Collaborative Research Groups

Marcus Holmes

Professor Holmes leads the PPIR lab group. His lab uses a psychological, including social and neuroscientific, approach to address the security, economic, and environmental challenges that arise from global interconnectedness. They use experiments and other methods to tackle difficult questions in international politics, including the dynamics of diplomacy, international negotiations, and perceptions of security threats.

Paul Manna

The research of Professor Manna and his team focuses on state government institutions and bureaucratic arrangements that are designed to adopt and then carry out elementary and secondary education policy in the nation’s public schools.  Scholars and practitioners alike refer to this broad area as “state education governance.”  Two particular research questions under study are: Is voter turnout in elections for state education chief associated with the quality of state policy and student outcomes?  How can state policies influence the supply of excellent principals in a state’s schools?

Jaime Settle

Jaime Settle leads the SNaPP Lab, a collaborative research group motivated by puzzles that explore the biological, psychological, and social underpinnings of political behavior.  Each year, students simultaneously work on an independent portfolio or research project while contributing to an ongoing project in the lab related to Prof. Settle’s active research agenda. The goal of the SNaPP Lab experience is to enable students to develop the analytical, methodological and writing skills necessary to successfully execute a high-quality independent research project before they graduate and plan for and attain post-graduation opportunities that utilize those skills.

Maurits van der Veen

Maurits van der Veen leads the STAIR Lab that uses text mining and machine learning tools to analyze and address political issues, with a particular focus on international relations. Students work on ongoing projects in the lab and also contribute their own ideas for new questions or issues to explore on their own or collaboratively. The goal of the lab is to advance the state of knowledge in the field, while simultaneously providing students with the training and skills to pursue their own independent research and preparing them for post-graduate opportunities.