Dr. Laith Al-Shawaf, Assistant Professor of Psychology, was recently recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Association for Psychological Science (APS). From the association’s website, “The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding APS members in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD. … this designation recognizes researchers whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions.” (https://www.psychologicalscience.org/members/awards-and-honors/aps-rising-stars). Selection as a Rising Star involves evaluation of a candidate’s publications, previous recognitions, substantive contributions to the field of research, and the potential for broad impact.
Dr. Al-Shawaf joined the Psychology department in 2017. He studies emotion, cognitive bias, personality and individual differences, and mating behavior from an evolutionary framework. He received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Texas – Austin in 2014 and was at Bilkent University in Turkey and the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin before joining UCCS. In addition to conducting research and supervising students, both undergraduate and graduate, Dr. Al-Shawaf teaches courses in Evolutionary Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, Contemporary Issues in Psychology, as well as General Psychology.