ABD Faculty Mentors

	Maria Dinis, Ph.D., MSW Division of Social Work Maria Dinis, Ph.D., MSW, holds a BA and MSW degree in Social Work (from California State University, Sacramento), and a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Dinis is an Assistant Professor at California State University, Sacramento (Division of Social Work) and an Affiliate Scientist at the Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley. Her research interests are in alcohol/drugs treatment, policy, and prevention; abstainer-type of organizations; alcohol/drug history; international social work (fluency in Portuguese and Spanish); social work educational exchange programs; women's health; and multicultural issues in regards to alcohol/drugs, women, and global social work. Her interests in research methodologies are in survey research and hermeneutics, and statistical analyses in nonparametric (chi-square) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistics.
	Alan Hreljac, Ph. D. Alan Hreljac is currently an Associate Professor of Biomechanics at California State University, Sacramento. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of Waterloo prior to studying Biomechanics at San Diego State University where he received his Master of Science degree. His doctoral studies in Biomechanics were completed at Arizona State University. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Auckland. His primary areas of research have been in the realm of gait mechanics with special interests in gait transitions and running injuries. His research skills include experimental design and multivariate analysis.
	Amy Qiaoming Liu, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Amy Qiaoming Liu holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Iowa State University. Dr. Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Her research interest is in family, aging, community involvement, Asian countries, and Asian Americans. She is an expert in public opinion polls, and has conducted over 20 surveys in the past 10 years, including: • The Annual Survey of Public Opinion and Life Quality in the Sacramento Region (2002, 2003, and 2004) • Survey of Iowa Business about Eldercare and Eldercare Needs • Story County Conservation Board Survey • Fort Dodge Public Library Citizen Survey • Grundy County Youth Needs Assessment • Marshalltown United Way Survey She is teaching graduate and undergraduate research methods classes and Asian Societies class. She is very active at CSUS. She has been the Chair of the Faculty Policies Committee (FPC) of the Faculty Senate at CSUS since 2002. FPC has four standing subcommittees (Research and Creative Awards Subcommittee; Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Subcommittee; Visiting Scholar Subcommittee; and Wang Family Excellence Awards Subcommittee) and many working groups.
	Dr. Geetha Ramachandran Mathematics and Statistics Geetha Ramachandran holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India. Dr. G. Ramachandran is a Professor in the department of Mathematics and Statistics, California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Her research interests are in Sampling Theory, Statistical Modeling, and Data Analysis. She is a member of the American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the International Association of Survey Statisticians. She has served as President of the Sacramento Chapter of the American Statistical Association, which has over two hundred and fifty statistician members drawn from the academia, industries, and the state government agencies in the Greater Sacramento community. Since joining CSUS in 1984, she has served as a consultant on a number of research projects for numerous state agencies and local industries including Department of Health, California Department of Social Services, California California Energy Commission Department of Education, California California State Controller's Office Bureau of State Audits, California International Billing Services Department of Justice, California Currently, Dr. G. Ramachandran is a consultant for the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, State Controller's Office and the Bureau of State Audits, California. She is teaching the Mathematical Statistics and Probability sequence (an upper division offering), the introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineering students, and the Introductory Statistics general education offering in the department of Mathematics and Statistics at CSUS. She has served as Program Review Chair for the departments of Civil Engineering, Ethnic Studies, and the Computer Engineering Program at CSUS. Currently she is a member of the University Administrative Review Committee.
	Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, Ph.D. Communication Studies Dr. Kimo Ah Yun is an Associate Professor in the department of Communication Studies and uses survey and experimental procedures for conducting his research. Dr. Ah Yun has published in journals such as the Journal of Applied Communication, Communication Studies, and Communication Research Reports. His research focuses on studying the effectiveness of narrative based evidence to persuade individuals to sign organ donor cards, how teacher immediacy affects students, and the study of the ways in which attitude similarity affects interpersonal attraction. Software Familiarity: SPSS, Hunter's Statistical Package. Methodological Expertise: Experimental, Survey, Meta-Analysis Statistical Background: Correlation, t-test, chi-square, exploratory factor analysis, regression, mathematical modeling, ANOVA.