The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has presented its research prize to John Allen, PhD, a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, in recognition of his contributions to the field of psychophysiology. Allen is studying how transcranial ultrasound can treat and prevent depression and how activity in the brain's frontal lobe can be used as a biomarker of depression risk.
Daniel J. DeWitt, PhD, is now senior vice president of human resources at the telecommunications company Telephone and Data Systems Inc. DeWitt has been providing assessments and coaching to executives for more than 30 years. Before joining TDS he was the executive psychologist at Shields Meneley Partners, an executive placement firm, and a psychologist at PsychOne.
The Italian Parliament invited Steven I. Pfeiffer, PhD, to testify before the Commission on Culture in Rome in November on behalf of the unmet educational and psycho-social needs of high-ability children in Italian public schools. Italy's public schools do not currently offer specific services for gifted children. Pfeiffer is a professor in the department of educational psychology and learning systems at Florida State University who conducts research on the social and emotional needs of the gifted, and talent development.
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies has given Idaho State University psychology graduate student Chris DeCou its Outstanding Student of the Year Award for his work with trauma-exposed incarcerated women. DeCou has been studying risk and protective factors for these women with his mentor, psychology professor and department chair Shannon Lynch, PhD.
Forbes magazine has named Yale University psychology graduate student Monica Rosenberg to its "The 30 under 30: Science" list for her work in cognitive neuroscience. Rosenberg studies how people sustain attention and lose focus. She is building models to predict differences in attention through brain patterns in hopes of finding ways to improve people's ability to focus. Rosenberg is a member of Yale's Visual Cognitive Neuroscience Lab and earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University.
Students at the Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Health and Business Administration have named A. David Mangelsdorff, PhD, its Educator of the Year. Mangelsdorff has been a professor at Baylor for 22 years and an adjunct instructor with the Army-Baylor program for 21 years. He is a Fulbright faculty scholar, a retired colonel in the Army Reserves and a six-time winner of Baylor's Faculty Researcher of the Year award.
Max Wachtel, PhD, is serving as the behavioral profiler on the reality competition television show "Hunted," which is airing on CBS. The series follows nine teams of two in a real-life "manhunt" as they try to disappear while being tracked by intelligence and law enforcement experts. Wachtel developed a personality profile for each participant on the show, each of whom was screened for medical and psychological concerns prior to participating, and helped the intelligence analysts use that information to predict how each participant would behave in stressful situations and where he or she might travel next. Wachtel is a clinical and forensic psychologist in Denver, where he conducts evaluations of criminal offenders for the courts and private attorneys. He is also a former instructor in the counseling psychology program in the College of Education at the University of Denver.