coleman has been a professor at columbia university for almost 2 decades. his early work with morton deutsch led to the publication of the first of three editions of "the handbook on conflict resolution: theory and practice", a comprehensive book designed for professionals in the field of conflict resolution emphasizing the constructive potential of conflict "." coleman has studied some of the more marginalized yet critical aspects of peace and conflict dynamics, including issues such as the use and abuse of social power, intractable conflict, humiliation and conflict, polarized collective identity formation, culture and conflict, injustice and conflict, and sustainable peace. these phenomena can manifest themselves in families, schools and other organizations, communities, and nations. they tend to be complex, long-lasting, and difficult to work with, and thus are relatively understudied by contemporary social scientists. coleman's approach has been to develop conceptual models that address gaps in existing theory, often through eliciting insights from informed participants (local stakeholders and practitioners), and then to empirically test the models using a variety of methods. his scholarship aims to bridge the theory-practice gap in the field of conflict resolution and peace studies by bringing new insights from research to bear on important technical and social problems, and by honoring practical expertise in the development of new theory.