Faculty Research Interests

I primarily research and write about retirement and pension planning topics. I have over 100 published articles. An article I authored on calculating retirement needs helped to change how people determine the amount they need to retire.

My research interests lie in the general areas of geotechnical and infrastructure engineering. My recent work focuses on the instrumentation and monitoring of transportation infrastructure as well as characterization and effective use of new and sustainable materials for geotechnical and transportation projects.

The overall goal of my research is to address pressing issues related to the nation’s aging transportation infrastructure through innovative and practical ideas and technologies.

• Building confidence in struggling math students 
• Confidence supports learning in underserved populations

My research interests include fiction writing and narrative theory. In addition, I hear the cases of juvenile offenders in Chester, and I taught one class a day at Chester High School for the school year. I am concerned about the school-to-prison pipeline, juvenile sentencing practices, and mass incarceration.

My research interests lie in the field of algebra, geometry and topology. Mainly, I study Clifford algebras and applications of octonions and quaternions in physics and computer science. Also, interest of undergraduate research topics in the field of statistics, numerical analysis, differential equations, number theory, computational mathematics, and computer Science.

My overarching research interest concerns the nature of comprehension in general, which underlies my interests in reading comprehension and developmental psycholinguistics. My teaching duties continually push me to study current literature in educational psychology, research methods, and statistics. Misunderstanding and misuse of brain research in educational settings has led me to study brain research that is enhancing our understanding of language and reading difficulties so that my students will develop a higher level of sophistication with that literature.

My research interests include control, nonlinear systems, state estimation, system modeling, electric power systems, and microgrid power systems. I am particularly interested in the control applications in microgrid power systems, including power system modeling, power quality control, fault analysis, power data analysis, and power consumption evaluation and prediction.

My primary research focus is on the regulatory mechanisms that endow cancer cells with aggressive phenotypes, including metastatic potential and resistance to standard-of-care therapies. One mechanism by which cancer cells exhibit these properties is by completely or partially undergoing an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that normally occurs in a highly controlled manner during embryonic development and wound healing. Cells that undergo EMT become invasive, resist therapy and acquire cancer stem cell-like properties. Therefore, elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which cells acquire EMT properties is of significant interest and could ultimately uncover strategies to target this phenotype, thus resulting in more effective treatments for cancer.

• Race, Place and Urban Crime
• Law Enforcement & Urban Community Relations
• Police Encounters of African American and Latino Males
• Gentrification and Urban Redevelopment
• Race and Ethnic Relations
• Social Theory
• Ethnographic Methods & Urban Ethnography

My research interests focus on decolonial and indigenous knowledges and practices, and sexualities through languages.  

I am trained in comparative literature and specialize in Argentine cinema produced since the late 1990s. I am particularly interested in representations of social justice, gender issues, sustainability, and the environmental humanities. I have also published pieces related to global education. I organize transdisciplinary symposia in Latin America that bring together faculty from a variety of fields to make connections with one another and work around themes of sustainability.

My area of expertise is in environmental analysis and instrumentation used for chemical analysis. As a result, my research projects cover a wide range of applications. Most recently I have focused on applications of mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy - two techniques for detecting and identifying chemicals. I am also actively engaged in the scholarship of teaching - focusing on new teaching strategies and the development of more effective ways to engage students in learning.

My research interests are eclectic and include investigation of microclimates and tree phenology in the Peruvian Amazon and the influence of environmental pollutants on aquatic organisms. I am also interested in understanding the physiology and behavior of Diamondback terrapins in order to contribute to their conservation in the salt marshes of New Jersey. I am collaborating with colleagues at Widener, The Wetlands Institute in NJ, and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina

My research interests are literature of the Middle Ages, particularly Arthurian Literature, 19th-century writers, and the correlation between literature and popular fiction and film.

My current research interests spread across the disparate fields of bureaucratic politics and political engagement. My work on bureaucratic politics focuses on examining the extent of political influence on the regulatory scope and enforcement outputs of federal and state-level regulatory agencies.

My work on political engagement focuses on isolating key factors for promoting political engagement among young citizens without simultaneously triggering partisan polarization and uncivil discourse.

My research interests include practice evaluation, integrated care and the treatment of trauma, and social work and chronic health care.

Engineering and Technology Management 

My research interest is the formation of structure in the early universe.

My research interests includes two major areas. The first one is the development and validation of measurement instruments, including student assessments and survey instruments. My work in this area has been published in the most respected scholarly journals and presented at national and international conferences. 

The second area is applications of research methodology into broader areas in educational practices, such as design and scoring mathematics performance assessment, developing and validating social and emotional learning survey instrument, assessing non-cognitive skills, and evaluating educational curricula and instructional programs. My work in this area is reflected in my numerous refereed publications and presentations at national and international organizations, scholarly collaboration with other faculty members within and outside of Widener, and doctoral students. 

The highlights of my research are: (1) a prestigious research grant (Co-PI with professors from the University of Delaware and Marquette University, $1.5 million) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2010-2015; (2) a research grant funded by the Lindback Foundation, and (3) my leadership role and long-term research activities in the development of the Widener Emotional Learning Survey and in the promotion of student social and emotional learning. I have also been invited to serve as a psychometric/statistical consultant for a number of national and international research projects.

My research interests lie in the fields of analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, membrane technology, and electrochemistry. In particular, I am interested in (1) developing methods for analysis of pollutants; (2) exploring the fate of the pollutants during natural processes and anthropogenic activities; (3) synthesizing functional membranes for the separation and purification of water; and (4) using catalytic electrochemical reactions as a sustainable technique for degradation of pollutants in the aquatic environment. 

While most of my research has used electro-chemical processes, I am also interested in using other techniques such as nanotechnology and am open to interdepartmental collaborations.  I hope to involve students in the research process.