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Inquiry & Impact

Celebrating Kennesaw State's standout researchers throughout Women's History Month

By Kennesaw State University

February 29^th, 2024

For decades, Women’s History Month has served as a steadfast reminder of the indelible contributions women have made throughout U.S. history. In recognition of this month, Kennesaw State University will honor faculty researchers who are making new discoveries, solving complex issues and driving important discussions. These researchers study topics ranging from accounting to Alzheimer's disease and everything in between, effecting change in their communities and beyond.

Dasha Chapman - College of the Arts

One discipline can’t contain the research and teaching of Dasha Chapman, so she follows wherever the lines of research lead.

Across history, culture and education, from the Gulf of Mexico through the Caribbean Sea and across the Atlantic Ocean to West Africa, with dance—and by extension through a human body in motion—as the common factor, Chapman’s research fills in gaps in our understanding of cultures and traditions.

“What’s so beautiful about dance studies is that it's extremely varied and very interdisciplinary,” said Chapman, an assistant professor of dance in Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts. “For me when I think about dance, it's just this portal to engage all these other aspects of the world and of history and of culture and of society.”

Her work elevates the scholarly knowledge of dance, traditionally a woman-dominated field of creative endeavor and not one acknowledged as a serious pursuit. While she demurs from the designation as a woman researcher, Chapman, raised in the Boston area with Jewish South African parents, acknowledges her gender and culture as factors influencing her work.

“We're still kind of battling the ways that dance because it's attached to the body, is very marginalized. It's also seen as a woman's profession, so it's not taken as seriously,” she said. “That sensitivity helps us as researchers understand that the people we're working with are also not fixed identities, that they have a lot of complexity and that it matters where they are and the choices that they make in expressing themselves.”

That expression comes in many forms and from many sources. She grew up as a dancer from childhood but turned more toward her books and studying visual arts as an undergraduate at Boston University. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and cultural studies, she walked down the street to a studio that featured live drumming in addition to all kinds of dance. Then she immersed herself in various cultures, particularly West African and Haitian. She then moved to New York City to continue dancing, while also earning graduate degrees in Performance Studies from New York University.

That gave Chapman a wide-ranging consciousness that has allowed her to open doors for all kinds of collaborators. She has found the West African and Haitian communities in the Atlanta area and has brought guest artists to KSU’s campus, and she has served as a key facilitator for KSU’s Year of Senegal this school year. Her work also expands into gender and LGBTQ theory, and she has shed light on marginalized communities within a multitude of cultures.

“It's not so much about me being a woman in this space, but that I am in this space and I’m taking initiative to leverage the access that I have to bring people who are not academics, bringing their knowledge and expertise, to these spaces,” she said. “The more expansive sense we have of what’s possible, the more we can live – and recognize – a life full of potential that we couldn't have imagined. So I'm really interested in pushing those boundaries.”

Amaal Al Shenawa - College of Architecture and Construction Management

Amaal Al Shenawa understands better than most the weight of construction materials, but she also understands the weight of something far more profound – inspiring and leading other women into what can be the daunting, often male-dominated field of research.

“It’s not about being biased, but when a female student come to me, and she’s qualified to work, I don’t hesitate to hire her because I know she really needs the chance,” Al Shenawa said.

Al Shenawa has been a Kennesaw State University assistant professor of construction management in the College of Architecture and Construction Management (CACM) since 2019. She began her career in civil engineering with a strong interest in structural materials and loves how there are always new needs in construction, as well as new applications and new research to help foster success.

“I am passionate about research because it’s trial and error,” she said. “There is no guarantee for results. You must be patient. It’s not like one and one equals two. You must continuously try new ideas. You will fail multiple times, but at the end, if you had enough patience and perseverance, you could succeed.”

Al Shenawa’s current focus is on the use of three-dimensional or 3D printing in construction. She’s studying the various materials used in 3D printing, in particular clay, and how its strength, durability, and ability to withstand environmental factors can revolutionize the construction industry and surpass traditional building methods.

Her research has also focused on sustainable concrete. Al Shenawa says this is a green solution that not only conserves raw materials, but also provides an alternative to landfilling or burning waste. Another research focus is using radiant heaters to deice concrete bridges for safer driving conditions. She feels this research is crucial especially in Georgia, where roads may remain drivable in winter conditions, but bridges ice over quickly.

However, Al Shenawa doesn’t do her research alone. Her research team consists of a graduate student and an undergraduate student, both of whom are women.

“I believe research is something women can do exceptionally well,” Al Shenawa said.

Al Shenawa is passionate about the importance of her work, but even more passionate about the process.

“I always try to make my research assistants understand there can be hard times during the research where things aren’t going as expected,” she said. “I want them to know it’s normal and just look for opportunities to learn. My joy is when we figure out a solution and the project moves forward, I love to see the look on their faces how happy they can be.”

Mary Dioise Ramos - Wellstar College of Health and Human Services

While growing up in a poor, rural area of the Philippines, Mary Dioise Ramos developed a passion for helping others that led her to a career in nursing. After almost two decades in the profession, she saw firsthand how external factors influenced health issues, particularly for older adults.

Now, as a faculty member at Kennesaw State University, she uses her research to improve quality of life for minority groups and the older adults.

“I believe in the relentless pursuit of advocating for wellbeing and recognizing the impact of our surroundings on health,” said Ramos, an associate professor of nursing in KSU’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Services. “Witnessing premature deaths within my community motivated me to advocate for healthier environments and promote quality of life.”

Ramos’ approach to research includes finding ways to tailor healthcare to specific cultural populations while using technology to enhance the access to care and how it is delivered.

“I prioritize collaboration with diverse stakeholders to ensure that research efforts are meaningful and impactful,” Ramos said. “I believe in disseminating research findings to inform policy and practice, promoting knowledge translation and advancing health equity.”

Ramos used this approach when studying healthcare access within the Asian-American community as a nurse scientist at the Asian Resource Center for Minority Aging Research.

She credits the project as being one of her most memorable research endeavors at KSU. Ramos worked with interdisciplinary teams to gain valuable insights into the unique needs and challenges faced by older Asian Americans and their families.

“The impact of this research endeavor has been profound, shaping my understanding of culturally sensitive care practices and strengthening my commitment to advocating for health equity within minority communities,” she said.

Currently, Ramos’ research is focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, specifically in Filipinos and Filipino Americans. Bridging the gap between nurses and family members caring for older adults is important in areas where healthcare is not as easy to obtain. To rectify this, Ramos has tapped into technology to improve ease of access, using mobile applications and website development to engage and empower care partners.

Drawing from her own experience, Ramos uses her platform to urge students and faculty members who are looking for research opportunities to pursue subjects they are passionate about.

“Stay curious, persistent, and open-minded, and explore interdisciplinary collaborations aligned with your passions,” Ramos said. “Try to seek mentorship, collaboration and professional development opportunities and prioritize community engagement to ensure research efforts are meaningful and impactful.”

Meredith Pruden - Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences

At a time when news outlets and social media are saturated by misinformation, Meredith Pruden aims to cut through the noise and explore the implications of damaging media content.

An assistant professor in Kennesaw State University’s School of Communication and Media, Pruden has focused her research on topics such as harmful online content, risky research and research-related trauma, politics and the inaccurate information that goes along with these topics.

“I’m interested in the ways communication constructs identities, cultures and belief systems, as well as how media and technology are used to circulate information,” said Pruden, who was recently selected for KSU’s Top Contributor Research Award. “At the end of the day, this line of inquiry is important to me in service of a more equitable world and the promotion of civil society and engaged democracy.”

Pruden teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, including visual communication, communication research methods and political communication courses. She also holds a fellowship with the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism and is affiliated with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the cross-institutional Media & Democracy Data Cooperative.

Having previously worked as a journalist, Pruden said the transition to teaching has been smooth.

"It gave me a great understanding of the media and entertainment field,” she said. “On a practical level, skills such as time management, work ethic and interpersonal communication were essential. I would say the ability to convey meaning is very transferable.”

Now, Pruden takes to heart the ability to shape the next generation in the classroom, where she values the open-mindedness and work ethic her students demonstrate every day.

"I value the possibility here,” she said. “We are in a period of transition and growth at Kennesaw State, and it is refreshing to know there’s room for everyone to explore their leadership potential and effect change.”

With respect to Women’s History Month, she adds that it has been essential to celebrate women leaders in society, both historically and contemporaneously.

"For me, celebrating Women's History Month is an opportunity to surface the important voices and contributions of women who may have been underappreciated, ignored or discounted historically," Pruden said.

Sylvia Bhattacharya - Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

While the buzz surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is growing, Sylvia Bhattacharya has been at the forefront of researching the technology for years.

Bhattacharya is the director of the Neuro-Interaction Innovation Laboratory at Kennesaw State University, where she and her students are working to improve AI models by studying human intuitive decision-making in complex situations.

“There have been several discussions on whether AI will overtake roles held by humans, but what we believe is that humans have their own expertise, and AI has its own strength,” said Bhattacharya, an assistant professor of electrical engineering technology. “We can improve several facets of life if we help them work together as a team."

Since 2020, Bhattacharya has received $1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Army to study driver and passenger behaviors in combat zones. Her research team takes brain signal processing, combined with signals from the muscles, skin, and eyes to create different prediction algorithms that can help soldiers make decisions on the battlefield.

Her newest project funded by the U.S. Army focuses on understanding blind spots in AI and how soldiers adapt in unfamiliar scenarios.

“We are trying to understand how the human brain adapts when presented with a new environment,” Bhattacharya said. “If we can train that capability to AI algorithms, they will achieve a different level of intelligence and be very useful on the battlefield.”

Ultimately, the technology aims to protect human soldiers by relying more on AI agents in dangerous scenarios.

In addition to her groundbreaking research, Bhattacharya is passionate about encouraging students from underrepresented populations to get involved in research. Since starting at KSU in 2019, she has received two grants from Google to create a mentorship program aimed at educating students on computing.

“We created a program called Computing to Change the World,” Bhattacharya said. “There is a need to include more women and students from underrepresented populations in computing, engineering, and research as a whole because the more we diversify our teams, the more innovative ideas will stem from those diverse groups.”

Bhattacharya has been recognized by KSU for her exceptional contributions to research, and she says more exciting projects are in the works. Her research team wants to build an extended reality portion of the lab so they can collect their own simulation data for the Army. They also hope other researchers on the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses will be able to use the equipment for their own projects.

“I am immensely proud of the research my team and I have conducted so far, and I look forward to seeing how our efforts will continue to shape the landscape of AI,” she said.

Carol Chrestensen - College of Science and Mathematics

Carol Chrestensen is humble when she speaks about her work and publications, but the implications of her research are anything but small.

A professor of biochemistry in Kennesaw State University’s College of Science and Mathematics, she is quick to point out the many steps it takes to get from the point of discovery to future applications that could make a widespread impact. But the importance of the early work is not lost on her.

“A novel discovery is a part of what drives most of us that are in the business,” she said. “In my case, I hope being able to show students how novel something is and get them excited about being a part of those kinds of discoveries will lead to advancements we haven’t even dreamed of yet.”

Chrestensen studies enzymes called kinases. When human tissues – organs, muscles, blood vessels and more – are formed, kinases interact with another enzyme called nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3). Since NOS3 is involved in blood pressure regulation and the formation of blood vessels, manipulating the interaction of NOS3 and kinases could have implications for the creation of medication, altering the behavior of cells or other forms of emerging treatment for a variety of serious health problems.

Through a 2015 experiment, Chrestensen and the late-KSU biochemistry professor John Salerno showed for the first time that NOS3 and a kinase called p38 would bind. Recently, Chrestensen received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to further study that binding process and its far-reaching implications. Undergraduate students will be helping her expand that work in her lab.

Similarly, Chrestensen and a team of researchers published in 2000 a paper on glutathionylation, a process by which glutathione - an antioxidant capable of preventing damage to important cellular components - binds to proteins. Two decades later, the revelations from that publication are driving experimental treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

Beyond the possibility of future discoveries based on her work, Chrestensen is driven by a desire to share her knowledge for others to build on, excite a new generation of students to make their own discoveries and, in this specific case, to honor the brilliance of Salerno, who died in 2015.

“You just never know what someone else can do with that piece of knowledge that you might think is niche or relatively inconsequential,” Chrestensen said. “You’ve built this one little block that becomes the base for others who can see it from a different lens, and who knows what they do from there.”

That same sentiment is the reason Chrestensen loves her work with undergraduate students: they bring a fresh perspective without any preconceived ideas of what has come before.

“I think the more we celebrate how everyone contributes to society in different ways, the better and faster we can come to solutions,” she said.

Yi Jin - Bagwell College of Education

Education was a natural calling for Yi Jin, who began her career teaching English to secondary students in her native country, China.

“I came from a line of female scholars,” said Jin, an associate professor in Kennesaw State University’s School of Instructional Technology and Innovation in the Bagwell College of Education.

From those first days in a traditional classroom, she has moved into higher education and grown into a leading researcher dedicated to helping teachers use the latest technology to help their students learn. Though now she teaches teachers, Jin’s focus remains on PK-12 classrooms and doing all she can to ensure students get the best education possible.

“The mission of my teaching is to prepare students for content mastery, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, and to spark their enthusiasm for lifelong learning,” she said.

Jin is currently leading a national study on the state of the preparation for teachers to integrate instructional technology into U.S. classrooms. While the number of digital instructional tools has grown tremendously over the past 15 years, their use across the country is proving to be uneven.

“After the pandemic, some teachers kept their practices in technology integration while others decided to go back to traditional teaching practices,” she said.

There has also been a lag time from when innovation in instructional technology occurs to its adoption in U.S. schools.

The key to getting the most from modern, effective digital learning tools is professional development, Jin said. Helping teachers be aware of the availability of instructional tools and teaching them to use them will lead to more effective teaching throughout the P-12 environment.

“Educational technology is a must-have for productive and effective teaching now and into the future. With more advancements in artificial intelligence and other technology tools, education will continue to be innovated,” she said. “When students learn anatomy now, there are extended reality tools for visualization and practice. I am confident that we will have more educational technology tools in the future, and teachers need to engage in lifelong learning in technology integration.”

Stepping into the spotlight at Kennesaw State during Women’s History Month, Jin remains grateful to two women who guided her during her doctoral studies at Iowa State University and are almost like family.

“I’m especially grateful for my academic grandmother, Dr. Ann Thompson who is a pioneer in educational technology,” she said. “And I wouldn’t be here without my advisor, Dr. Denise Schmidt-Crawford, who modeled to me how to be an excellent and innovative researcher and teacher.”

Hong Qu - Coles College of Business

Hong Qu’s research is probably best described in one word: collaborative. Qu says her interdisciplinary background has been the key to finding her passion and working with colleagues to grow their research impact.

Qu, an associate professor of accounting in Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business, primarily studies how public financial disclosures affect investor decisions and functioning of the stock market. Additionally, she studies how preparers of financial disclosures are influenced by economics incentives, ethics and social norms. Her work merges insights from accounting, finance and economics.

Qu uses simulated markets to study investors’ processing and usage of public financial disclosures. One of her papers has shown that removing industry jargon from disclosures leads investors to focus more on predicting fundamental values rather than the opinion of others.

In addition to experimental markets and mathematical modeling, Qu also collects surveys to analyze investors’ processing of financial disclosure. One study compares processing of financial disclosure by professional and novice investors.

“Although individual professional investors do not have more accurate stock price forecasts than novice investors in this study, professionals had a much more accurate average prediction as a group because of their diversity in information processing,” Qu said. “In essence, the mistakes of the professionals, who come from varying industries, cancel each other out. This is an example of the importance of a diversity of expertise.”

Qu’s use of multiple research methods and theory across disciplines make her stand out among peers. As a result, she serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Accounting Research, reviewing and considering 25 papers for publication each year that use more than one theory or method. She and two peers from Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were recently recognized for their work with 2023 Referee of the Year Awards.

Her doctoral work at Carnegie Mellon University showed Qu the importance of keeping research open-minded and allowed her to explore multiple research methods to study broader and more existential research questions. At KSU, she’s immersed herself in applying the same thinking by collaborating with colleagues who have expertise in various fields and use diverse research methods.

“I really feel like I’ve found my place here at KSU,” she said. “The synergy I bring is what makes me happy and enjoy my research more. I collaborate with my colleagues, not only in accounting, but in finance and even branching out to other disciplines such as computer science and construction management.”

And just as promoting collaboration and diversity in research makes for a more holistic and informed study, Qu said highlighting women’s research and the many other contributions of women in society is an essential step toward achieving gender equality and inclusion.

“As my research shows, diversity is valuable in uncovering new knowledge,” she said. “Communication facilitates collaboration and helps unleash the full potential of diversity. Showcasing research insights from women researchers is a medium of communication that not only promotes diversity but also creates opportunities to collaborate across disciplines and genders, leveraging its full potential.”

Maria Valero - College of Computing and Software Engineering

Picture a hospital emergency department where wait times are measured in minutes rather than hours, or millions of people with diabetes being able to check their blood sugar level without pricking a finger.

Kennesaw State University researcher Maria Valero has imagined those things, and she, her colleagues and students are working to make them a reality.

Valero leads the Internet of Things as a Service Research Group in the College of Computing and Software Engineering, where faculty and students spend their days thinking of ways to make healthcare more effective and easier for patients.

“You always enjoy the research process more when you know it has the potential to help people,” said Valero, an assistant professor of information technology. “That is something that motivates me more than grant money or prestige.”

In its current research, the group is exploring using wearable technology to help quickly diagnose emergency room visitors to create better outcomes for patients and reduce wait times.

Another major research focus is GlucoCheck, a device that uses light shown through a finger or an ear lobe to determine blood sugar level. Beyond that, Valero’s students have created a mobile phone app, as well as an interface with Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa that can give GlucoCheck users information on how to mitigate blood sugar spikes.

Valero traces her affinity for technology back to her childhood in Venezuela, where she originally dreamed of becoming a writer. When she was 12, her father bought a personal computer she used to transcribe her handwritten stories. She became fascinated with how the machine worked and after high school decided to apply to study computer engineering at Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira. After earning a master’s degree, she returned there to teach, later becoming the first woman to be chair of the computer engineering department.

“It was a relatively new program, and I think I was one of two girls in the second undergraduate class to be admitted,” Valero said. “I got used to being one of the few women or the first woman in my career, though there are many more women in the field now.”

Two women at Kennesaw State became important mentors after Valero’s arrival in 2020. The first was Rebecca Rutherford, then-chair of the Department of Information Technology, who has since retired, and the second is Chi Zhang, professor of information technology.

“Becky was very helpful in guiding me to know who the students are here at Kennesaw State and how to teach them,” Valero said. “Chi has given me lots of good research advice, which has given me a lot of confidence.”

Valero credits her students for her success as a teacher and researcher.

“I love teaching, and students are the real heroes behind successful faculty,” she said. “They are here because they are smart, and if you guide them well, they will succeed. My work and success are because of them.”

Footnotes

Stories by Abbey O'Brien Barrows, Amanda Cook, Ana Johnson, Dave Shelles, Gary Tanner, Kyle Dawson and Thomas Hartwell; Photos by Darnell Wilburn, Judith Pishnery and Matt Yung; Page Design by Thomas Hartwell