Become an ACS Exams Postdoc or Institute Fellow

ACS Exams Postdoctoral Researcher Program

Assessment is a form of measurment, and the Exams Institute is interested in conducting research that helps delineate the nature of the measurements made via ACS Exams. There are two primary forms of fellowships related to the Institute. The most common Fellow is provided to postdoctoral researchers who wish to participate in quantitative research related to measurement. There have been many such fellows over the past several years.

  • John Picione, now a faculty member at Daytona Beach College
  • Karen Knaus, now an independent consultant/researcher
  • Jacob Schroeder, now an instructional faculty member at Clemson University
  • Megan Grunert, now a faculty member at Western Michigan University
  • Mary Emenike, now the Director of STEM Support Programs at Rutgers University
  • Jeff Raker, now a faculty member at the University of South Florida
  • Kimberly Linenberger, now a faculty member at Kennesaw State University
  • Cynthia Luxford, now a faculty member at Texas State University
  • Alexandra Brandriet, now a lecturer at Auburn University
  • Sachel Villafane-Garcia, now a faculty member at CSU Fullerton
  • Jessica Reed, now an independent consultant/researcher
  • Shalini Srinivasan, now a faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Denver
  • Jaclyn Trate, now General Chemistry Coordinator at UW-Madison
  • Sachin Nedungadi, now a faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Omaha
  • David Schreurs, current postdoctoral fellow

To apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, click here.

ACS Exams Institute Fellows Program

We also have fellowships for experienced researchers in assessment who are interested in working with the Exams Institute during a sabbatical. The Theodore Ashford Fellowship provides the 50% funding that most faculty members need to have a full-year sabbatical. The Ashford Fellowship is awarded by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Institute.

Our Ashford Fellows are:

  • Prof. Chris Bauer of the University of New Hampshire, 2010-2011.
  • Prof. Keith Marek of Bemidji State University, 2016-2017.
  • Prof. Thomas Pentecost of Grand Valley State University, 2017-2018.
  • Prof. Olga Michels of Luther College, 2019.
  • Prof. Kelly Neiles of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 2020.
  • Prof. Patricia Kreke of Mount St. Mary’s University, 2020.
  • Prof. Melissa Reeves of Tuskegee University, 2021.
  • Prof. Chrystal Bruce of John Carroll University, 2022.

The main premise of the fellow program is that we provide an atmosphere for creative researchers to expand our understanding of assessment in chemistry.  A number of possible projects exist including:

  • human factors research for computer based testing
  • visualization development for computer-based assessment materials
  • the role of cognitive complexity on test item performance
  • alignment of test items to the content map and guidelines for test development
  • development of new statistical models to understand test performances
  • a correlation between ACS high school exams and state and national educational standards
  • analysis of exam items for psychometric traits (e.g. item-order effects, answer order effects, partial credit via polytomous scoring)

People who become fellows of the Institute have a visiting professor appointment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This provides the normal suite of resources including office space, access to the Internet, equipment, supplies, and the support facilities and access to library services.

If you are interested in discussing the idea of being a fellow at the Institute, you can contact us at kmurphy@uwm.edu.