Ph.D.

UConn Receives $435,000 Grant to Create Particle Board with Recycled Carpeting; School of Business’ MBA Students Will Perform Marketing Viability Study

Posted on by Claire Hall

2015-03-02_care-slaThe University of Connecticut’s School of Engineering and the Institute of Materials Science have received a $435,000 research grant to develop products made from particle board containing recycled carpeting. Approximately $100,000 will be apportioned to the UConn School of Business to perform an economic and market analysis for these new products, which are targeted to the construction industry.

Richard Parness, Ph.D., a UConn faculty member in the Polymer Program of Institute of Material Sciences will develop and test the products, in conjunction with colleagues Ioulia Valla and George Bollas. Parness has tremendous expertise in this field, having patented other particle board while at UConn.

The grant is sponsored by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), whose purpose is to develop market-based solutions for recycling and reusing post-consumer carpet. In 2013, some 3.7 billion pounds of carpeting was sent to landfills. Since then, CARE members have been successful in diverting more than 3.25 billion pounds of carpeting from landfills in the U.S., according to Robert Peoples, Ph.D., and CARE executive director. Because of its complex fabric and chemical makeup, recycling of carpet is particularly complex.

The UConn School of Business marketing analysis will be carried out by graduate students in the Stamford Learning Accelerator (SLA), said Brian Brady, SLA Director and co-investigator of the grant. “MBA students will be assessing the market opportunity for these new products, and will help identify optimal target customers and develop a pricing- and distribution- strategy. We are excited about the potential of patented particle board products incorporating post-consumer carpeting as one solution in aiding the sustainability efforts of CARE.”

The research will begin this summer and will take approximately a year.

“The fact that UConn was selected for this project is exciting,” Brady said. “This grant is substantial, and represents a cross-disciplinary effort between the School of Business and the School of Engineering and is a further example of the ongoing collaboration between both. We are excited to work with CARE, Dr. Parnas and his colleagues on this project in hopes that UConn’s efforts can help play a role in improving our environment and local communities.”

UConn Marketing Professor, Colleague Find that Merchants Can Use In-Store “Showrooming’’ to Boost Online Sales

Posted on by Claire Hall

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Most consumers today split their shopping experiences between traditional brick-and-mortar stores and internet purchases. But if you believe that traditional, in-store browsing is facing extinction, think again.

In fact, it is often a trip to the mall or shopping center that gives consumers the confidence they need to buy similar, or more upscale, items online, according to research conducted by UConn Assistant Professor Jane Gu and her colleague, Giri Tayi, from the State University of New York at Albany.Continue Reading

‘The Doors are Open to Anyone with Ideas’ University Leaders Say that Student Entrepreneurship is on the Fast Track

Posted on by Claire Hall

When Management Professor Rich Dino started a course that helps non-business majors write a business plan, it filled almost instantly. He scheduled two more classes, and the same thing happened.

“This semester I have students majoring in everything from physics to music, and their different views enhance the class,” Dino said. “The doors are open to anyone with ideas.”Continue Reading

Invitation to Apply for the UConn McNair Fellows Program

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The McNair Fellows Program for Rising Sophomores and Rising Juniors

The McNair Scholars Program prepares talented, highly motivated UConn undergraduate students for doctoral studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. As part of UConn’s TRIO programs, McNair is open to low-income, first-generation college students or those from populations underrepresented in STEM graduate fields who are seeking to pursue a Ph.D.

Students who are currently freshmen (rising sophomores) or sophomores (rising juniors) can apply for this two week residency program, which will begin immediately after the end of the spring semester. Students will gain research experience while learning about:

  • STEM Ph.D. career avenues
  • Undergraduate research opportunities
  • The more research-intensive McNair Scholars Program

McNair Fellows reside on the Storrs campus, shadow STEM researchers, and engage in academic writing and presentation exercises.

For more information, please contact Dr. Renée Gilberti at renee.gilberti@uconn.edu. Application materials are available now.  Students at the Storrs campus and regional campuses are encouraged to apply.

To learn more please visit the McNair Fellows Program and the McNair Scholars Program.

>>Application and requirements

Report Finds “Conflicts of Interest” Have No Effect on FDA Advisory Committee Votes

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Policy and Medicine – Stringent conflicts-of-interest policies keep many experts off of FDA advisory committees. A new study suggests that the fear of pro-industry bias underlying these policies may be misplaced, and also serves to keep highly qualified candidates off of these committees.

James C. Cooper, director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason Law School and Joseph Golec, professor of Finance of the University of Connecticut, who conducted the study, sought to compare conflicted members’ voting patterns with objective criteria. They found that decisions by advisory committees with conflicted members to recommend drugs were more likely to be consistent with both the ultimate FDA decision as well as stock market predictions than non-conflicted advisory committees and members.

Doctoral Student Margaret Luciano Wins Scholarships for Work on Employee Dynamics in Hospital Patient “Handoffs”

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno
Margaret Luciano
Margaret Luciano

Margaret (“Maggie’’) Luciano, a doctoral candidate at the UConn School of Business, has been awarded two scholarships in recent months recognizing her achievements in the field of organizational behavior.

The Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) Lee Hakel Graduate Student Scholarship recognizes achievement in a graduate career and is intended to assist doctoral students in the field of industrial and organizational psychology with the costs of carrying out their dissertation work. She received the award in January.

It is the second recognition for Luciano, who, late last year also received an award from the Society for Human Resources Management for her dissertation proposal. She was selected as one of four promising researchers.

Her dissertation research focuses on understanding and improving cross-unit coordination between hospital units, and the dynamics between such groups.

She has investigated patient “handoffs’’ as they move from surgery to a recovery room. During baseline assessments, upwards of 20 percent of these handoffs were found to be lacking in one or more important ways, jeopardizing patient care.

“Margaret’s dissertation is a stellar example of cutting-edge applied research,’’ said John Mathieu, professor of management and Luciano’s adviser. “Conceptually, Margaret tests theoretical questions concerning the integration of employees’ individual differences and how they combine to perform interdependent actions. Practically, she devised and implemented a work process improvement which essentially orchestrated how different parties should function during these handoffs.’’

“Her dissertation represented a serious organizational change for the hospital, involving everyone from top management to the nurses and doctors performing the handoffs. Her field experiment revealed that her intervention reduced the percentage of problematic handoffs to approximately 4 to 5 percent—a 75 percent decrease from baseline,’’ Mathieu said.

Both the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP) awarded her competitive research grants on the basis of her proposed work. The criteria for both awards are that the work should advance both the science of human behavior in organizations, while also advancing practice and human welfare, Mathieu said.

Her research on these and related topics has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology and other peer-reviewed journals.

Luciano will join the management faculty at Arizona State University after completing her doctoral program at UConn. She earned her bachelors degree in psychology in 2009 and her MBA in 2010, both from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Professors Gilson, Mathieu Win Best Paper Awards

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Faculty and Ph.D. students in the School of Business’ management department have been selected for two prestigious awards in recent weeks.

Gilson, MathieuThe Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (JOOP) recently recognized a paper titled “Unpacking the Cross-level Effects of Tenure Diversity, Explicit Knowledge, and Knowledge Sharing on Individual Creativity,” as Best Paper for 2013. The paper was co-authored by UConn graduate students Margaret Luciano and Hyoun Sook Lim and Professor of Management Lucy Gilson. Continue Reading