Ohio University faculty member Dr. Claudia González Vallejo has been named a Jefferson Science Fellow for 2019-20 and will spend the year working at the U.S. Department of State.

The Fellowship is awarded by the National Academy of Sciences. González Vallejo, a Professor of Psychology and affiliated faculty of Latin American studies, will serve as a program analyst at the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Office of Analysis, Planning, Programs and Learning at the State Department for one year beginning in September 2019.

“I am thrilled as this is a tremendous honor to be able to bring my experiences and knowledge to the State Department and serve my country at the highest level,” González Vallejo said.

González Vallejo is the first professor at Ohio University to be selected for this significant award, and only the third faculty member from an Ohio institution to be selected since the program launched in 2004. She was selected from a number of professors nationwide who are highly accomplished in their fields of science and engineering.

“The Jefferson Science Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for Dr. González Vallejo to apply her expertise to the betterment of our nation,” Ohio University Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Chaden Djalali said. “This fellowship once again demonstrates Ohio University’s commitment to making the world a better place through the careful, thoughtful application of scientific research and values. Dr. González Vallejo is a dedicated scholar. I am so pleased that her passion for the work has been recognized by this prestigious award.”

Dr. González Vallejo holds a graduate degree in international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and a PhD in cognitive and quantitative psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. González Vallejo’s expertise is in decision analysis, statistics, and the psychology of judgment and decision making. She has prior experience in international affairs working for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and public policy working for the Center for Policy Research at the Rockefeller College, SUNY at Albany.

Dr. González Vallejo joined the Psychology Department at Ohio University in 1996. Her current research focuses on judgment accuracy, and other behavioral decision making topics, such as waiting behavior, and predecisional dynamic processes underlying decision difficulty. She is on the editorial board of several prestigious journals including Decision, Decision Analysis, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Journal of Mathematical Psychology (Consulting Editor), and Statistics reviewer for the Journal of Nutrition Behavior and Education. She has also served at National Institutes of Health as a permanent member of the scientific review panel of the Cognition and Perception section.

“Dr. González Vallejo’s selection for this award is a testimony to her stature as a scholar and a great honor for our department,” said Bruce Carlson, Associate Professor and Psychology Department chair at Ohio University. “While the State Department will benefit as the recipient of her considerable expertise next year, Dr. González Vallejo’s service in the State Department can be expected to enhance the education of our students following her return to Ohio University.”

The Jefferson Science Fellowship program is administered by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine with the goal of engaging the academic community in providing science and technology advice in the process of formulation of U.S. foreign policy. The program was established in 2003 to further build capacity for science, technology and engineering expertise within the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It is supported through a partnership between the U.S. academic community, professional scientific societies, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Assignments are tailored to the needs of the hosting office of the Jefferson Science Fellows, taking into account their areas of expertise. Following their fellowship years, Fellows will remain available to the government as experienced consultants for short-term projects.