The Academic Minute

On Wichita State University Week: What can we learn about the core of the Sun? Nick Solomey , professor at the Farimount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, looks for answers. Faculty Bio: Nickolas Solomey’s research is in the area of experimental particle and astroparticle physics, in the past he worked extensively on quark flavor physics by rare decays of hadrons, CP violation with Kaons, the...

On Wichita State University Week: Reducing lift-off weight can be crucial for spaceflight. Waruna Seneviratne , director of the Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) at the National Institute for Aviation Research, explores one way to do so. Faculty Bio: Waruna Seneviratne is the Director of the Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) at the National Institute for...

On Wichita State University Week: Should we change the way we think about using generative AI for learning? JaeHwan Byun , associate professor in the College of Education, explores this question. Faculty Bio: Dr. JaeHwan Byun is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, College of Applied Studies at Wichita State University. He joined WSU in 2015 and currently serves as Program Chair for...

On Wichita State University Week: Your tongue matters more than you might think. Heidi VanRavenhorst-Bell , chair and associate professor in the Department of Human Performance Studies, explores why. Faculty Bio: Dr. Heidi VanRavenhorst-Bell has an established interdisciplinary line of research in clinical exercise physiology and orofacial myology. Her work in promoting healthy tongue muscle perfo...

On Wichita State University Week: Technology can only help if people are willing to use it. Nikki Keene Woods , professor and chair of Public Health Sciences, reveals why some may not trust devices that could help them. Faculty Bio: Dr. Nikki Keene Woods is an applied behavioral scientist and public health professor. She joined WSU in 2012. She has master’s degrees in behavioral science and public...

Making a decision about an activity for a group of friends can be stressful. Sharaya Jones , Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University , examines why emotions play a huge part in the process. Faculty Bio: Sharaya M. Jones is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Costello College of Business. Sharaya received her PhD in Marketing from the L...

An old Medicare rule is keeping older adults in hospitals longer than necessary, so what can be done? Zoey Chen , PhD candidate in health services research at Brown University , looks into this. Faculty Bio: Zihan Chen is a PhD candidate in Health Services Research at Brown University. She studies Medicare policy, with a focus on post-acute and long-term care. Transcript: Imagine this: an older ad...

How do children learn to talk about themselves and other people? Erin M. Kenney , assistant professor of psychology at Hartwick College , looks into this using preschool-aged children. Faculty Bio: Erin M. Kenney is an assistant professor of psychology at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Dr. Kenney’s interdisciplinary work includes time as an early childhood teacher, administrator, professor...

We are redefining our view of human intelligence. Aron Barbey , the Andrew J. McKenna Family Professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame , looks at how our brain organizes information to do so. Faculty Bio: Aron Barbey is also the director of the University of Notre Dame Human Neuroimaging Center and the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory. Barbey’s research investigates how intelligence...

Putting a figure on a person’s bilingual experience can be daunting. Esti Blanco-Elorrieta , assistant professor of psychology and neural science at New York University , looks into one way to do so. Faculty Bio: I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University. In my research, I combine insights from monolingual and multilingual individuals, who process language...

On Union College Week: What happens to our love lives when the rest of life gets messy? Mariah Purol , assistant professor of psychology, examines this. Faculty Bio: Mariah received her PhD in Social & Personality Psychology from Michigan State University in 2024. She is currently a faculty member in the Psychology department of Union College. Her work examines how both individuals’ and their part...

On Union College Week: What can we do to improve education for Black students in majority white communities? Stephen Schmidt , Kenneth B. Sharpe Professor of Economics , examines possible solutions. Faculty Bio: Stephen Schmidt has been professor of economics at Union College since 1994, after completing his Ph. D. in economics at Stanford University. He was appointed the Kenneth B. Sharpe Profess...

On Union College Week: How do we unravel the secrets of volcanoes? Holli Frey , professor of geosciences, examines tiny crystals to gather clues. Faculty Bio: Holli Frey is a professor of Geosciences from Union College (NY). She studies volcanoes, trying to understand the plumbing systems beneath them, looking for clues as to how and why they erupt. She is particularly interested in mineral chemis...

On Union College Week: Why are democracies suspending the rights of their people? Guillermina Seri , professor of political science, explores this. Faculty Bio: Guillermina Seri is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Union College, NY, where she teaches courses in political theory and Latin American Politics. Seri is the author of the books Seguridad: Crime, Police Power, and Dem...

On Union College Week: Learning goes on, even during war. Kristin Bidoshi , professor of Russian in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, discusses this through language teaching in Ukraine. Faculty Bio: Kristin Bidoshi is a professor of Russian in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the director of Russian and East European Studies program at Union College, a smal...

Cannabis may affect your memory after use, but to what extent? Carrie Cuttler, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Co-Director of the Cannabis Research Center at Washington State University, investigates this. Faculty Bio: Dr. Carrie Cuttler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Co-Director of the Cannabis Research Center at Washington State University....

Anyone can make a Jackson Pollock painting, right? Jonas Mureika , chair and professor of physics at Loyola Marymount University , examines what physics has to say on the matter. Faculty Bio: Jonas Mureika serves as chair and professor of physics at Loyola Marymount University. Mureika spent much of his academic training at the University of Toronto, where he earned his B.S. in astronomy and physi...

What role does friendship play in political and resistance movements? Kim Miller , professor of art history, and coordinator of the Peace and Social Justice Studies Program at Wheaton College , examines this. Faculty Bio: Kim Miller is Professor of Art History, and Coordinator of the Peace and Social Justice Studies Program at Wheaton College. Formerly, she directed Wheaton’s Women’s and Gender St...

Healthy aging is critical for the present and the future. Jean Wactawski-Wende , SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo , discovers more. Faculty Bio: Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and dean of the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions. She is an epidemiologist...

Is there a size limit on planets? Jean-Baptiste Ruffio , research scientist in astronomy at the University of California, San Diego , checks in to find out. Faculty Bio: Jean-Baptiste Ruffio is a research scientist studying extra-solar planets in the Astronomy & Astrophysics department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He has been developing statistical and instrumentation techniq...

Why do implicit biases still exist in hiring decisions? Samantha Dodson , assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resources at the University of Calgary , answers this. Faculty Bio: Samantha Dodson’s research program focuses on when and why women experiencing roadblocks and adversity are evaluated as deserving of opportunities and support at work. Transcript: Since women began joi...

Older adults are starting to use AI at home, too. Ken Brown , Tippie Children Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa , says it’s not just for work anymore. Faculty Bio: Ken Brown, Ph. D., is Tippie Children Professor of Management in the Tippie College of Business and department executive officer of the Educational Policy and Leader...

Brainstems are hard to image because of their size and density, but is that about to change? Emery N. Brown , professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , says yes. Faculty Bio: Emery N. Brown, M.D., Ph. D. is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at MIT in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory; the Warren M. Zapo...

How do we search for life beyond Earth? Fabian Klenner , assistant professor of planetary sciences at the University of California, Riverside , explores the cosmos to find out. Faculty Bio: Fabian Klenner is an Assistant Professor of Planetary Sciences in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. He received his Ph. D. from Freie Universität Berlin...

Do you feel loved? Harry Reis , professor of psychology at the University of Rochester , examines why most do not. Faculty Bio: Harry Reis, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, is one of the world’s leading experts on relationships and connection and has studied the complexities of well-being and love in depth. His research examines the factors that influence the quantity and...