I’m passionate about undergraduate research because I’ve seen firsthand how it transforms lives. Just as important, I’ve seen how young scholars greatly contribute to successful research projects.

The influence of students was central when my co-PI partners Christopher Bader, Edward Day and I first developed the Chapman University Survey of American Fears, an in-depth examination into the fears of average Americans. Undergraduates helped launch and are still involved in our ongoing study, which has been featured by more than 1,000 print and broadcast media outlets and is at the heart of our new book “Fear Itself: The Causes and Consequences of Fear in America,” published by NYU Press.

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