Professor Eduardo Salas of the Department of Psychology, together with researchers from UCF Institute for Simulation and Training, Harvard University, University of Maryland, Columbia University, George Mason University, and Naval Postgraduate School, recently received a coveted MURI (Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative) grant funded by the US Army for the Fiscal Year 2008. The grant was awarded to support research aiming at understanding cultural influences on basic psychological and social processes in negotiations and collaborations across a wide range of cultures.

Dr. Alvin Wang, Professor at the Department of Psychology and Dean of the Burnett Honors College, was recently elected to be the 2008 President-Elect of Psi Chi (the National Honors Society in Psychology). Further details can be found here

Dr. Ed Salas was appointed to one of the most influential medical scientific agencies, the Institute of Medicine. This is part of the National Academy of Sciences and is a quite an honor.

Ed Salas received the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's 2007 Best Ergonomics in Design Article Award. This award is presented in recognition of his article with Katherine Wilson, C. Shawn Burke, Dennis C. Wightman, and Will R. Howse, "A Checklist for crew resource management training," which was judged the best article in the 2006 volume of Ergonomics in Design. The award was presented at the Opening Plenary Session of the HFES 51st Annual Meeting, Oct 2, 2007.

Ed Salas received the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's 2007 Jack A. Kraft Innovator Award, which honors accomplishments in applying the principles of human factors to a new area of endeavor. "This award is presented in recognition of your many cutting-edge accomplishments, and specifically for your research on team performance and training." this was presented at the Opening Plenary Session of the HFES 51st Annual Meeting, October 2.

Deborah Beidel of the Department of Psychology has received the 2007 Samuel M. Turner Clinical Research Award from the American Psychological Association. The Samuel M. Turner Award honors a psychologist who has made an outstanding contribution in applied clinical research. Dr. Beidel is an internationally known scholar in the area of child and adult anxiety disorders. She holds the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Diplomate in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She was the 1990 recipient of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy's New Researcher Award. She is a past Chair of the American Psychological Association's committee on Accreditation and the 1995 recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Medical School Psychologists. She has recently joined UCF as a Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training.

Peter Hancock of the Department of Psychology and IST has been awarded the John C. Flanagan Lifetime Achievement Award from the Military Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. The Flanagan Award recognizes career-long achievements in military psychology, including advancement of the profession of military psychology, improved effectiveness of military psychology systems, or service on behalf of the welfare of military personnel.

UCF's Industrial-Organizational Psychology faculty ranked first nationally in overall productivity in a study reported this spring at the 20th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Dr. Peter A. Hancock has been selected as one of four total College of Science researchers to receive a 2005-06 Research Incentive Award. This award honors Dr. Hancock's commitment to scholarship and proven abilities as a researcher.

Dr. Peter Hancock received the 2005 Jack A. Kraft Innovator Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. The award is presented in recognition of Dr. Hancock's exceptional and innovative efforts to extend theory and application of Human Factors principles and methods in many new areas of endeavor, as well as to integrate multi-disciplinary approaches in the human factors and ergonomics field.

Provost's Distinguished Research Professor Peter Hancock was named a Fellow of the American Psychological Society. "Fellow" status is awarded to APS Members who have made sustained and outstanding contributions to psychology research, teaching, service, and/or application. Candidates are only generally considered after 10-15 years of postdoctoral work. [ More Information ]

Michael Dunn, along with James Schaus, M.D., his colleagues from Student Health Services, and Mary Sole from the School of Nursing, received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to test the effectiveness of alcohol screenings and interventions for high-risk college students.

Psychology Chair Robert Dipboye was elected as a Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) representative to the American Psychological Association council.

Kimberly Renk has been recommended as a 2005 CAS Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) award recipient. The TIP program rewards faculty for teaching productivity and excellence. Selection criteria include teaching quality and effectiveness, commitment to instruction, innovation, creativity, and productivity based on a portfolio of assignments and evaluations collected over the previous 4 academic years.

Dr. Barbara Fritzsche has been honored with a 2005 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can be defined as research into teaching methods and effectiveness, with the ultimate goal of evaluating student learning. Each year, UCF sponsors 10 SoTL awards funded by the Office of Academic Affairs. Award recipients are chosen for the value and impact of their scholarship and creative efforts on the teaching and learning community.

Dr. Florian Jentsch was awarded a $271,000 contract with the U.S. Army.

Dr. Jeffery Bedwell received a $96,000 President?s equipment award.

Peter Hancock received a 'Three-Timer' award from the Office of Research and Commercialization. This award is presented to faculty who have received $1 Million or more in research funding for three consecutive years.

James Szalma has been appointed to director the MURI-OPUS Research Lab. This is a virtual lab, which includes labs at the University of Central Florida, the Human Factors Research Lab at the University of Minnesota, the Cognitive Sciences Lab at the Catholic University of America, and University of Cincinnati.

The prestigious and highly selective Society for Organizational Behavior met at UCF in October, 2004. UCF has more faculty that are members of SOB than any other psychology department: Rob Folger, Gene Stone-Romero, Ed Salas, Ambrose, Robert Dipboye, Robert Pritchard.

Dr. Richard D. Gilson's research into haptic-communication for soldier was once again published nationally. The Associated Press ran articles about it in the St. Petersburg Times, the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Online, WINK-TV CBS 11 Fort Myers, and the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union. [ View UCF Press Release ]

The London Sunday Telegraph, Scientific American, and WebMD ran articles about Professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn's research on how men become depressed and dissatisfied with their bodies when they see many TV ads that feature men whose muscularity is unattainable for them. [ View UCF Press Release ]

The Washington Post quoted UCF psychology professor Janan Awar Smither in a story about Floridians' reactions to the abuse of Iraqi detainees.