She joined the faculty at AU in 2017 after receiving a PhD in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology with a specialization in Educational Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. In her research, Dr. Peterson applies methods from educational psychology and cognitive neuroscience to investigate cognitive and motivational factors that support (or hinder) student learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Her current research examines questions such as why spatial reasoning skills predict science achievement and how teachers support student curiosity. Dr. Peterson will be accepting PhD students for the 2019 academic year.