Kim Twist
Associate ProfessorPolitical ScienceCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
European politics, extremism, far-right parties, the European Union, populism, immigration, public opinion and British politics.
Experts Directory
The San Diego State University Experts Directory is a rolodex for reporters, designed to assist journalists in their search for subject-matter experts on a variety of topics and academic research areas.
For Faculty Interested in Joining the Experts Directory
Faculty interested in joining the Experts Directory are encouraged to contact Senior Director of Media Relations Cory Marshall ([email protected]) for more information.
For Media Seeking an Interview
For questions or assistance in coordinating an interview with one of the university’s subject-matter experts, please contact a member of the SDSU media relations team.
Emilio Ulloa
Professor and Associate Chief Diversity Office for HSI and Regional AffairsPsychologyCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) initiatives and topics, youth violence, intimate partner violence, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, CSEC, commercial sexual exploitation of children, dating violence, partner abuse, Latino/as (Chicana/os), minorities, undergraduate student success, research that aims to understand the risk factors associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), also known as the sex trafficking of minors/adolescents, research on the development of undergraduates, entry into graduate school, and ethnic minorities in graduate school.
Devanshi Unadkat
Assistant ProfessorSchool of Teacher EducationCollege of EducationSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Literacy theories, teaching, and learning; digital media and literacy; critical literacy; Anti-bias education, Qualitative research methods, Mixed Methods research
Rich Underwood
LecturerSchool of Theatre, Television & FilmCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Advertising, branded content, cinematography, directing visual media, documentary production, filmmaking, marketing and television news photojournalism.
Naveen Vaidya
ProfessorMathematics and StatisticsCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Applied mathematics, with specific areas of interest in mathematical biology (viral dynamics and immune systems, epidemiology, and ecology), mathematical and computational modeling, differential equations, dynamical systems, optimal control, biostatistics, and machine learning.
Faramarz Valafar
ProfessorSchool of Public HealthCollege of Health and Human ServicesSDSU[email protected]619-594-3742Area of Expertise
Predicting and preventing spread of H1N1 flu virus, managing pandemics, bioinformatics, medical informatics, and cheminformatics.
Marissa Vasquez
Associate Director, Community College Equity Assessment Lab, Department Chair and ProfessorAdministration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary EducationCollege of EducationSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Community college transfer students; undergraduate research and Latinx college students.
Ira Vouk
LecturerL. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism ManagementCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSDSU[email protected]619-206-1758Area of Expertise
Technology and AI in hospitality and travel, hospitality industry, hotel revenue management, pricing and market intelligence.
Robert Vryheid
Adjunct Associate ProfessorSchool of Public HealthCollege of Health and Human ServicesSDSU[email protected]619-463-1266Area of Expertise
Malaria, Thailand, Cambodia, avian influenza, coronavirus transmission and prevention
Scott Walter
DeanUniversity LibrarySDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Libraries, Librarians and Information Literacy.
Minjuan Wang
ProfessorSchool of Journalism and Media StudiesCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSDSU[email protected]619-594-3878Area of Expertise
Learning across the Metaverse, Cross-Reality (XR) and Immersive Learning, AI in education, and the sociocultural aspects of learning design and the use of technology. Methods of inquiry, designing and developing training for the global audience, mobile learning design, and emerging trends in learning design and technologies.
Sandra Wawrytko
ProfessorPhilosophyCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]619-594-4428Area of Expertise
Buddhist and Daoist philosophy, Asian aesthetics, the neuroscience of Buddhism and global philosphies.
Fridolin Weber
Department Chair, ProfessorPhysicsCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]619-594-0239Area of Expertise
Theoretical astrophysics, neutron stars, pulsars, general relativity and dense matter.
Shirley Weber
Professor Emerita, Distinguished Faculty member, Current California Secretary of StateAfricana StudiesCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected](916) 653-6814Area of Expertise
Co-founder of the Africana Studies Department, co-founder of the W.E.B. DuBois Leadership Institute for Young Black Scholars. Africana studies, African culture and ethnicity.
John Weeks
Distinguished Professor EmeritusGeographyCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]; [email protected]619-594-8040Area of Expertise
Population, census, spatial statistics and demographics.
Kristen Wells
Professor, Co-Director of SDSU HealthLINK CenterPsychologyCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]619-594-1919Area of Expertise
Improving the quality of healthcare delivered to underserved populations; the development, implementation, and testing og patient navigation interventions to improve access to care related to cancer, HIV prevention, suicide prevention, and COVID-19 vaccination, among diverse and minoritized populations; mobile sensing technologies and data to understand medication-taking behaviors, predict individual risk factors, and deliver interventions to improve adherence that are needed by the individual at the optimal time, place, and in the optimal context; cancer disparities, cancer care, patient navigation, mobile sensing, medication adherence, HIV prevention, suicide prevention and COVID-19 vaccination.
Bill Welsh
ProfessorAstronomyCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]619-594-2288Area of Expertise
Astronomy, astrophysics, planets, extrasolar planets, exoplanets, Kepler Mission and astrobiology.
Aaron Wester
LecturerFowler School of BusinessMIS (Management Information Systems)SDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Statistics, Database Management, User Experience Design, Decision Science powered by Artificial Intelligence, Data modeling, Organizational Leadership, Technology, Digital Marketing, IOT/M2M, management information systems, VR integration
Wil Weston
Librarian, Head of Collection ManagementUniversity LibrarySDSU[email protected]619-594-6988Area of Expertise
Library management, acquisitions, and development of library collections. Information seeking behavior, online research behavior, student retention, student success and student persistence.
Jess Whatcott
Associate ProfessorWomen's, Gender, and Sexuality StudiesCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Disability history, institutionalization, eugenics, prison history, California history, speculative fiction, Octavia Butler, abolition and transformative justice.
Roy Whitaker
Associate Professor and Undergraduate AdvisorDepartment for the Study of ReligionCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Philosophy of Religion; New, Emergent, and Alternative Religions; Comparative Religion and Philosophy; Global Philosophies; Hip Hop Culture and Music
Andrew Wiese
Professor EmeritusHistoryCollege of Arts and LettersSDSU[email protected]619-594-5262Area of Expertise
American urban and social history
Jillian Lee Wiggins
ProfessorPsychologyCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]619-594-2188Area of Expertise
Brain imaging (functional MRI) research with children/adolescents who have social-emotional mental disorders (i.e., severe tantrums, depression, anxiety), MRI, anxiety, and depression in children.
Shiloh A. Williams
Assistant Professor, Nursing Leadership ProgramSchool of NursingCollege of Health and Human ServicesSDSU Imperial Valley[email protected]Area of Expertise
health literacy, nursing, rural health, health care administration, nursing leadership, social determinants of health, rural health policy, rural-border health
Carl Winston
DirectorL. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism ManagementCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSDSU[email protected]; [email protected]619-594-5254Area of Expertise
Hospitality & tourism, hotel operations, meetings and events, restaurant operations, tribal gaming, holiday travel tips
Susan Woodruff
Professor EmeritaSchool of Social WorkCollege of Health and Human ServicesSDSU[email protected]619-594-3475Area of Expertise
screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), a public health harm-reduction approach to reducing alcohol and drug use.
Ann Woods
LecturerSchool of Art + DesignCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSDSU[email protected]619-594-5918Area of Expertise
Historic preservation, architecture
Tianying Wu
Associate ProfessorSchool of Public HealthCollege of Health and Human ServicesSDSU[email protected]619-594-0969Area of Expertise
Molecular and nutritional epidemiology; individualized nutrition; precision medicine; red meat and dietary acid load; hypoxia; cancer survival; climate changes; aging-related disorders; health disparities between Asians and non-Asians; secondhand and past smoking, complementary and alternative medicine.
Tao Xie
ProfessorComputer ScienceCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]Area of Expertise
Storage systems, high-performance computing, energy-efficient storage systems, security-aware scheduling, cluster and Grid computing and parallel and distributed systems.
Xiaofeng Xu
Associate ProfessorBiologyCollege of SciencesSDSU[email protected]619-594-2279Area of Expertise
How global change affects terrestrial ecosystems and how terrestrial ecosystems feed back to the climate system by using a modeling approach. Global change, climate warming, soil and trace gas.
