking, with an emphasis on environmental politics and policy. She will complete a book manuscript that explores the influences of public opinion and political behavior on energy policy during energy crises.
William Whiting
Department
Kinesiology
Synopsis
William Whiting's study will assess the biomechanics of neuromuscular fatigue and associated joint-specific responses in the human lower extremity. This may help in addressing significant clinical issues such as falls in older adults.
Sembian Rengarajan
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Synopsis
Microstrip reflectarrays are planar structures, made by printing conducting elements such as square patches on a copper clad dielectric and fed by a horn. They are employed in radar, remote sensing and communication applications because of their desirable characteristics such as low profile, ease of manufacture and deployability in space. In this talk Prof. Rengarajan will describe the results of his research investigation on this antenna.