News

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dean Keith Simonton was recently elected to the presidency of the Society for the History of Psychology, which constitutes Division 26 of the American Psychological Association. He will serve as President-Elect in 2022, President in 2023, and Past-President in 2024, and will deliver his Presidential Address at the APA Convention in Washington DC. The address will focus on his distinctive metascientific approach in which the history of psychology is examined via the psychology of science, thereby more tightly integrating the subdisciplines.

The National Institute of Aging and NIH Office of Behavioral Social Sciences Research recently funded a 2-year, $1.25 million grant on "Prairie voles as a novel model for the effects of pair bonds on aging". The Principal Investigators are Drs. Karen Bales from the Department of Psychology and Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior (NPB) and Karen Ryan of NPB. Co-investigators are Drs. Emilio Ferrer, Camelia Hostinar, and Adele Seelke of Psychology.

Professor Karen Bales (Psychology Department) and Professor Melissa Bauman (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) received a 2021 Research Investments in Cannabis and Hemp (RICH) grant from the UC Davis Office of Research. The team is one of three to win a $20,000 award. Winners were chosen based on "potential for future discovery and innovation, scientific merit and impact on society and sustainability."

Professor and Department Chair Susan Rivera was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). The IACC is a federal advisory committee composed of public stakeholders and federal officials that coordinates federal activities concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and provides advice to the HHS Secretary on issues related to autism.

Professor Lisa Oakes was announced as the winner of the prestigious "Eleanor Maccoby" Book Award from the American Psychological Association Developmental Psychology Division for 2022. The Maccoby Award honors a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on developmental psychology.

The Boyd McCandless Award recognizes a young scientist who has made a distinguished theoretical contribution to developmental psychology, has conducted programmatic research of distinction, or has made a distinguished contribution to the dissemination of developmental science.

The UC Davis Psychology Department has been ranked #24 in the world, #18 in the United States and #9 among Psychology departments at public U.S.

Dr. Katharine Graf Estes, Associate Professor of Psychology, received a 2021 Teaching Award from the UC Davis College of Letters and Science. This award aims to recognize outstanding teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level, inside and outside the classroom, including activities such as running laboratories, guiding research, professionalization, and assistance with the job market.

Dr. Priscilla San Souci, Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, received a 2021 Distinguished Teaching Award from the UC Davis College of Letters and Science. This award aims to recognize outstanding teaching performance. Dr.

Professor Karen Bales was recently awarded the "Exemplar Award" from the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) at Indiana University. This award "recognizes the careers of scientists who set outstanding examples of integrating different perspectives in the study of Animal Behavior." She was invited to give the Exemplar Award/Plenary talk at the Center's annual conference on Animal Behavior.