Pilot Source Study
ABOUT US
Dr. Elizabeth Bjerke
University of North Dakota
Dr. Elizabeth Bjerke currently serves as the associate dean of the John. D.
Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota
in Grand Forks, ND. After receiving her PhD in educational leadership, her
research efforts have focused on student success in collegiate aviation
programs, aviation assessment, and accreditation practices, as well as
being a researcher on the 2010 and 2012 Pilot Source Studies.
Dr. Guy M. Smith
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Dr. Guy Smith is a professor emeritus at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University. He is a 21-year US Navy veteran where most of his career
was on aircraft carriers flying the S-3A Viking. He earned a doctorate in
adult and higher education from Montana State University in 1994 and is
best known for his research in facilitation teaching methods for adult
learners and airline pilot training.
Dr. MaryJo O. Smith
Ypsilon Associates
Dr. MaryJo Smith is the senior research scientist and CEO of Ypsilon
Associates—independent consultants specializing in qualitative and
quantitative research and statistical analysis. She earned her PhD in
educational psychology with an emphasis in evaluation, statistics, and
research from the University of Minnesota in 1999. In her role as an
evaluation consultant, she is the ATQP data manager for two airline
consortiums in Europe.
Dr. Thomas Carney
Purdue University
Dr. Thomas Carney is a professor of aviation technology at Purdue
University in West Lafayette, IN. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot
certificate with over 49 years of experience as a pilot. He holds MS and
PhD degrees in atmospheric science. His primary research areas of interest
include aviation meteorology, synoptic-scale dynamics and energetics, the
use of aircraft for airborne research applications, and pilots’ use of weather
technology in the cockpit.
Dr. Cody Christensen
South Dakota State University
Dr. Cody Christensen received a doctorate in adult and higher education in
2013 from the University of South Dakota. He is an assistant professor and
program coordinator of the aviation program at South Dakota State
University in Brookings, SD. His current research involves student safety,
financial literacy, and agricultural aviation. He holds an Airline Transport
Pilot certificate and was an airline captain for a regional airline before
transitioning into academia.
Dr. Mary Niemczyk
Arizona State University
Dr. Mary Niemczyk is an associate professor and chair of the aviation
graduate programs at the Polytechnic School of Arizona State University
in Mesa, AZ. She has earned academic degrees in accounting, a MBAAviation, and a PhD in learning and instructional technology. Her research
interests center on improving instructional and learning strategies to
enhance the performance of individuals in complex, ill-defined environments, such as aviation.