Dr. Christine A. Hughey, Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the College of Science.
Areas of current research: Charaterization and study of polar compounds in complex environmental, petrochemical and agricultural samples by high (FT-ICR MS) and low (ion trap LC/MS) resolution mass spectrometry. High resolution mass spectrometry is utilized to characterize compositional changes of acidic polars (e.g., acids) during crude oil biodegradation. Recently, Professor Hughey has conducted two fielld studies to determine the feasibility of using acids as in-situ monitors of crude oil biodegration in soil. Professor Hughey utilizes low resolution mass spectrometry to characterize antioxidant-rich extracts (e.g. almonds and pomegranates). She works with Professor Rowland-Goldsmith (Biology) and Professor Were (Food Science) to determine the effectiveness of almond and pomegranate extracts as chemopreventive agents and natural food preservatives.
Recently completed student projects include:

Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Completion of CHEM 140 and 150; a 3.00 GPA; and a serious desire to work in the laboratory. A one-year commitment to the lab is required. If accepted as assistants, students register for 1-3 units of CHEM 384. 

Dr. Roxanne Greitz Miller, Assistant Professor of Education in the School of Education
Areas of current research: primary (K-2) grades education, upper elementary grades education, content area literacy, science education K-12, and teacher preparation. Current project(s) include the Read-Write Cycle Project, Read for Real Project, Project SMART, and STAR (Science Teaching and Research) Institute projects. More about these projects can be found at the following websites:
www.readwritecycle.org
www.project-smart.org
www.readforreal.org
www.chapman.edu/STAR
www.roxannegmiller.com
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Students who are interested in public schools and education are welcome to work with us. While future teachers often apply, intent to teach as a career is not required, and we accept qualified students from any discipline. Students in the sciences are encouraged to work on our projects in the STAR Institute.  We also employ several film/TV students to film and edit classroom activities and teacher training sessions. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required of all student employees, as is the ability to responsibly and independently carry out assignments given. Students generally work between five and 19 hours per week on the projects under Dr. Miller's direction and in cooperation with a team of student researchers at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels.  Students are given the opportunity to observe classrooms, work with teachers, learn research methods, co-author publications, and co-present at state and national conferences when appropriate. Students who join our team early in their Chapman experience are often able to continue working with us for several academic years, thus gaining excellent work experience for their future careers.

Dr. Anuradha Prakash is Professor of Food Science in the College of Science
Areas of current research: Improving safety and quality of foods, especially vegetables and fruits using various technologies including irradiation.
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Students should have taken general chemistry and preferably microbiology, can devote 10 hours a week for a year or more. Work will include laboratory measurements of quality, microbiological analysis, report writing, and statistical analysis.

Dr. Connie Shears, Associate Professor of Psychology in the College of Science
Areas of current research: Language comprehension and the cognitive processes that are involved to support language comprehension, such as memory, attention, and perception, with special focus on the laterality of brain functions involved in these processes. Currently, Professor Shears’s lab is conducting divided visual field experiments to examine hemisphere differences for the generation of inferences from specific knowledge domains. Students are now working as Professor Shears’s lab assistants or are conducting their own empirical studies in her lab facilities.  Recently completed student projects include:

• A study of gender differences for memory of pictures compared to words.
• Hemisphere differences for single words that are either grammatically correct (clarity) or not (clrty) to see if there might be more right hemisphere contributions for this common text messaging word format.   
• An investigation of coping strategies under stress. 

Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Completion of all lower division psychology courses; a 3.5 GPA; and a serious desire to pursue empirical studies. A one-year commitment to the lab is required. If accepted as assistants, students register for 3 units of Psych 499 (independent study).

Dr. Lisa Sparks, Presidential Research Fellow in Health and Risk Communication and Professor and Director, M.S. in Health Communication, in the College of Science.
Areas of current research: Health and Risk Communication, Cancer Communication Science, Health Campaigns.
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Research, stats/methods/spss/writing skills. Any student interested in getting involved with health and risk communication research is welcome. Desirable: include completion of PSY 203/204; POSC 201 or equivalent; other behavioral/social science course experience; commitment to about 5 hours/week (including Friday afternoons for group meetings).
Web site: www.chapman.edu/cs/HealthComm

Dr. Jennifer Waldeck, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies in Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Areas of current research: Use of collaborative communication technologies for instructional and organizational assimilation purposes; business and professional communication; organizational communication competence; organizational communication consulting; organizational assimilation and socialization.
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: COM 195 (students currently taking or having completed COM 395 will be given priority consideration); junior or senior standing; potential interest in pursuing an advanced degree in communication studie or related field; willingness to take initiative after initial direction and work independently. Strong organizational and time management skills are a must. Most students will work in small research teams. Some projects will result in student co-authorship on conference papers and/or journal submissions.

Dr. Lilian Were, Assistant Professor of Food Science in the College of Science
Areas of current research: Analysis of phenolic compounds of California produced fruit and nut residues (e.g., almond skins) and detection of nutritional and functional properties of these phenolic compounds after exposure to electron beam irradiation.
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: Completion of lower division chemistry coursework, and commitment to 10 hours a week for at least two consecutive semesters. 

Dr. Bill Wright, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences in the College of Science
Areas of current research: Organismal Biology: classical conditioning in a sea hare; sensitization in sea hares, as produced by natural predators (lobsters, crabs, and sea slugs); neuronal correlates of predator-induced sensitization (1 year training in neurophysiology required); territoriality of an intertidal limpet: Risk of dislodgment by waves during agonistic encounters; territoriality of an intertidal limpet: molecular correlates of territorial status.
Required student experience, course work, or other selection criterion: First-year Biology; statistics; commitment to 10 hours a week for at least one semester per year. Persistent students usually present their results at national meeting. Persistent and lucky students get authorship on a published paper.
Web site: http://www1.chapman.edu/~wwright/