Students

Chris Antoun holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia. After graduating in 2004, he served in the Peace Corps in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand. While there, he became interested in surveys after developing a rice farming questionnaire in his Thai community. Returning to the United States, he managed a home health care business based in Richmond, Virginia. He has selected a social science emphasis in the program.

Emily Blasczyk earned her bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2007. She then worked for two years as a research specialist at the Minnesota Population Center on the Integrated Health Interview Series, focusing on a project aimed at reorganizing National Health Interview Survey data. She plans to follow the social science track in the program.

After earning her BA in sociology from the University of North Carolina, Ashley Bowers earned a master's degree in survey methodology from the University of Maryland. She worked at the survey center at the University of North Carolina following her Masters' degree studies, and in 2004-05 worked as a research associate at Survey Research Operations. She is a third year PhD student with interests in establishment survey design and the impact of human resource management practices on survey data quality and cost.

Kelly Burmeister completed her bachelor's degree in psychology at Oakland University in 2009. While there, she worked on a cognitive-developmental project that compared how aphorisms are interpreted by lower and upper class college students, and also did some facial perception research. Her areas of interest related to the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology lie in health behaviors and attitudes.

Boyang Chai holds a bachelor's degree from Peking University, having double-majored in political science and economics. After graduation, she worked in the finance industry for a year in Shanghai. Boyang's interest in survey methodology was sparked by a survey project, which was designed and implemented by Peking University's Research Center for Contemporary China. In the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology, she will focus on the social science aspects of survey methodology. She is interested in the social science emphasis in the program.

Nuttirudee Charuoenruk received her B.S. in Statistics and M.A. in International Economics and Finance from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. After graduation, she was a lecturer in the faculty of Commerce and Accountancy at Chulalongkorn University. Her intent in the program is to have a statistical focus.

Jack Chen comes to the Program in Survey Methodology after earning his master's degree in biostatistics at the University of Michigan. His undergrad work was done at the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in applied math, statistics, and computer science. After finishing at Berkeley, he worked as a software engineer, and since coming to UM, he has been a graduate student assistant at the Institute for Social Research.

Debanjana Datta comes to the Program in Survey Methodology after earning her master's degree in statistics at the University of Calcutta (India). Her undergrad work was done at the Presidency College, also in Kolkata, where she earned a bachelor's degree in statistics.

Qi Dong earned his BS in mathematics in 2006 from the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, China, where he has also been a teaching assistant. Qi then joined the survey methodology program and graduated with a master's degree in 2008. He is now in his first year of the PSM PhD Program.

Benjamin Duffey comes to the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology after earning a B.A. in political science and a minor in mathematics from the University of North Carolina Asheville. He became interested in survey methodology through his research on the developing world, during which he found social and political databases to be unreliable. Benjamin is focusing on the statistical aspect of survey methodology.

Veysel Mehmet Elgin has earned a bachelor's degree in statistics, and a master's degree in psychology, both from the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey. Before coming to the University of Michigan's Program in Survey Methodology, he worked as a research assistant at METU. Veysel will emphasize the social science side of the program.

Mahmoud Elkasabi earned his bachelor's degree in statistics and his master's degree in sampling, both from Cairo University, Egypt. For four years, while he completed his master's degree studies, he worked for a governmental public opinion poll center. After the summer of 2008, during which Mahmoud was a fellow of the Sampling Program for Survey Statisticians in the Survey Research Center's Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques, he decided to apply to the PhD program of the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology. He will focus on the statistical aspect of survey methodology.

Amy Faucher earned her bachelor of science degree in education, majoring in mathematics, from Central Michigan University. Recently she has been teaching in Rochester, Michigan.

Matt Jans received a BS in psychology from Central Michigan University in 1998. He then received a MA in applied developmental psychology from Boston College in 2000, and a MA in critical and creative thinking from the University of Massachusetts in 2005. Before coming to MPSM he worked as an assistant study director at the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He currently works with Fred Conrad on a study using computerized avatars as survey interviewers. His primary interests include interviewer-respondent interaction and measurement error.

Courtney Kennedy is a graduate student and research assistant at the Program in Survey Methodology. Her current research focuses on weighting and estimation issues in dual-frame telephone surveys and techniques for reducing measurement error in web surveys. She earned a Masters at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology and bachelor's degrees in statistics and political science at the University of Michigan. She has been employed as a project director at the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and as a research assistant at the U.S. Bureau of the Census and O'Neil Associates Public Opinion Research.

Nicole Kirgis holds a bachelor's degree in social relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University, and comes to the M.S. program with more than 18 years of experience in survey research. Currently she is a Survey Director in Survey Research Operations at the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center, where she manages data collection on the National Survey of Family Growth and provides consultation on data collection operations to international researchers.

Hyun Jung Lee received bachelor's degrees in business, and in clothing and textile science from Seoul (Korea) National University (SNU). She then went on to earn her MBA, again from SNU. While working for Korean Air, she developed an interest in organizational behavior, and soon realized the importance of survey methodology to that field.

ShinJung Julia Lee comes to the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology from the biostatistics unit of the Cancer Center at the University of Michigan Health System, where her responsibilities have included design of data collection instruments and statistical analysis. She has earned degrees from the China Medical College (Taiwan), and from the University of California at Los Angeles. She will have a statistical emphasis in the program.

Rachel Levenstein holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts. She came to the PhD program at SMP after several years working as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research. She currently works as a graduate student instructor and a research assistant. Her research interests include mode effects, interviewer effects, and nonresponse.

Jiaojiao Li received her bachelor's degree in statistics, with an emphasis on financial risk management, from Tianjin University of Finance and Economics. After graduation, she completed an internship at China Central Television, the major television broadcaster of the People's Republic of China.

Yuchieh Lin came to the Program in Survey Methodology after earning a master's degree in international development at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his undergrad degree from National Taiwan University, double-majoring in economics and public administration. Now in his second year of his master's degree, he is working as a research assistant for various projects in the Survey Research Center's Survey Research Operation. He completed an internship for Chinese Family Panel Studies at Peking University in the summer of 2009. His interests include interviewer training, the impact of survey design on survey data quality and costs, and he is especially interested in cross-cultural and cross-country survey designs for developing countries.

Brian Madden earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Michigan, and a master's degree in clinical psychology from Eastern Michigan University. After coming to UM, he worked for ISR where he helped develop and code various types of questionnaires. Subsequently, he began to work for ICPSR, where he continues to apply his interest in social science research. Mr. Madden is focusing on the social science aspects of survey methodology.

Before coming to Michigan, Zeina Mneimneh completed her bachelor's degree in environmental health in 1998 and her master's in public health in 2000, both from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. She then worked for five years as head of the research team in one of the nongovernmental organizations in Beirut. During her work, she led the World Mental Health project in Lebanon and became one of the international collaborator in the World Mental health Surveys. Zeina then joined the survey methodology program and graduated with a master's degree in 2007. She is now in her second year of the PSM PhD Program and hopes to develop her interest in adaptive survey design.

Joseph Sakshaug is a recent graduate of the Master's program at PSM. Prior to coming to Michigan, he completed a BA at University of Washington, in mathematics. As a PhD student in the program, he is interested in studying statistical and social science aspects of survey methodology.

Marci Schalk earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She became interested in survey methodology through her work as a research assistant at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

Mario Strauss earned his Baccalaureus Commercii degree in financial management at the University of the Free State (South Africa), after which he completed a year of specialization in statistics to earn his Baccalaureus Scientiae Honors degree in Statistics, also from the University of the Free State. Following this, he completed an internship at the National Statistical Office in South Africa (Statistics South Africa) and then continued working for Statistics South Africa in the Methodology and Standards division. He now comes to the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology intending to focus on the statistical aspects of survey methodology.

Hanyu Sun majored in sociology as she earned her bachelor's degree from Nanjing (China) University. She then went on to earn her master's degree at Nanjing, also in sociology. Her research has focused on the needs of migrant workers and other displaced people in rural China.

Zeynep Suzer-Gurtekin earned her master's degree in survey methodology here at the Program for Survey Methodology. Before coming to Michigan, she completed an MBA at Western Michigan University. Recently she has worked for the CFI Group in Ann Arbor.

David Vannette earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Calvin College. He then worked for two years at the University of Michigan's William Davidson Institute, which is a think-tank focusing on emerging markets. While there, he developed business case studies, but now turns his focus to the social science aspects of survey methodology. He hopes to contribute to the fields of international business research and sociology in the area of organizational behavior. David's studies will focus on the social science side of the program.

Brady West holds a bachelor's degree in statistics and a master's degree in applied statistics, both from the University of Michigan. He is currently a statistician with the University's Center for Statistical Consultation and Research (CSCAR).

Chan Zhang completed her master's degree from the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology in 2009, and is continuing on in the Program in pursuit of her doctorate. Her research interests include web panel design, and post-survey adjustment for noncoverage and nonresponse error.

Zaoli Zhang comes to the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology from Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she completed a degree in sociology with an emphasis on law. Ms. Zhang is interested in researching how economic, psychosocial and environmental risks affect the health of China's migrant workers. Her intent in the program is to have a social science focus.

Hanzhi Zhou earned her bachelor's degree in statistics, with an emphasis on economic analysis, from Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. During her undergraduate program, she interned at the Bank of China, in the loans and sales department. After completing her studies at Capital University, she came to Michigan State University, where the graduated in 2009 with a master's degree in statistics. While there she became interested in survey research, and worked on several survey projects for the Center for Statistical Training and Consulting. As a PhD student in the program, she intends to focus on the statistical aspects of survey methodology.