Texas State University, San Marcos
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

Agriculture
Aditi Angirasa "Production Economics
International Trade
Agricultural Finance
Economic Development"
Dr. Madan Dey "Aquaculture and fisheries economics
Food and agricultural sector modeling
International agricultural development
Agricultural and food policy
Food economics
Agricultural markets and price analysis"
Xiangping Liu "Environmental Evaluation and Policies
Natural Resource Economics and Conservation
Applied Econometrics
Agricultural and Food Policy
Development Economics
Policy Interactions and Policy Conflicts"
Dr. Pratheesh Sudhakaran "Aquaculture and fisheries economics
Food safety economics
Natural resource economics
Experimental economics
Production economics
Consumer behavior"
Dr. Ryan Anderson "Agricultural Education Teacher preparation
Inservice Agricultural Education Teacher needs
STEM in Agricultural Education
Teaching & Learning of Agricultural Mechanics"
Dr. Merrit Drewery "Developmental programming as it relates to nutrition and environment
Optimization of prepubertal programs to increase later-life productivity
Evaluation of novel ingredients in existing livestock production systems
Identification of holistic health treatments to replace antibiotic usage
Interplay between agriculture and human nutrition
Beef and dairy cattle nutrition"
Dr. Tina Waliczek Cade "Human Issues in Horticulture/Horticultural Therapy/Sociohorticulture
Service-learning
Composting
Quality of Life
Invasive Species"
Dr. Ken Mix "Soil Health
Botanical Insecticides
Small Farmers and Ranchers"
Dr. Nicole Wagner "Fruit and vegetable crop production
Applications for the Soil Foodweb"
Anthropology
DR. MONICA SCHOCH-SPANA Culture and politics of disasters and epidemics, National security policy and history, Community resilience to extreme events, Public engagement in policy making
Finance and Economics
Hale, Janet United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainability in triple bottom line, commercial law, applied research on campus, community and IH 35 corridor.
Todd, Jeffrey International Business Law, Legal Environment of Business, Sustainability Law
Dr. Alexis Stokes "Corporate Governance
Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Justice
Securities Regulation and Litigation
Naked Short-Selling
International Commercial Arbitration
Employment Law"
Engineering
Dr. Michelle Londa Energy efficient building and construction, Sustainable concrete, Aliphatic Polyketones, Lightweight composites, Recruitment and retention of women and minorities in STEM, Cooperative education
DR. SANGCHUL "SAN" HWANG Walter Sustainability, Green Infrastructure, Nature-Inspired Engineering
DR. KEISUKE IKEHATA Sustainable water resources management, Advanced water and wastewater treatment, Environmental chemistry and toxicology
DR. TONGDAN JIN Sustainable supply chain operations, Renewable energy policy and market, Product and service integration, Reliability and resilience of engineering and financial systems
DR. TOGAY OZBAKKALOGLU Use of advanced composite materials in design, repair, and strengthening of structures to enhance resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure, Development of resilient and sustainable composite structural systems incorporating bio- and waste-based materials, Development of sustainable waste-based structural concretes using recycled materials.
DR. XIJUN SHI Cementitious Materials Containing Recycled Aggregates, Multifunctional Construction Materials for Smart Infrastructure, Sustainable, High Performance Fiber Reinforced Construction Materials, Concrete Durability
Communication Studies
Dr. Ann E Burnette political campaign rhetoric, the construction of gender in public discourse, historical political debates, and freedom of speech issues
Dr. Elizabeth Kamman Eger "LGBTQ+ Work and Health
Transgender and Queer Communication
Ethnography and Qualitative Inquiry
Organizational Identity and Identification
Rhetorical Criticism and Critical Media Studies
Social Justice, Engaged, and Applied Scholarship
Technology Work and Education Inclusion"
Dr. Joshua Holman Miller His research focuses on how historically excluded people advocacy for inclusion and social change. He has published scholarship on the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQ+ Christian advocacy, and political communication. His works appears in outlines like , , , , and .
Dr. Melinda Villagran Translational Health Research; communication; community health interventions; communication about cancer, end of life; health equity for persons with disabilities, Latinos, women, older adults, women and children; communication training; interdisciplinary teams; research mentoring; student research and service learning opportunities for workforce development
Computer Science
Dr. Ziliang Zong Energy-Efficient Computing and Systems, Green Software Engineering, Cloud Computing, AI, and Sustainable Metaverse
Engineering Technology
Dr. Carlos Moro My research focuses on studying new approaches to create sustainable multifunctional concrete and other cementitious composites. The research highlights the importance of adopting a holistic approach in terms of its life cycle assessment, with three main pillars that should be considered to move towards a zero-impact sustainable concrete: (i) the composite performance, (ii) the impact during production (impact of materials used and potential valorization of wastes), and (iii) the effects during the service life (such as photocatalytic and self-cleaning effect and CO2 uptake).
Geography
Dr. Dane Atkins Research Interests: Human-Environmental Relations, Transportation, Urban Growth
Dr. Denise Blanchard Research Interests: Natural and Environmental Hazards, Economic Geography, Environmental Studies, Research Methods, Historical Geography
Dr. Sarah Blue Research Interests: Political Geography, Urban Studies, Economic Geography, Migration
Dr. Richard Boehm Research Interests: Geographic Education, Economic Geography, Applied Geography
Dr. Nathan Currit Research Interests: Uncertainty and Change in Human-Environment Systems, Remote Sensing and Land-Cover Change
Dr. Rebecca Davio Applied Research in Data-Driven Decision Making, Health & GIS, Customer Service, Policy Analysis, Recycling and Sustainability, and Social and Emotional Learning
Dr. Jennifer Devine Human-Environmental Relations, Latin American - US Politics, Critical Social Theory
Dr. Richard Dixon Research Interests: Climatology, Meteorology, Oceanography, Environmental Geography, Quantitative Methods
Dr. Ron Hagelman Research Interests: Environmental Geography, Hazards and Disasters, Historical Geography, Land Management and Conservation, Urban Environment / Agriculture
Giordano, Alberto Historical GIS, Holocaust and Genocide Geography, Policy Applications of GIScience, Spatial Applications of Forensic Anthropology
Dr. Jennifer Jensen Research Interests: Remote Sensing; Vegetation Mapping and Monitoring; Habitat Modeling; Landscape Ecology; Natural Resource Management; Land Cover Land Use Change; Lidar
Dr. Jason Julian Research Interests: Water Resources, Parks & Protected Places, Land Use Change, Ecosystem Services
Dr. Samantha Krause Research Interests: Soil and Water Geochemistry, Tropical Wetlands, Long Term Paleoenvironmental change
Dr. Yanan (Nancy) Li Research Interests: Glacial Geomorphology, Paleoenvironment reconstruction, Natural Processes in Climate Change
Dr. Robert Mace Research Interests: Water Policy and Science, Water Resources and Conservation, Groundwater Sustainability and Modeling, Climate Change and Water
Dr. Kimberly Meitzen Research Interests: Fluvial Processes and Geomorphology, River Basin Management, Biogeography
Dr. Colleen C. Myles Research Interests: Human-environment Interactions, Cultural and Political Ecology, Qualitative Methods
Dr. Benjamin Prince Research Interests: Conservation Planning, Applied Sustainable Agriculture, Landscape Formation and Visual Media
Dr. Thomas Ptak Research Interests: Energy Transitions & Society, Climate Change & Sustainability, Water Resources & Hydropower, Borders
Dr. Rosalie Ray Research Interests: Sustainable Transportation, Transit Governance, Multi-scalar Planning, and Just Transitions
Dr. Eric Sarmiento Research Interests: Urban Development, Cultural Geography, Political Ecology, Economic Geography, Social Theory, Critical Geographies of Race and Ethnicity
Dr. John Tiefenbacher Research Interests: Global Warming, Climate Change, Spatial Change, Environmental Problems, Geography of Wine, Air Quality, Dissonance, Circus Clowns
Lu, Yongmei GIScience, Urban and Regional Analysis, Health and Medical Geography, Crime Geography
Dr. Christi Townsend Research Interests: Environmental Geography, Geomorphology, Natural Hazards, The Geography of Agriculture and Viticulture, Research Methods
History
Corey Capers His current areas of research focus on race, gender, trauma, and popular culture.
Sarah Coleman Immigration, Race and Rights in the U.S., Public Policy, Social Movements
Casey Nichols African American history, Mexican American history, California and the West, Social Movements, urban history, and political history.
DR. RUBY ORAM She is a social historian of American women and gender, labor, education, and urban reform movements of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Philosophy
Fischer, Bob Animal Ethics, Modal Epistemology, Moral Psychology
Hanks, Craig Philosophy of Technology, Critical Theory, American Pragmatism, Applied Philosophy (including: Environmental Philosophy, Professional Ethics, Bioethics.)
Moses, Greg Nonviolence, Philosophy of Peace, Philosophy of Sustainability, Africana Philosophy, Envirionmental Ethics
Baltzly, Vaughn Bryan Political Philosophy, Political Economy, Applied Ethics (esp: Environmental Ethics)
Williams, Justin Environmental Ethics, Integral Ecology, Biocultural Conservation, Philosophy of Ecology
Lewis, Holly Political Economy, Political Philosophy, Philosoiphy of Technology
Dr. Justin Williams Pan-American Biocultural Conservation, Metaphysical Implications of Ecology and Complexity, EcoPhenomenology: Phenomenology of Waste, Field Environmental Philosophy at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
Political Science
Dr. Thomas Earl Doyle II Nuclear Ethics; Issues relating to Nuclear Weapons and International Legal Institutions; Issues in Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament; International Political Theory; International Relations Theory
Blake Ross Farrar "Texas Local and State Government
Environmental Law"
Dr. Willard M Fields III His research focuses on understanding the key elements of resilient communities. He is the lead author of the Adaptation Urbanism and Resilient Communities (Routledge 2021) and co-editor of (Island Press 2013). He directs the International Sustainable Transportation Engagement Program, an annual study abroad program in the Netherlands exploring best practices in active transportation.
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Dr. Neil W Kucera" "Criminal Law and Procedure
Environmental Law
Environmental Compliance
Energy Resource Management
World Geography"
Rangarajan, Nandhini Creativity and innovation, organizational behavior, public management, public human resource management, public affairs education and sustainability in public affairs.
Dr. Dianne Rahm Areas of Interest: Environmental Policy, Energy Policy, Science & Technology Policy, Public Policy Formulation and Implementation, Public Administration
Health and Human Performance
Dr. Anthony Deringer Recent research project topics include mindfulness in outdoor recreation, nature connection, and virtual nature experiences.
Social Work
Dr. Angela Ausbrooks, LMSW Dr. Ausbrooks’ research interests include resilience, trauma, child welfare, juvenile criminal justice issues, and multiculturalism. She has extensive knowledge of the child welfare system, and has conducted numerous presentations on trauma, resilience, human development, and multicultural awareness.
Dr. Shinwoo Choi, MSSW Dr. Choi’s research interests are twofold: 1) to examine the detrimental effects of racial microaggressions among racial minority individuals and coping mechanisms, and 2) to explore the challenges in terms of natural disaster preparedness among individuals with vulnerabilities such as mental/physical health challenges, language barrier, and lack of resources due to poverty.
Dr. Catherine Hawkins, LCSW She is interested in issues of sustainability and human trafficking, as well as spirituality in social work and international social wor
Sociology
Dr. Beatriz Aldana Marquez My research focuses on Latinx Sociology, immigration and deportation, and theory broadly defined. Specifically, I am interested in racial formation theory to address the impacts of deportation on vulnerable communities in the United States. In the past, I conducted a three-year ethnographic study on the charro (Mexican cowboy) using the framework of Thorstein Veblen to address issues of race, class, and gende
Dr. Matthew T Clement In my research, I focus on two general questions pertaining to human-environment interactions: How does modern development transform and respond to changes in the built and natural environments, and what role does urbanization play in this process?
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Dr. Michelle Lynn Edwards" My research interests are related to environmental concerns, risk perceptions, perceptions of science, social inequality, and quantitative and qualitative methods. Past research studies have included a qualitative study of community organizers for farmworkers in Texas, a survey of Washington and Nebraska residents on water governance issues, and a qualitative study of stakeholder perceptions of risk related to hydraulic fracturing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. I have recently worked with Hannah Edwards (now a Ph.D. student at University of Colorado-Boulder) and Briana Luna (now a DPT student at UTSA) on a study of how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process is implemented for immigrant detention centers. I am also working on a research project with Hannah Edwards and Caden Ziegler (a current Texas State undergraduate student) exploring the views of people who are involved in organizing and implementing environmental training programs in prisons.
Dr. Patti Giuffre My research areas are work and occupations, gender, sexuality, and qualitative methods. I have conducted research on gender inequality at work, sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination, and experiences of LGBTQ workers in “gay-friendly” workplaces. In 2015, Dr. Deborah Harris and I published a book on gender inequality in the culinary industry: Taking the Heat: Women Chefs and Gender Inequality in the Professional Kitchen (with Rutgers University Press) and we have a new article published on #Metoo in the Restaurant Industry. Most recently, Dr. Gretchen Webber and I have published articles about women's work relationships with other women and on our new study about gendered messages and stereotypes in popular press books that offer advice to women about being successful at work (for example, Lean In, Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office, Own It, and How Women Rise).
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Dr. Debarun Majumdar" Immigration, health and well-being of marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community.
Dr. Rachel Romero My research interests are interdisciplinary, qualitative driven, and focus on culture. I have researched gentrification, Austin’s street art scene, urban farming, and student teaching and learning. More recently, I’ve been interested in arts-based methods, social settings that promote creativity, and the story of my . My research has been published in journals such as , , and .
Harris, Deborah A. Qualitative Methods, Sociology of Food, Stratification & Inequality
Pino, Nathan Criminology, Delinquency, Development, Deviance
Price, Bob Political Sociology, Technology & Social Change, Urban Sociology
Dr. Chad Smith My main line of research focuses upon the intersection of the environment, the military, and social inequality. Gregory Hooks and I developed the theory known as the Treadmill of Destruction and it continues to be my main area of research. I also work on research related to social inequality and substance use.
Management
Dr. Rexford Draman Sustainable enterprise, sustainable business modeling
Biology
Bonner, Timothy "
Fish Management, Ichthyology"
Castro-Arellano, Ivan Wildlife Ecology
Dutton, Jessica " Aquatic Toxicology "
Fritts, Sarah Wildlife Ecology
Gabor, Caitlin Behavioral Ecology, Conservation Physiology
Green, Clay "
Wildlife Ecology, Ornithology"
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Thomas Hardy" Instream Flow Assessment Methodologies, Multidisciplinary Assessment Methods for Watershed Planning, Remote Sensing of Aquatic and Riparian Corridors, Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics
David Lemke Flora of Texas, Systematic plant anatomy, Floral and foliar scent production in carrion flowers, Biology of aquatic plants
Martin, Noland "
Plant Speciation & Natural Hybridization"
Jason Martina Wetland Ecology, Plant Ecology, Invasion Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Restoration Ecology
Nowlin, Weston Aquatic Community and Ecosystem Ecology
Schwalb, Astrid " Stream Ecology"
Schwartz, Benjamin " Karst Hydrogeology"
Schwinning, Susan Plant Ecology
Serenari, Chris Human Dimensions of Wildlife
Veech, Joseph Ecology, Biogeography, Conservation Biology
Weckerly, Floyd Wildlife Ecology
Williamson, Paula Conservation Biology
Curriculum & Instruction
Dr. Yun-Wen Chan Yun-Wen Chan is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University. Her research focuses on environmental citizenship, which is located at the intersection of sustainability education and civic education. Her academic training began with a focus on moral dilemmas and ethical issues. She now continues to investigate these trenchant domains, but specifically within the realm of sustainability, she asks how to balance human and natural needs, how cultural orientations and economic pressures interact, and where education fits in mediating these challenges. Chan is committed to promoting environmental controversies deliberations in educational settings. She has experience working with teachers and students in the United States, Taiwan, and China.
Family and Consumer Sciences
Ahn, Mira Housing and Environment, Housing for the elderly, Aging in community, Perceptions and behavior of older residents
Hegde Neizgoda, Asha Latah Sustainable Interior Design and Energy Conservation Lighting Design
Hustvedt, Gwendolyn Textiles, Chemistry, Sustainability, Consumer Science, Household or Wearable Technology, Survey Research, Behavioral Economics

Total number of employees who conduct research was determined by reviewing the policy and procedure statement that classify research faculty appointments. A final count of employees who are full time, tenure, and/or tenure-track was provided by department chairs and deans as those classifications require individuals to be producing research https://policies.txst.edu/division-policies/academic-affairs/04-01-21.html

Each academic department that offers sustainability inclusive and sustainability focused courses were reviewed and noted. The reporter reviewed each faculty member of those reported departments and reviewed recently published works and affiliated research interests and topics.
The reporter used the same definitions used to classify sustainability-inclusive courses and sustainability-focused courses in order to identify if faculty members are producing research in the realm of sustainability.

Sustainability Focused Courses
For courses to be counted towards the sustainability focused curriculum, the course title and/or description must include primary attention to sustainability. This includes courses that have explicitly defined and addressed the pillars of sustainable development (environmental, equity, and economic), discuss and/or are related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and/or have explicitly defined the course as relating to the ecological and social or economic system as it relates to sustainability issues.

Sustainability Inclusive Courses
For courses to be counted towards the sustainability inclusive focused curriculum, the course descriptions must include a unit/module on sustainable development and/or addressing sustainability issues (food insecurity, infrastructure development, poverty, waste management, education, gender equity, mental & physical health and wellbeing, quality education, land preservation and conservation, climate change, etc.).