People
David E. Copeland – Associate Professor
David earned his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on memory representations in long-term memory and working memory, as well as human reasoning processes.
David is currently the Undergraduate Director in Psychology at UNLV. He has earned the UNLV College of Liberal Arts William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching, was recognized as an Outstanding Mentor by the UNLV Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), and was awarded the UNLV Outstanding Student Organization Advisor of the Year for his work with Psi Chi (the international honor society in psychology) and Psychology Club.
David has been invited to speak on issues relating to memory, cognition, and student development for professional organizations, the Las Vegas Science and Technology Festival, teacher workshops, and advanced placement courses in the Clark County School District. In addition, he has also been invited to speak at national and regional psychology conferences and for numerous UNLV campus events including faculty development workshops, research fairs, and student organization meetings.
Courses Taught:
- PSY 101 / HON 201 General Psychology
- PSY 200 Introduction to the Psychology Major
- PSY 240 Research Methods
- PSY 316 Cognitive Psychology
- PSY 703 Graduate Cognitive Psychology
- PSY 717 Graduate Cognitive Methods
Amber Williams – Graduate Student
Amber earned her B.A. in psychology from Charleston Southern University. Her research focuses on the use of stereotypes and mental representations regarding sexual orientation.
PAST GRADUATE STUDENTS
Kathleen Larson
Katie earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2017 and now works as a researcher at the Air Force Research Laboratory. While at UNLV, she earned the Science, Mathematics, & Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship and completed internships at the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Michael Palena
Mike earned his Master’s in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2017. While at UNLV, his research focused on how people construct mental representations of characters when reading a fictional story and how these representations can be influenced by recall instructions.
Kris Gunawan
Kris earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2014 and is now an Assistant Professor at Centenary University. While at UNLV, he earned the Nevada Regents’ Scholar Award in 2011 for his research and service activities at UNLV and also served as the president of the Association for Psychological Science Student Caucus (APSSC) in 2013.
Nicole J. Bies-Hernandez
Nicole earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2013 and is now a Lecturer at Northern Arizona University. While in graduate school, she was awarded the Part-Time Instructor of the Year for Social Sciences at Nevada State College in 2012.
Jeremy Ashton Houska
Jeremy earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2010, earned tenure at Centenary University, and is now the Director of Institutional Research and Assessment at Centenary University. While at UNLV, Jeremy served as the APS Student Caucus President (2010) and won the William J. McKeachie Teaching Excellence Award in 2009.
Paul J. Schroeder
Paul earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from UNLV in 2010, worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and later worked as a researcher at the Air Force Research Laboratory. While at UNLV, his work was recognized with the APS RISE Research Award in 2010.
