From exploring the farthest reaches of the universe to examining poverty, sustainability and human relationships, Whittier faculty bring fresh scholarly perspectives to questions that shape our world. Here are a few of their latest accomplishments.
Associate Professor of Political Science Sara Angevine has two research articles featured in Politics & Gender’s “Abortion Politics in the United States and Around the World” virtual special issue. Her research examines the intersection of abortion politics and U.S. foreign policy, including the influence of anti-abortion advocacy on international relations.
Professor of French Marie-Magdeleine Chirol co-authored a 68-page article and pedagogical dossier on Richard Linklater’s 2025 film Nouvelle Vague with Laurence Denié-Higney of UCLA and Roxanne Lécrivain. Published in The French Review in May 2026, the dossier was previously distributed by The American French Film Festival to teachers participating in its 2025 High School Screenings, which reached more than 3,000 students. Celeste Molina, a French, English and Film major, was also one of six high school and university students who served as jury members for the festival’s 2025 American Student Award. Nouvelle Vague ultimately received the award.
Professor Emeritus and part-time reference librarian Joseph Dmohowski continues a long record of scholarship exploring figures with ties to Whittier College. His article, “Richard Nixon at Whittier College: The Education of a Leader,” appeared in the Southern California Quarterly in 2023 and examines the former president’s education at Whittier. Dmohowski reports that the article, which is also available through Whittier’s Poet Commons repository, has attracted international attention. His earlier scholarship includes work on Whittier alumni Nixon and author Jessamyn West, including a 2002 article on West, screenwriter Michael Wilson and the Hollywood blacklist that received the Carfax Prize for Best Article.
Professor Emeritus of Business Administration Daniel Duran served as a Fulbright Scholar at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in 2026, teaching graduate courses in social and sustainable development. It marked his second Fulbright experience at the university, following an earlier appointment in 2021. Duran has also led Whittier College and Semester at Sea students on study-abroad courses in more than 25 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, with a focus on entrepreneurship, sustainable development and international trade. He is currently preparing research examining the impact of short-term study abroad, with a particular focus on first-generation students and students of color.
Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Cinzia Fissore helps expand opportunities for undergraduate ecological research through RESCUE-Net, an NSF-funded network connecting faculty and students across Southern California. As a member of the network’s steering committee, Fissore works with researchers including Whittier colleague Anna Bowen to strengthen collaboration among ecologists and expand undergraduate research and training. Through RESCUE-Net, Fissore and Bowen have contributed to collaborative scientific research involving Whittier students, including recent work examining mulch decomposition and its implications for carbon cycling in Southern California landscapes.
Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Jordan Hanson published two articles in Physical Review D this year with Whittier students and alumni. In one paper, Hanson and Raymond Hartig ’23 developed a mathematical model that could help researchers identify signals from ultra-high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays. In a second paper, Hanson and current student Damian Ibanez-Rodriguez used the model to locate signals from 13 ultra-high-energy cosmic ray protons detected at the South Pole. Hanson presented the research at Neutrino 2026. He also received a $300,000 Naval Engineering Education Consortium grant from the Office of Naval Research supporting research into 3D-printed radio-frequency systems with applications including radar, drones and RF sensors. Current and former Whittier students contribute to the research by developing open-source software and 3D-printing algorithms.
Professor of Psychology Christina Scott co-edited a new research volume examining how online spaces change the ways people meet and form relationships. An Examination of Mate Selection in the Online Realm: Dating, Sex, and Marriage, published by Emerald Publishing in 2026, brings together empirical research exploring online dating and matchmaking, relationship development, marital quality and duration, and the social and psychological dimensions of finding partners online. Scott co-edited the international volume with Sampson Lee Blair of the State University of New York and Yiqing Gan of Fudan University in Shanghai.
Professor of Economics Roger White published a new book, Deprivation in America: A Profile of the Multidimensionally Poor, 2008–2023, in 2026. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, the book examines poverty in the United States through multiple dimensions of deprivation, including economic security, education, health and housing, drawing on American Community Survey data spanning 2008 to 2023.
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