Dynamics in Psychological Science Lab

Emilio Ferrer is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis and a member of the Graduate Groups in Biostatistics, Education, and Human Development. His research interests include methods to analyze change and intra-individual variability, in particular latent change models and dynamical systems. His current research in this area involves techniques to model dyadic interactions as well as multivariate processes associated with reasoning, reading, and math achievement from childhood to adolescence. He is Editor-in-Chief of Multivariate Behavioral Research, and is co-editor of the books Longitudinal Multivariate Psychology and Statistical Methods for Modeling Human Dynamics. In 2013 he received the Early Career Research Award for contributions to multivariate psychology.

Rohit Batra (rbat@ucdavis.edu, website: rohitbatra.net) is a postdoctoral scholar working on developing continuous-time dynamic models to better understand psychological processes. He grew up in Delhi, India, and received his undergraduate degree in Statistics from the University of Delhi. He also lived in Singapore for two years and received his Master’s in Science in Statistics from The National University of Singapore. He completed his PhD in Quantitative Psychology with Dr. Ferrer here at Davis and graduated in June 2025. Currently, his research interests are understanding how we can model the continuity of psychological processes, translate psychological theories into dynamic models and the interaction of processes at different timescales. Outside of research, he's a cinephile at heart and an avid cook, he's working on completing his watchlist (which never ends!).

Samuel Aragones (sdaragones@ucdavis.edu) is a 5th year Ph.D. student who is interested in social interactions in psychological processes. He obtained his bachelor's degree from UCLA in 2018 and has spent time working with scRNA-seq data to analyze and develop methods for differentiating cell types and cell populations at Eric Deeds’s Lab at UCLA. Apart from research, he enjoys rock climbing, boba, and games of any sort! 

Suryadyuti Baral (sdbaral@ucdavis.edu) is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in Quantitative Psychology. He grew up in Kolkata, India, and moved to the U.S. at the age of nineteen to attend UNC Chapel Hill. He graduated in 2024 with majors in Psychology and Statistics. His research in the DIPS lab centers on intensive longitudinal data analysis, focusing on developing methods for EEG data and investigating human cognition from an intraindividual perspective while accounting for interindividual variability. Outside of academics, Suryadyuti enjoys reading, watching movies, and playing chess. During his time at Davis, he has also grown fond of outdoor activities like biking and hiking.  

Maia Southwick (msouthwick@ucdavis.edu) is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in Developmental Psychology at the University of California, Davis. She obtained her bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Health, Society, and Policy from the University of Utah in 2021. Her research involves learning how to best represent intraindividual change and intraindividual variability in moral cognition across childhood and adolescence. Outside of research, she enjoys playing soccer, board gaming, and art!

Jenny Xu (yzxxu@ucdavis.edu) is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of California, Davis, double majoring in Psychology and Statistics. Her research interests involve understanding how to optimally model the within-person dynamics among interrelated components of daily stress processes and quantify where individual differences in personality exert the strongest influence, using daily diary data. Outside of research, you can find Jenny at the ARC playing racquetball or baking red bean mochi bread in her apartment!

Jack Ellis (jjjellis@ucdavis.edu) is a 4th year undergraduate studying Statistics and Psychology at UC Davis. His research involves studying how humans and NLP models interpret text affect statements and how fluctuations in emotion contribute to differences in human interpretation. Outside of the lab, Jack is regularly watching soccer or hockey, or playing pickleball at the park!

Stella Kemp is an Oregon State University graduate with a B.A in psychological sciences. Her research interests include social psychology, cognitive development, research methods and political psychology. Outside of research, Stella enjoys cooking, working out, and discovering new art and media.