Coral snake venom, robots, digital circuit simulation, chemical communication
between elephants, large ring lasers, algebraic number theory, green chemistry,
science education, sleep and sleepiness, animal behavior, elementary particles and
fields, the structure of the universe. These are just a few of the subjects that
interest Hendrix faculty and a sample of the areas that faculty members and their
students are exploring with the goals of expanding knowledge and increasing understanding.
Scan the list below to see what interests you and click the professor’s name to
learn more.
Carl Burch
Associate Professor of Computer Science and Natural Sciences Area Chair
Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
Research interest: Digital circuit simulation, started open-source project called
Logisim
Chris Camfield
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Ph.D., University of Cincinnati
Research interests: Analysis on Metric Spaces, Geometric Measure Theory, Image and
Data Analysis.
Duff Campbell
Professor of Mathematics
Ph.D., Boston University
Research interest: Algebraic number theory
Andres A. Caro
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Buenos Aires
Research interest: The biochemical mechanisms by which alcoholic beverages produce
liver damage.
Jennifer L. Dearolf
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Cornell University
Research interest: Muscle form and function in cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and
porpoises), guinea pigs and other mammals.
Andrea A. Duina
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph. D., Northwestern University
Research interest: Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression
of genes in living cells
Robert W. Dunn
Professor of Physics and Senior Research Fellow
Ph.D., University of New Mexico
Research interest: Hendrix College Ring Laser Undergraduate Research Project
Gabriel J. Ferrer
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Ph.D., University of Virginia
Research interest: Robotics, software specification and verification
Thomas E. Goodwin
Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Arkansas
Research interest: Chemical communication in threatened or endangered mammalian
species, green organic chemistry experiments, synthesis that supports biomedical
research on warfarin, an anticoagulant
Liz U. Gron
Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Research interest: Development of green chemical reactions and green pedagogical
materials as well as increasing the public’s understanding of the power of green
chemistry.
David A. Hales
Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley
Research interest: Ionized molecules and their reactions
George Harper
Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Research interest: The evolution and ecology of a number of reptile species, focusing
on coralsnake mimicry, coralsnake and copperhead venom, and queen snakes in Arkansas
Courtney Hatch
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Colorado
Research interest: The effects of natural aerosols on the Earth system
J. Brett Hill
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Ph.D., Arizona State University
Research interests: Using GIS to address questions of human ecology; ancient environmental
degradation in desert regions
Dionne Bennett Jackson
Assistant Professor of Education
Ed.D., Baylor University
Research interest: Science teaching and the professional development of science
teachers
James M. Jennings
Professor of Education and History
Ed.D., Vanderbilt University
Research interest: The Above the Line Project, testing the effectiveness of research-based
instructional strategies in regular classroom settings in high-poverty, low-performing
areas
Lindsay A. Kennedy
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research interest: Health-related decision making, positive psychology, and the
interplay between emotions and cognitions
Randall A. Kopper
Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Kansas
Research interest: Coralsnake venom and what drives the evolution of enzymes and
other compounds within venom
Christopher C. Marvin
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research interest: Developing “greener” methods to form carbon-carbon bonds, studying
ways to use catalysts to harness light energy to drive chemical reactions
Matthew D. Moran
Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Delaware
Research interest: how ecological interactions and evolutionary history affects
the structure of natural communities
Richard C. Murray
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Western Ontario
Research interest: The Mammalian nervous system
Jennifer Penner
Julia Mobley Odyssey Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
Research interest: As a researcher in the area of comparative psychology and animal
behavior, I am interested in the behavioral and cognitive adaptations that underlie
behavior and decision-making in humans and non-human animals.
Jennifer J. Peszka
Julia Mobley Odyssey Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi
Research interest: Sleep and sleepiness, cognitive processing during sleep onset
Andrew M. Schurko
Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Manitoba
Research Interest: Molecular evolutionary and expresison analysis of meiosis-related
genes in diverse organisms.
Damon Spayde
Dr. Brad P. Baltz & Rev. William B. Smith Odyssey Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., University of Maryland
Research interest: Using experimental nuclear physics to probe fundamental properties
of the universe
Tom D. Stanley
Professor of Economics and Business
Ph.D., Purdue University
Research interest: The synthesis and explanation of all areas of economics research
using meta-regression analysis.
David Sutherland
Associate Provost and Professor of Mathematics
Ph.D., University of North Texas
Research interest: Combinatorics
Todd A. Tinsley
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Research interest: Theoretical physicist studying elementary particles and fields
Ann Willyard
Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Oregon State University
Research interest: Ancient hybridization events among distantly related plant species
Ann Wright
Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Research interest: Measurement techniques and sensors, robots
Leslie Zorwick
Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., The Ohio State University
Research interest: How people are influenced by the presence and absence of group
stereotypes and how a person's sense of identification with social groups affects
behavior and a sense of self.