The Safety Management Applied Research Team (SMART), established in 2003, conducts research projects that address workplace and community safety and health issues. SMART is also part of The Institute of Applied Prevention Research, which was designated as a Program of Research and Scholarly Excellence (PRSE) at Colorado State University in the spring of 2008. 

SMART focuses on important psychological and organizational factors, and employs novel approaches to complement existing physical and regulatory facets of safety and health management. SMART includes members from psychology, ergonomics, and construction management and thus embraces a multidisciplinary approach to achieve its mission of “promoting more secure, safer, and healthier lives at work and in communities.”

SMART strive to achieve the following goals: (1) to recruit and retain qualified under-served and under-represented undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in safety and health research and practice, (2) to facilitate student to acquire core competency and help them transform into future leaders in safety and health disciplines, (3) to develop and implement continuing education courses related to safety and health issues, (4) to implement safety and health management courses at CSU by means of a developmental assessment center and career development approaches, (5) to continuously conduct rigorous scientific research with other interdisciplinary scientists, and (6) to disseminate research findings to stakeholders who are involved in safety and health issues.

SMART currently consists of faculty and students with different specialties. SMART has also collaborated with other faculty at CSU (education, construction management, human development, journalism, etc.) and other institutions (e.g., University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, University of Northern Colorado, Argonne National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Liberty Mutual Research for Safety, The Center for Construction Research and Training).  It has also worked closely with labors, contractors, school districts, suicide prevention communities, etc.

Since 2003, SMART has produced numerous scholarly documents including peer reviewed journal articles, chapters, presentations, symposia, and workshops.   Past and current research projects are described in the SMART newsletter, SMART 11, SMART 12, SMART 21, SMART 22, SMART31, and SMART32.

Current research associates in the SMART with one or more specialties in psychology are described below.

My name is Julie Maertens and I am currently a doctoral student in Applied Social Psychology and am also an Occupational Health Psychology trainee through the NIOSH Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center.  I earned my MS in 2006 from Montana State University in Bozeman before making the move to Fort Collins with my 2 children. I am fortunate in my ability to work with so many interested in promoting a safe and healthy work environment, and have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with other SMART members on an assortment of projects. My research interests include suicide prevention, nutritional and medication adherence among those with chronic health problems, and healthcare provider well-being. I have also had the opportunity to teach several courses at CSU, and served as a teaching fellow in 2008-09. Outside of work, I love spending time with my kids, and watching Rockies baseball.

My name is Julie Sampson and I am a doctoral student in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Occupational Health Psychology programs at CSU. I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005. I received my MS in Psychology from CSU in 2009. I am currently assisting with the development of a leadership development program for construction workers and collaborating on a longitudinal study examining stress, adjustment, and health of nursing students and professional nurses. I am also one of the lead staff members on a grant that is managing the evaluation of 135 agencies throughout the state of Colorado. My main research interests include occupational stress, adjustment, and employee health and well-being.

My name is J. Taylor Moore and I am in the Applied Social Psychology Program with an emphasis in Occupational Health Psychology (OHP). I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2006. I completed my Master's degree at Colorado State University in 2009. My primary research interests include: (1) Sustainability of Primary Prevention Programs (2) Prediction of helping behavior, (3) Training design and evaluation, and (4) Dissemination of occupational health and safety research findings. My Master’s thesis project examined the situational obstacles that suicide prevention gatekeepers encounter at their workplace. I am a Student Representative on the Graduate Student Issues Committee for the Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP).

My name is Paige Gardner and I am a PhD student in Occupational Health Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Colorado State University. I'm originally from Huntsville, Alabama and completed my undergraduate degree at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee (2005). I spent 2 years working in the research department at Youth Villages, a non-profit organization based in Memphis, before moving to Fort Collins in 2007 and beginning graduate school. My academic interests include occupational stress, safety climate, program evaluation, psychometrics, and research methodology. I love living in Colorado and enjoy running, playing soccer, and skiing in my spare time. 

My name is Erica Ermann and I am a PhD student at Colorado State University studying Occupational Health Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2008 from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.  Directly afterwards, I began graduate school to pursue my interest in Occupational Health Psychology.  My research thus far has included various topics related to occupational safety and health, with a focus on understudied populations.  As I continue to build my skills and interests as a psychologist, I look forward to making an impact in the domain of occupational health.  Outside of my studies, I enjoy hiking, biking, cooking, music, and traveling.

My name is Annette Shtivelband and I am an Occupational Health Psychology trainee in the Applied Social Psychology graduate program. I received a BA from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in both Psychology and Russian. My research interests include: program evaluation and sustainability, organizational change, and work adjustment. I recently had the opportunity to work with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). When I'm not focusing on my studies, I enjoy dancing, spending time with friends, hiking, and traveling. I really appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of this training program.

My name is Stefanie Putter and I am a doctoral student in Industrial/Organizational and Occupational Health Psychology at Colorado State University (CSU). I completed my undergraduate work in 2007 with a BA in Psychology (emphasis on personnel management) from the University of Rochester. Since attending CSU, I have been involved with several occupational health psychology research projects, which have focused on topics such as work-family balance, leadership development, program evaluation, and the occupational health of older workers. While my current interests are quite broad, I hope to one day apply my research skills and interests to work in an applied consulting setting. Outside of psychology, I have a love for volunteer work, winter, and traveling everywhere and anywhere I can.

My name is Krista Hoffmeister and I am currently a graduate student in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at Colorado State University (CSU). I finished my undergraduate career from CSU with a bachelor of science in Psychology and a bachelor of arts in languages, literatures, and cultures with an emphasis in Spanish. My interests lie in the areas of safety, motivation, training, mentoring and occupational health psychology. I would like to incorporate my knowledge and interest in the Hispanic language and culture into my future studies, as well as conduct cross-cultural comparisons. In my spare time, I enjoy being outdoors doing such things as hiking, fishing, hunting and four-wheeling.

My name is Emily Nowacki.  I completed my BA in psychology at Rutgers University in January 2009 and  I am currently in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology PhD program at Colorado State University.  Additionally, I am pursuing Occupational Health Psychology training. My more specific research interests include: work-family balance facilitation, leadership development and supervisor support, intervention/prevention/policy implementation and evaluation, and cross-cultural Occupational Health Psychology. I hope to take a multidisciplinary approach to my own research by collaborating with my colleagues from ergonomics, applied social psychology, public health, and other disciplines.  Outside of research I enjoy gardening, hiking, baking, and skiing and I’m thrilled to be living in Fort Collins, CO! 

My name is Tristan Nelson.  I am a doctoral student in the Industrial/Organization Psychology Program and I am a trainee in the Occupational Health Program.  I earned my bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in Psychology in 2009 and also minored in Portuguese.  As an undergraduate I researched stress amongst Psi Chi Advisor Faculty members and plan to continue research in similar areas as a PhD student.  I am particularly interested in work family issues and workplace safety.  Outside of I/O I enjoy spending time with my family, hiking, camping, playing basketball, reading and traveling.

Updated on 10/05/2009

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