Over the last few months no fewer than 17 scholars have been accepted for membership of NCIS. They hail from the USA, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey. Welcome all!
Dr Thomas J. Buckholtz (USA) does research in two key areas: (1) innovation, leadership, skills development, and thinking and (2) cosmology and elementary particle physics. His background includes developing a grassroots energy utility innovation program, as well as serving as a commissioner in the United States General Services Administration. In this role as Co-chief Information Officer for the US Executive Branch, he led a $1-billion business unit. In his work in cosmology and elementary particle physics he holds the Bachelor of Mathematics from Caltech, and a Physics PhD from Berkeley. His contributions to society span aspects of research and development, business, government, education, information technology, IT business practices, not-for-profit organizations, startup enterprises, and the environment. He lives in Portola Valley, a town in California's Silicon Valley. https://thomasjbuckholtz.wordpress.com/
Dr Patricia Camillo (SWITZERLAND) is a professor, researcher, and practitioner certified in women’s health and gerontology with a PhD in Nursing and Anthropology. She has done clinical work in varied settings, including hospitals, private offices, storefront clinics, and online in telehealth. Her patients include high-risk newborns and chronically ill elderly in both intensive care and primary care. Currently, living in Switzerland, she conducts ethnographic research focused on the role of culture in health in Bergen, Norway. Master Research Thesis: Qualitative women's experiences with infertility (1982). Doctoral Thesis: An ethnography of older women's experiences in primary healthcare (1997). She recently completed an autoethnography of her nursing career and she is currently working on an ethnography focused on the impact of culture on health in Bergen, Norway. http://www.NursingProfessor.com
Dr Vanessa Campanacho (UNITED KINGDOM) holds a PhD from the University of Sheffield. Her research interests primarily lie in ageing, human osteology, paleopathological analysis, the history of anthropology, and ethics surrounding the creation and study of anthropological collections. She is interested in the field of age-at-death estimation, especially in understanding confounding factors and effects of aging on bone metamorphosis in adults. Similarly, in the context of documented skeleton collections and non-human primates, she has researched aging of immature individuals, pathological manifestations on the skeleton, three-dimensional scanning, curation procedures, and ethics. https://sites.google.com/site/vanessacampanacho/
Dr Amy L. Collins (USA) is a research psychologist and certified yoga instructor focused on relationships among the aging, health and psychological well-being. She holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Boston College and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. She was an American Association of Retired Persons Scholar and a Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow at the National Academies of Science. Her dissertation research examines the relationship between daily activities and emotional experience in older adults. As a postdoctoral researcher she led several studies on how cognitive and emotional evaluations of life-like levels of life satisfaction, optimism, and perceived social status related to morbidity and mortality. Her current research focuses on the benefits of non-sleep, rest and restorative yoga.
Dr Vesselin G. Gueorguiev (USA) is a distinguished physicist with a PhD in Nuclear Physics from Louisiana State University. Currently, he is an affiliated researcher at the Institute for Advanced Physical Studies in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Ronin Institute and National Coalition of Independent Scholars (NCIS) in the USA. His research explores fundamental interactions in nature, focusing on dark energy and dark matter phenomena through the Scale Invariant Vacuum (SIV) paradigm and Reparametrization Invariant Scaling Symmetry (RISS). He has published over 70 papers and has more than 1k citations. Dr Gueorguiev is an accomplished educator, contributing to physics curricula worldwide. Currently, he is pursuing entrepreneurship, as well as serving as a scientific mentor via the Quantum Open Source Foundation and with involvement in the SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Engineers) organization in the USA. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vesselin-Gueorguiev-2
Dr Zachary Harris (USA/TURKEY) holds a PhD in Mathematics from the National University of Singapore. In 2012, his work exposing a Google email verification bug was featured on the front page of Wired, an online magazine. He has successfully pursued a cybersecurity career with Hewlett Packard. Currently, he applies his analytical background to theology research. His recent publication in De Gruyter's Open Theology journal addresses a famous interpretive problem from the apocalyptic book of Revelation by interweaving mathematics with Jewish/Rabbinic hermeneutics and patristic Christian exegetical history.
Maria Kaj (USA) She holds a Masters in History [from where?] and has written several history books. She pivoted from a lengthy business career into a second act as a writer, lecturer, and historian. Her Master's Thesis: Using the pen of goodness: Accounting and culture in the late medieval world (May 2024), won the University Thesis Award at California State University, East Bay. Currently she writes a not-for-profit blog, works part-time supporting online economic-themed classes, and lectures frequently. Her key research areas: women’s sports and Olympics history, and accounting and economic history of the medieval era. https://kajmeister.com
Steven Kolins (USA) holds a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors in physics and philosophy and double minors in math and psychology. As a practitioner of the Baha’i Faith, he received a Master of Science degree with a minor in education from the University of North Carolina at Raleigh and a Master of Science degree with a minor in education. Married, since 1996 he has worked in computer tech and public education. Currently, his work involves computer communications and contributing scholarly materials on the Baha’i Faith. Future research: African American newspaper publishers/chief editors of the 20th century who were Baha'is. https://www.youtube.com/@smkolins
Dr Frederick Kuttner (USA) holds the MBA and a PhD in physics from University of California at Santa Cruz. His key interests include doing research to solve statistical mechanics problems. He has developed business startups, travelled extensively in Asia, and continues to publish on the foundations and implications of quantum mechanics. Following retirement from teaching he obtained a professional degree to practice counselling in psychology and psychotherapy. Currently, he continues research on quantum physics. https://quantumenigma.com
Dr Chrissi McCarthy (UNITED KINGDOM) is a recognised expert in the field of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), with a strong academic foundation that informs her applied work. Her PhD research focuses on behavioural equality, fairness, and inclusion, offering examinations of barriers affecting workplace diversity and inclusion. This research has not only contributed valuable insights to academic discussions but has also been practically applied to create effective EDI strategies across a range of sectors. Dr McCarthy’s work translates complex theoretical concepts into practical solutions. Her academic contributions include publications that explore how behavioural science can inform more equitable practices within organisations and she has presented her research at various conferences, furthering the understanding of how to create more inclusive work environments. https://www.thecobe.co.uk
Dr Dina Mirijanian (USA) gained her Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry in 2008 from the University of Utah, where she used molecular dynamics to study complex systems in disparate length and time scales. From 2007 – 2009, she did a postdoc at Sandia National Laboratories, using coarse-grained lipid models and molecular dynamics simulations to study the molecular mechanism of vesical fusion. From 2009–2012, she was the Foundry Multifacility Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Molecular Foundry, where she developed an atomistic forcefield for peptide polymers. From 2013-2016, she did a postdoc at Brandeis University’s physics department, working on understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein allostery. From 2017-2023, she worked as a City Research Scientist for the New York City government. She is now an independent researcher based in Clarkston, MI. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinamirijanian/
Paul M. Parobek (USA) is a doctoral candidate writing a thesis on American foreign policy towards Cuba and Latin America in the Early Progressive Era, circa 1890s-1910s. He plans to publish his doctoral thesis into a manuscript and several articles. Both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history and international politics were earned in Europe, thus imbuing him with international educational experience. He has obtained Highest Honors in his second Master's degree, served as peer reviewer for two history articles, and judge for the High School Essay Contest for the Cleveland City Club.
Dr Alicia Powell (USA) holds an EdD in Organizational Leadership. Her research interests include educational leadership, educational technology, and literacy instruction and policy. She has created professional development sessions for teachers that focus on literacy and technology. Her research emphasizes technology leadership of school principals and assistive technologies in higher education. Currently, she serves as a literacy instructional coach and adjunct professor.
Brian Schrader (USA) is a software developer, writer, and musician from San Diego, California. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University's College of Engineering. His work includes biomedical research and in the wider software industry as a software architect, developer, and consultant. He is interested in developing models of real-world chaotic systems as well as in the evolution religious and scientific thought beginning in the classical Roman period up to the development of the modern scientific method in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. https://brianschrader.com
Will Soper (USA) is a former journalist and former graphic artist whose work has spanned over 20 years’ research in nineteenth-century US/Central American history, foreign policy and law. In 2007 he began researching the 1854 US Navy razing of Greytown, a Central American port. Officially explained as avenging “an insult to the American Minister to Nicaragua,” his research discovered instead that two US businesses inveigled Washington into destroying the town. He wrote a peer-reviewed journal article in 2017 revealing this, an op-ed in 2018, and a 2023 book, entitled ‘Greytown is no more!’ The 1854 Razing of a Central American Port, the U.S. Businesses Behind Its Demise, and the Lasting Foreign Policy Legacy. https://will-soper.com
Dr Melissa Sterry (UNITED KINGDOM) is a multiple award-winning design scientist, systems theorist, transdisciplinary designer, and serial founder with a PhD from University of Greenwich. Her research includes building architectural, urban, and peri-urban resilience to wildfires through the mimicry of plants that evolved to live with fire. She is a chartered scientist with the Science Council, Fellow at the Institute of Science and Technology, Design Research Society, and the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a member of the Design Council Expert Network and the founder of the biofuturism and bioinnovation agency Bioratorium®, its lab Labioratorium®, and of biodesign for the built environment consultancy Bionic City®. https://www.melissasterry.com/
Dr Richard M. Thomas (USA) is an accomplished educator specializing in elementary and secondary educational leadership and professional development. He has significantly contributed to the field through his research and teaching, impacting students at multiple levels and subjects. He is committed to fostering positive change through his dedication to service and mentorship. He envisions the transformative power of online education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and continues to inspire and guide future educators.