About Us

James C. Kaufman, Ph.D.
Founding Director of the Learning Research Institute
Associate Professor of Psychology

jamesckaufman.com

Office: SB-429
Phone: 909-537-3841
Email: jkaufman@csusb.edu

Brief Bio:

James C. Kaufman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the California State University at San Bernardino, where he directs the Learning Research Institute. Dr. Kaufman's research focuses on the nurturance, structure, and assessment of creativity.  Kaufman is the author or editor of 15 books either published or in press.  These include Creativity 101 (Springer, 2009); International Handbook of Creativity (with Sternberg; Cambridge, 2006), and Applied Intelligence (with Sternberg and Elena Grigorenko; Cambridge, 2008).  His research has been featured on CNN, NPR, The New York Times, New Yorker, and the BBC. Kaufman is a founding co-editor of the official journal for the American Psychological Association's Division 10, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and the editor of International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving. He is also the Associate Editor of Psychological Assessment and Journal of Creativity He received the 2003 Daniel E. Berlyne Award from APA's Division 10, the 2008 E. Paul Torrance Award from the National Association of Gifted Children, and the 2009 Western Psychological Association's Early Career Research Award.

View Curriculum Vita in PDF

Mark D. Agars, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Professor of Psychology

Office: SB-532
Phone: 909-537-5433
Email: magars@csusb.edu
Curriculum Vita: Mark Agars' Website

Dr. Agars is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist with research interests in gender and diversity issues, social-cognitive mechanisms of performance and evaluation, and contextual predictors of creativity and innovation. He began working with the LRI as a research consultant in 2004, and has partnered with the Dr. Kaufman on the Student Success Project, motivation research, and numerous other projects. In 2007 he became Associate Director of the LRI.

Susan Daniels, Ph. D.
Research Associate
Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling in the College of Education

Susan Daniels is faculty in the College of Education with research interests in creativity, teacher education, and learning. Her areas of expertise include the psychology and development of gifted and talented children, nurturing creativity in the classroom, and both problem- and project-based learning in K-16 education.

Mihaela Popescu, Ph. D.
Research Associate
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies

Dr. Popescu is a media scholar and sociologist. Her research interests include online risk, digital literacy, distributed learning and digital media regulation. She has published in the areas of First Amendment and risk-based governance. She is currently working on several projects related to learning in online contexts.