EPA Healthy Schools Research
How do school buildings affect students and their performance in school? CSU is one of seven universities selected by the EPA to research the relationship between environmental factors in K-12 educational facilities and the safety, health, and academic performance of children.
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Enriched Environments for Healthy Aging Brains
The B Sharp Program is an arts engagement project that brings patients with dementia and their caregivers to Fort Collins Symphony performances. The goal of the project is to asess how attendance at musical performances influence the mood, memory and attention for people with dementia. In addition, we are examining the social impacts on caregivers as they participate in community events with their loved ones.
Our research is focused on measuring the health and well being impacts for both dementia patients and their caregivers. Results will be used by the community to inform other
dementia-focused programs in Northern Colorado.
EcoDistricts
CSU and the City of Fort Collins are using the EcoDistrict framework to inform urban development project in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado. The EcoDistrict framework is a tool used by cities across the country to address urban sustainability and climate resilience in urban redevelopment efforts.
Science of Team Science
How do we bring together diverse teams to create innovation? This research project is examing interdisciplinary scientific teams as well as integrative design teams. We are using social network analysis and observational data to document the social processes that produce effective teams and innovative outcomes.
Community Based Research
Each year I engage two classes of undergraduate students in Community-Based Participatory Research. In these courses we work with local agencies to develop new communication plans, evaluate existing programs, conduct gap analysis, and improve outreach efforts. Each project is unique and students gain first hand experience in social science research.