College of Arts and Sciences / Prescott Campus / Annual-Report / 2021-2022
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
PRESCOTT CAMPUS
2021-2022 ANNUAL REPORT
GIVING TO THE COLLEGE The Embry-Riddle Prescott College of Arts and Sciences has one mission: to graduate students that are profession ready. We focus on student success by offering high-level access to faculty mentoring, innovative as well as classic teaching methods and transformational learning opportunities that empower students to achieve high goals.
When you support our college, you are investing in the present and future of our aviation and aerospace industries. Your |gifts contribute to the ability of our global workforce to adapt, succeed and advance in this trillion-dollar industry. givingto.erau.edu/support-arts-and-sciences-prescott
Dean’s Message
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Vision
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Featured Story
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By The Numbers
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Behavioral Social Sciences at a Glance
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Department of Physics and Astronomy at a Glance
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Mission
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University College of Arts and Sciences 3700 Willow Creek Rd. | Prescott, AZ 86301
800.888.3728 | prescott.erau.edu/college-arts-sciences
DEAN’S MESSAGE
The College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) is honored to play a critical role in the mission of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University— Prescott. Above all, we are home to several thriving majors that are in heavy demand by the workforce. Of equal importance, we deliver a large set of foundational courses taken by every student on campus, including humanities and communication, mathematics, natural sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. During the past year: We launched a new B.S. in Data Science, arguably one of the highest-demand disciplines in the current and foreseeable job market. We graduated our first cohort of Simulation Sciences, Gaming and Animation students, and every single graduate was employed in their field of choice by the end of summer. Our Physics and Astronomy faculty continue to lead the campus in generating external grant funding, and we are in the process of adding a second telescope to our observatory facilities. Air Force ROTC Detachment 028, the fourth largest in the country, placed in the top 2% in tech and aviation officers produced per year, the top 5% in cost of education per officer and the top 10% overall.
In the upcoming year, we plan to focus on: Establishing better synergy between the Forensic Biology and Forensic Psychology programs and exploring the feasibility of adding a Forensic Chemistry track. Improving retention and graduation rates for all majors on campus by introducing high-impact pedagogical practices in several cornerstone courses such as calculus, physics and chemistry. We hope you’ll consider making a gift to COAS (fund, scholarship, etc.,). This fund allows me to support the students and faculty in the college, utilizing donations where they are needed the most. Thank you for your support and for helping us to make the College of Arts and Sciences the finest in the nation!
Best regards,
Zafer Hatahet, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
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VISION
Faculty Highlights
In the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), our vision is to turn out well-rounded, self- reliant, independent and critical thinking graduates who will positively influence the community, country and globe. In commitment to that vision, our mission is to graduate students that are profession ready. We focus on student success by offering high-level access to faculty mentoring. These experiences and opportunities fortify our values, which include the acquisition of knowledge, open communication, diversity, inclusion, cutting-edge research, a passion for teaching and life balance. Our faculty engage in professional consultation and/or scholarly activities that inform their teaching, their discipline and enhance learning opportunities for our students.
Dr. Michele Zanolin
Dr. Michele Zanolin is a Professor of Physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2021 he was awarded the prestigious honorary title “Cavallieri Della Croce” (Knight of the Cross) in his home municipality of Collechio, Italy for his work in gravitational wave astronomy with LIGO. Part of his work with Prescott faculty and student researchers also studied tests of the foundational principles of General Relativity, such as Lorentz symmetry including gravitational wave observation and solar system tests like short-range gravity and lunar laser ranging. Dr. Zanolin’s additional research work on gravitational physics and cosmology has been astounding. Researchers in gravitational physics is exploring a wide range of applications of Einstein’s theory of gravity. Many physicists are interested in testing predictions of Einstein’s theory of gravity. One such prediction is that the universe is filled with gravitational waves: undulations in the fabric of spacetime. These waves are produced by enormous astrophysical events, such as the collision of two neutron stars or black holes. He earned both his undergraduate and Ph.D. at the University of Parma. Before Embry-Riddle, Dr. Zanolin was employed by MIT. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, volleyball, and spending time with his wife and their three children.
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FEATURED STORY
New Simulation Science, Games and Animation Program Makes Career Placement Top Priority with Total Employment of Inaugural Graduates
with invaluable industry exposure and essential opportunities to meet with major studios, developers, technology companies and other students. SSGA plans to send more students in 2023 to present their capstone projects and other work at the Embry-Riddle SSGA play booth. SSGA looks forward to seeing our students represent themselves, the university and the program in career pavilions, expo spaces and developer sessions as they demonstrate their abilities. An Exposure: The Augmented Reality Experience As a result of our students’ ability to skillfully integrate virtual and physical worlds into sophisticated interactive tools, SSGA’s inaugural alumni group is fully employed. This first group of graduates now works at Blizzard Entertainment, Mass Virtual, Boeing, Win Reality, Super League Gaming, ForgeFX Simulation and Apex Officer. With a critical and creative approach to various applications around the gaming industry, our students are developing projects using innovative technology such as HoloLens, Faceware and Vicon motion capture systems. For example, a team of SSGA students completed an Undergraduate Research Institute ( URI) project with faculty mentors. An interactive holographic simulation was designed in mixed reality using Microsoft HoloLens2. The team created a prototype as an educational training tool for students taking Aeronautical Science 411: Jet Transport Systems course. It is a head-to-toe systems class on the Bombardier CRJ-700/900. The Augmented Reality (AR) experience focused on computer-generated jet interaction while also providing opportunities for collaboration in the classroom. The emergence of interactive media into traditional and new growth industries allows students to have many career opportunities. Interactive media and games have gained cultural significance, becoming more relevant and establishing a primary economic and social force for new generations through entertainment, aviation, business, scientific and engineering applications.
Like all Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) programs, the Simulation Science, Games and Animation (SSGA) Program sees career placement as a top priority. To help make our graduates desirable to employers, SSGA aims to offer a competitive program with a game development and production space that closely resembles industry standards. SSGA also focuses on providing a rigorous curriculum and educating students in critical design for both the development (the “why”) and the production (the “how”) of interactive, immersive experiences. The program offers project-based learning and the application of industry standards to satisfy employers’ eagerness to hire workforce-ready candidates. The program accomplishes this through course design that harmoniously contributes to the experiences needed for successful research and capstone projects. SSGA plans to expand its program further by building relationships with companies via co-ops, internships and capstone projects. When participating in these opportunities, students will be immersed in the soft- skills culture that is necessary to prepare them for future high-level collaborative environments. SSGA also seeks to build strong industry partnerships to provide students with opportunities to network with professionals and demonstrate their portfolio of work at conferences and expos. A Journey: Career Placement Improvement SSGA is only beginning its journey and hopes to significantly improve student career placement opportunities while building on its established strengths. The faculty appreciate the support and guidance Embry-Riddle has provided to the program thus far. As part of SSGA’s objective to provide students with career networking opportunities and chances to demonstrate their work portfolios, the program sent 10 students to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2022. This opportunity was met with great enthusiasm by those who attended. The 2022 trip was made possible through the combined efforts of student club fundraising, support from Career Services and the College of Arts and Sciences. Participation at the conference provided students
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BY THE NUMBERS
Student Highlights
Total Funding obtained for external grants that were active in 2021: $ 718,000 $ 333,000 New funding starting in 2021 This breaks down into:
Alexis Lane
Alexis Lane graduated with a degree in Astronomy in Spring 2022 and will attend graduate school at Boston University in the Fall. An author of five refereed publications, she has interned at the Naval Research Laboratory and leads the student team POTATOS (Prescott Observing Team for the Analysis of Telescopically Obtained Spectra). Alexis grew up in a military family currently stationed at Fort Bragg and graduated from Overhills High School in Spring Lake, North Carolina. She is an accomplished clarinetist leading the wind ensemble in the Central Arizona concert band.
$ 295,000 Grants continuing throughout 2021
$ 90,000 Grants concluding during 2021
$ 290,000 Pending proposals submitted in 2021 (unknown if they will be funded) Faculty-involved proposals External Federal Sponsored Agencies Represented in proposals
Grace Leto
During her tenure at Embry-Riddle, Grace maintained a 4.0 GPA and a commitment to Army ROTC. In addition to community service and leadership activities, she initiated a research project and was published in a top-tier journal (https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22685). Grace is the model Embry-Riddle student who succeeds in every endeavor. The COAS faculty are proud of her achievements. As a new graduate and Army commissioned officer, we celebrate her first official duty station in Hawaii. Congratulations Grace!
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Behavioral Social Sciences at a Glance
Enrollment and graduates
Thomas Field: 2021 Robert W. Cherny Article Award, Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical AssociationFor: “Union Busting as Development: Transnationalism, Empire, and Kennedy’s Secret Labour Programme for Bolivia,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 52/1: 27-51 (2020). https://www. pcb-aha.org/robert-w-cherny-award-recipients Presented a paper at the PCB-AHA conference on Friday, August 13, 2021. It’s entitled: “Trappings of Democracy: Covert US Involvement in the 1966 Bolivian Election.” Heather Lum: Karn, K. S., Rantanen, E. M., Branaghan, R. J., Rayo, M. F., Sanchez, C. A., & Lum, H. C. (2021). Practitioner- Educator Model for Human Factors/Ergonomics Education. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 65(1), 53–56. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. https://doi. org/10.1177/1071181321651031 Lum, H. C. (2021). Associate Editor of Human Factors Issues and the Impact of Technology on Society . Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Lum, H. C. (2021). Exploring Technology Tendencies and Their Impact on Human-Human Interactions. In Human Factors Issues and the Impact of Technology on Society, 222-238. IGI Global. Lum, H. C., Craig, S., Summers, N., & Chiou, E. (2021) Discussion Panel: Human Factors Engineering: Designing systems and technologies that work for people. Presented at the 2021 AISERS National Conference ; Phoenix, AZ. Blasko, D. G., Lum, H. C., & Campbell, J. (2020, December). Gender differences in perceptions of technology, technology readiness, and spatial cognition. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 64(1), 1395-1399. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Forensic Psychology: 54 current students; 17 graduates since inception (2017 to 2021). Industrial-Organizational Psychology: 14 current students; 29 graduates since 2015-2016 academic year, though the first three years consisted of industrial psychology and safety (IPS) students. Of the 29 graduates, 10 of them were IPS students. Human Factors: 6 current students; 0 graduates (new program). Publications and conference presentations Michele Gazica & Andrea Irish : Gazica, M. W., Leto, G. D.*, & Irish, A. (review & resubmit [R&R]). Do unexpected changes to content delivery impact perceived university student learning outcomes? A psychological contract perspective during the Covid-19 Era. Psychology in the Schools. Michele Gazica: Gazica, M. W., & Pindek, S. (under review, R&R2). How does caring for patients affect work interference with family in nurses? A daily diary study. International Journal of Stress Management. Gazica, M. W., Powers, S. R., & Kessler, S. R. (accepted, 2021). Imperfectly perfect: Examining psychosocial safety climate’s influence on the physical and psychological impact of perfectionism in the practice of law. Behavioral Sciences and the Law. Pindek, S., & Gazica, M. W. (2020). Being called to nursing: Buffering the stress-rumination effects. Occupational Health Science, 4, 401-416 .
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Lum, H. C., Elliott, L. J., Aqlan, F., & Zhao, R. (2020, December). Virtual Reality: History, Applications, and Challenges for Human Factors Research. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting , 64(1), 1263-1268. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. Lum, H. C. (2020). Book Review: Human Factors in Simple and Complex Systems . Lum, H. C. (2020). The role of consumer robots in our everyday lives. In Living with robots , 141-152. Academic Press. Lum, H. C., Hancock, G., McLaughlin, A. C., & Boyce, M. W. (2020). Discussion Panel: Disseminating Human Factors Psychology to the General Public. Presented at the 2020 APA Annual Convention (originally accepted at the 2019 APA Convention- Virtual Presentation. Postponed due to Covid-19 travel restrictions). Geoff Jensen: [Online] Roundtable with select authors from Beyond the Quagmire, “1970-71: Nixon, Discord, and the US Withdrawal from Vietnam”, Vietnam War Conference hosted by the Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive and the Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University, 2021 Co-edited Beyond the Quagmire and wrote a chapter for it. Grants submitted, received and concluded Basye, H.*, Gazica, M. W., & Irish, A. (2021). Occupation in preemptory jury selection. Award from Undergraduate Research Institute – ERAU Prescott. $1,500. Accepted; Completed. Pledger, J.*, Davis. R. C.*, & Lum, H. C. (2021-2022). Utilizing a Virtual Reality Game Experience to Study Immersion and Emotion. Award from Undergraduate Research Institute IGNITE Grant – ERAU Prescott. $5,000. Accepted; Completed. Pledger, J.*, Davis. R. C.*, & Lum, H. C. (2021-2022). Studying Aspects of Teamwork and Communication in a Virtual Reality Environment. Award from Undergraduate Research Institute Space Grant– ERAU Prescott. $4,000. Accepted; Ongoing.
Winks, C.*, Osuna, M.*, Lum, H. C., & Cromer, E. (2021-2022). A UX Design Study: Understanding How and Why Writing Support Matters at ERAU-Prescott. Award from Undergraduate Research Institute IGNITE Grant– ERAU Prescott. $2,985. Accepted; Ongoing. * Indicates undergraduate student-researcher
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Department of Physics and Astronomy at a Glance
Degree enrollment as of November 24, 2021 69 Space Physics Majors 27 Astronomy Majors 2 Ph.D. students in Engineering Physics Advised by our Prescott faculty Student presentations for external audiences in 2021 8 American Astronomical Society Meeting Student Posters And Presentations 12 LIGO Student Presentations at Various Meetings/Symposia External funding New funding this fiscal year: LIGO Detector Characterization and Supernova Data Analysis, $150,000 Optical Path and Birefringence Characterization of Crystalline Coatings for Gravitational-wave Detectors, $143,000 The Spectroscopic Signature of New Dust Forming Around WR137, $40,000 Continued funding: Eta Carinae: X-ray Emission Line Diagnostics on the Approach to Periastron Passage The Current Dusty Outburst of the Long-Period Binary WR125 Eta Carinae: Taking the Plunge Multi-Messenger Astronomy with LIGO Gravitational-Wave Bursts
Grants concluded this fiscal year: RUI: Testing Spacetime Symmetry Foundations of General Relativity
New submissions (funding status pending): Improving Retention Rates and Computing Skills For Physics and Astronomy Students Through the Analysis of Binary Stars Theory and phenomenology of Einstein Equivalence Principle violations Recognition Professor Michele Zanolin awarded honorary title “Cavallieri della Croce” (Knight of the Cross) in his home municipality of Collechio, Italy Astronomy graduate Ashley Elliott received Chancellor’s Award at Spring 2021 graduation Society of Physics Students named an Outstanding Chapter for 2nd consecutive year
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United States Army Cadet Command
Headquarters Planning Their Next Move During Lead Lab It Ain’t Rainin’ We Aint Trainin’ Platoon Leader, CDT Blomquist, Planning In A Patrol Base 1-1-1 PT Test in The Fog The First Lab After Action Review (AAR) Of The Semester Cadets Recognized by The USACC 5BDE Command Team
Lines of Effort Physical Training • Ranger Challenge • Army Events • Embry-Riddle Intramural Sports Studies • Term GPA – 3.573
• Average Cumulative GPA – 3.572 • Cumulative GPA Per Class – 4.0 Leadership • 13 Attendees/2 Cadets Received RECONDO • Overall Grade: 3 - Outstanding, 5 - Excellent, 5 - Proficient
• PLT Peer Ranking: 1 - Ranking Professional Development • Raytheon Missile Defense
• Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) • Prescott Valley Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division • Kratos Defense and Rocket Support • Boeing - Security and Fire Protection COI Development/Recruiting/VIP ROTC Presentation • Mentorship of Bradshaw H.S. JROTC • Veteran’s Day Parade in Prescott • Military Veteran Stand Down • 24 Hour Memorial Run Around and Hope Festival Vigil • Color Guards
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations/
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College Leadership
Left row top to bottom: Dr. Matt Haslam, Dr. Brian Rachford, Mr. Derek Fisher, Dr. Zafer Hatahet
Right row top to bottom: Dr. Brennan Hughey, Dr. Michele Gazica, Dr. Quentin Bailey, Dr. Christopher Briggs, COL Douglas Carroll, MAJ Scott Jackson
Our mission is to graduate students that are profession ready. We focus on student success by offering high-level access to faculty mentoring, innovative as well as classic teaching methods and transformational learning opportunities that empower students to achieve high goals.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University College of Arts and Sciences 3700 Willow Creek Rd. | Prescott, AZ 86301
800.888.3728 | prescott.erau.edu/college-arts-sciences
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