Previous Psychology Department News Items
(Many of the links below may no longer work. Our apologies.)
August 2006
The Department welcomes four new faculty this semester. Geoffrey Cohen was hired into the Social area, and Sona Dimidjian was hired into the Clinical area. Matthew McQueen was hired into the Behavior Genetics area and will have a home at IBG. Albert Kim was hired into the Cognitive area and will have a home in ICS. Read more about our new faculty.
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Emeritus Michael Werheimer was elected to serve a three-year term as one of the two member-at-large seats on the APA Board of Directors. Dr. Wertheimer will formally begin serving on the board in January of 2007.
May 2006
Recent CU Psychology graduates Elizabeth “Libby” Pelican and Tatsuko Go Hollo received the prestigious Jacob Van Ek award. The recipients were honored this month for outstanding academic achievement and contributions to the university and Boulder communities. The faculty members the students named as mentors also were recognized. Libby and Tatsuko were mentored by CU Psychology Professors Mark Whisman and Tim Curran, respectively. Read the CU press release.
Several CU Psychology undergraduate majors were honored at CU’s Spring commencement. Jeffrey Plumer and Alyssa Schlenz received the Chancellor’s Recognition Award for having earned all As in their undergraduate careers, and Elizabeth “Libby” Pelican was named the outstanding graduate in the College of Arts and Sciences. Read the CU press release.
April 2006
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Alice Healy received the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association’s Distinguished Service Award for 2006 at the recent RMPA convention in Park City, UT. This is the second year in a row someone from CU Psychology has won this award, since Senior Instructor Diane Martichuski won this honor last year. Diane was also the program chair for this year’s convention.
March 2006
CU Psychology staff member Laurel Amsel was one of 10 people to receive the CU-Boulder Parents Association Marinus G. Smith Recognition Award for 2006. The award recognizes CU-Boulder faculty, staff, and instructors who have made a significant impact on the lives of one or more CU-Boulder undergraduates, based on nominations from students and parents.
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Emeritus Michael Werheimer was voted to receive Distinguished Member status by the Psi Chi National Council. Distinguished members must have national or international reputations because of contributions made to psychology and Psi Chi in the areas of research, service, and/or teaching. Only 25 people have been named distinguished members of Psi Chi since the award’s inception in 1970, a list that includes some of the most eminent members of the field. Dr. Wertheimer will receive the award at the APA convention in New Orleans in August.
The CU Psychology chapter of Psi Chi was one of three recipients of the 2005–2006 Psi Chi website award. Check out the Psi Chi website and read more about the award on the national Psi Chi site.
February 2006
CU Social Psychology Professor Angela Bryan received the APA’s “Distinguished Scientific Awards for Early Career Contributions to Psychology” for 2006 in the Health Psychology category. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the APA in New Orleans, August 13–16. Read the CU press release.
January 2006
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Alice Healy and recently retired long-time staff member Mary Ann Tucker, along with several other women in the CU community, were recognized by the CU Women’s Resource Center as “Women Who Make a Difference” for 2006. Check out the pictures.
November 2005
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Linda Watkins received some popular press in the Denver Post. The Denver newspaper has an article describing her research on chronic pain and its management. Check out the online article (the article has since been removed).
October 2005
CU Social Psychology Professor Richard Jessor, received some popular press in the Rocky Mountain News. An article describing the long-time CU professor’s illustrious career was the lead article in the newspaper’s Spotlight section. Check out the online article (the article has since been removed).
CU Social Psychology Professor Richard Jessor was named a CU Distinguished Professor, the highest honor CU bestows on its teaching faculty. Read the CU press release.
September 2005
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Steve Maier, received some popular press on ABC News. He was interviewed for his views on why some people cope with the stress of natural disasters better than others. (Maier studies the neurochemistry of stress.) Read the online version of the interview.
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Alice F. Healy, was awarded the 2005 Women in Cognitive Science Mentorship Award. One of only four researchers to receive the award, it will be presented to Alice at the anuual WiCS meeting in Toronto in November, immediately preceding the Psychonomic Society meeting. The WiCS Mentorship Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated sustained, effective mentorship of female students and who have also served as a research advisor or supervisor to one or more female students during the academic year immediately preceding the nomination.
August 2005
CU Cognitive Psychology postdoctoral student Michael Frank, Cognitive Psychology Professor Tim Curran, and Psychology research assistant Brion Woroch authored a paper in the current (August 18, 2005) issue of the journal Neuron examining the brain signals that predict learning biases. The signals predict whether people are biased to learn more from positive than negative outcomes of their decisions. For more information, see the online version of the article.
July 2005
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Linda Watkins was chosen to receive the Norman Cousins Memorial Research Award from the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in basic or clinical research in psychoneuroimmunology, which is the study of how the brain and the immune system interact. The award will be presented in June 2006 at the society’s next national meeing in Florida. For more information, read the CU press release.
May 2005
CU Psychology Senior Lecturer Brett King was named a recipient of the Teacher Recognition Award for 2005 from The Herd (the student arm of the Alumni Association) and the Director’s Club of the Alumni Association.
April 2005
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor and Director of ICS Marie Banich received the Justine and Yves Sergent Award for 2005. The award is given annually to a female researcher who has made significant contributions to the field of cognitive neuroscience with particular emphasis on cognitive neuropsychology and functional brain imaging. To read more about the award, see the University of Montreal’s web site, from which the award originates. (Brush up on your Français first.)
CU Social Psychology Professor Gary McClelland received the Boulder Faculty Assembly’s Excellence in Teaching award for 2004–2005. To read more about the award and view past recipients (including several other CU Psychology Professors), check out the BFA’s web site.
Retired CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Emeritus Michael Werheimer gave an invited address at this year’s Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA) convention in Phoenix, AZ, entitled “Challenges, pleasures, and pangs: Reflections on a half century of teaching.” This was also the first year for the Annual Portenier-Wertheimer Pre-Convention Conference on Teaching, in honor of the late Lillian Portenier of the University of Wyoming, and the not-yet-late Dr. Wertheimer. For more information, see the RMPA web site.
The Department of Psychology was one of only 5 units on campus to be honored with a 2004 Buff Energy Star Award, given by CU-Boulder’s Office of Energy Conservation and the Environmental Center. Accepting the award on behalf of all occupants of Muenzinger Psychology was Psychology staff member and building proctor Beth Smith. For more information about the award and to see the other recipients, visit the Environmental Center’s web page.
March 2005
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Yuko Munakata received some popular press for her research. She was interviewed for a segment on Colorado Matters on Colorado Public Radio regarding her research on infant intelligence. Check out the CPR Colorado Matters web site (use the calendar to go to the Friday, March 4 entry).
February 2005
CU Cognitive Psychology Research Professor Tom Landauer received the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Computing Machinery’s Computer Human Interaction Division (CHI). The award will be presented at the 2005 CHI annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, in April. Read more about the award.
CU Clinical Psychology Professor and Chair Ed Craighead received the APA’s Division 12 Florence Halpern Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Clinical Psychology. The award will be presented at the APA’s annual meeting in Washington D.C. in August.
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professors Steve Maier and Linda Watkins, Research Associates José Amat and Sondra Bland, and graduate student Michael Baratta had some of their research published as the lead article in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The research examined how a stressor’s controllability influences various brain regions. Of particular note is how the medial prefrontal cortex is implicated in this research. See the advance online version of the article.
December 2004
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Yuko Munakata received some popular press. An article about her research and lab was published in the Denver Post. See the online article.
November 2004
CU Psychology Behavior Genetics Professor Al Collins co-authored a paper in Science regarding the discovery of specific nicotinic receptor subtypes sufficient for explaining nicotine-induced reward, tolerance, and sensitization. For more information, see the online version of the article.
CU Cognitive Psychology graduate student Michael Franks and Cognitive Psychology and Behavior Neuroscience Professor Randy O'Reilly and a colleague authored a paper in the online version of Science regarding differential effects on learning from positive and negative reinforcement situations in patients with Parkinson's disease. This outcome was predicted by the authors' biologically-based computational model. For more information, see the online version of the article.
October 2004
CU Clinical Psychology Professor Mark Whisman received some popular press for his recent publication in the October issue of Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology regarding the toll depression takes on marriages. Read some of the popular press reports of the research on CBS news or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
CU Social Psychology Professor Charles “Chick” Judd was selected to be the next editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, to begin his 6-year term in 2006. Read more about the announcement on the JPSP web site.
September 2004
CU Social Psychology Professor Angela Bryan received two separate grants, one for $1.5 million from NIH/NCI to study “Mediators and moderators of exercise behavior change,” and one for $1 million from NIH/NIDA to study “Marijuana use, gender, and adolescent HIV sexual risk.”
CU Clinical Psychology Professor Don Weatherley was one of a select few CU-Boulder Professors to receive the “Best Should Teach Gold Award” in recognition of his teaching and academic leadership. Read about the award and see the full recipient list in the Daily Camera's article (a local newspaper).
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Tim Curran was selected to be an associate editor of the journal Memory & Cognition, to begin his 4-year term in 2005.
August 2004
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Linda Watkins received the 2005 Frederick W. L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award from the American Pain Society. This is the most prestigious award in the pain field. To quote from the award letter, “The award recognizes individual excellence and achievements in pain scholarship and is presented to a pain professional whose total career achivevements have made outstanding contributions to the field of pain research.” The award will be presented at the April 2, 2005, meeting of the APS.
July 2004
CU Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Steve Maier received the prestigious D.O. Hebb Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award at this year's APA conference. This award recognizes a psychologist who has made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in behavioral neuroscience or comparative psychology.
April 2004
CU Clinical Psychology Professor Erik Willcutt announced the opening of a new specialty assessment clinic for the assessment and treatment of learning disabilities, ADHD, and related emotional and behavioral difficulties.
CU Psychology Instructor Joe Berta was one of three Boulder campus faculty to receive the 2004 Teaching Recognition Award from the Directors Club of the Alumni Association. Read the press release.
March 2004
CU Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Theresa Hernández received a K01 Research Development Award for 5 years from NIH to assess the neurobehavioral and physiological consequences of a novel treatment strategy in chronic stroke patients. This research will be done in collaboration with researchers in the departments of Integrative Physiology and Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, as well as Psychology.
CU Social Psychology Professor Chick Judd was named a recipient of the Boulder Faculty Assembly's Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work Award for 2003–2004. Read the press release.
February 2004
CU Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Daniel Barth was acknowledged as a (CU) “President's Teaching Scholar.” This is a rare university honor, bestowed on only a few professors system–wide each year. Dan joins Linda Watkins as the other teaching scholar from the department. Read more about the President's Teaching Scholar Program.
January 2004
CU Psychology undergraduate advisor Laurel Amsel received CU's “Community Brick Builder” Award. The Community Builder Brick Award is given to students, faculty, staff, or campus groups that have made a positive contribution to the campus. Recipients receive an engraved sandstone award (like the bricks used to build our buildings on campus) to symbolize the contribution that they have made to building community on campus. Check out past winners of the award.
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Alice Healy has been elected president-elect of the APA's Division 3 (Experimental Psychology) for 2004–2005. See the list of presidents past and present (including two other CU Cognitive Psychology Professors, Lyle E. Bourne and Walter Kintsch).
December 2003
CU Behavioral Neuroscience Professor Linda Watkins is overseeing a technology transfer partnership between the Department of Psychogy, CU's Center for Neuroscience, and national biotech company Avigen. This technology transfer involves Avigen's licensing the rights to the treatment of chronic pain using anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 10 (IL-10), from CU. Read the CU press release.
October 2003
CU Social Psychology Graduate Student Courtney Rocheleau received the “Best Should Teach” silver “flame of enlightenment” award. This award was bestowed by the Graduate Teacher Program at CU.
June 2003
CU Clinical Psychology Professor Mark Whisman has co-edited a book for professionals entitled “Treating Difficult Couples.” See the Guilford Press web site for more information.
March 2003
CU Social Psychology Professor Bernadette Park received CU's Dorothy Martin Faculty Award. This award was bestowed on Bernadette for her “academic excellence; awareness and activism concerning women's issues; and openness to life and true diversity of interests.”
February 2003
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Peter Polson was elected to the CHI Academy, an honorary group of individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of human-computer interaction. Read more about the award on the SIGCHI web site.
August 2002
CU Cognitive Psychology Professor Yuko Munakata received the Boyd McCandless Award from Division 7 of the APA. This award goes to young investigators who have made a distinguisted contribution to developmental psychology. Read more about the award.
July 2002
New CU Social Psychology Professor Leaf Van Boven has received the Fourth Martin E.P. Seligman Award for outstanding dissertation research in positive psychology. Now in its fourth year, the Seligman award seeks to recognize talent and promise among young researchers exploring topics in the emerging field of positive psychology. Read more about the award and Van Boven's research.
April 2002
CU Psychology Professor and Department Chair Jerry Rudy received the 2002 BFA (Boulder Faculty Assembly) award for excellence in service. Here are this year's winners.
February 2002
CU Psychology professor Al Collins received the 2003 Langley Award from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. The award honors scientists who have made ground-breaking advances in basic nicotine research in pharmacology, neuroscience, or genetics. Read more about the award.
A CU interdisciplinary research team, including CU Psychology Professors Walter Kintsch and Dick Olson, has received an $8.4 million grant to put reading software into Colorado schools. The Colorado Literacy Tutor project includes two parts: interactive books with a set of cartoon-like tutors that build the literacy skills of K-6 readers and a software program called Summary Street that emphasizes comprehension and learning from text for older students. Read the CU press release.
January 2002
Psychology staff assistant Mary Ann Tucker was presented with the “Community Builder Brick Award.” The Community Builder Brick Award is given to students, faculty, staff, or campus groups that have made a positive contribution to the campus. Recipients receive an engraved sandstone award (like the bricks used to build our buildings on campus) to symbolize the contribution that they have made to building community on campus. Check out the pictures from the award ceremony.
December 2001
CU Psychology and Theater graduate Siobhan Barros was named the “outstanding graduate for the College of Arts and Sciences” at CU's fall 2001 commencement. Read the CU press release.
October 2001
CU Psychology Professor Steven F. Maier awarded title of Distinguished Professor, a very rare University honor. Read the CU press release.
