Adriann Oommen is a Research Associate with IC² Institute. She will be working with Matt Kammer-Kerwick with BBR on the OS2 Year 3 grant research project, as well as the Dell Medical Impact Study project.

Adriann recently graduated with a B.A. in Human Dimensions of Organizations from UT Austin. She worked for the IC² Institute as a student researcher previously, and has had a variety of work experiences ranging from public policy to risk management. She is from San Antonio, Texas, and outside of work she enjoys painting and reading.

PhD, Sociology, Northeastern University. Researcher at Bureau of Business Research (BBR).

Jeff studies the intersection of the future of work, development and urbanization from a labor-oriented perspective. His dissertation looks at the class formation and spatial decision-making of digital nomads (and other location-independent workers) by charting their novel urban/rural trajectories of mobility and investigating the ways their choice of residence impacted global and local patterns of development and urbanization. He is also a Co-PI on two studies relating to the study of city-image using methods from the computational social sciences: the first utilizes structural topic modeling to study the commodification and marketing of place in the sharing economy; the second investigates the application of computer vision methods to social science inquiries through the study of city image, representations of place and gentrification. At IC², Jeff’s research looks at cooperative commercial and community organizational models, the sustainable development of rural and remote communities, and how to disrupt exploitation in human and natural systems.

His future research endeavors include publishing his book manuscript, Urban Prospecting: The New Trajectories of Labor and the Making of the Digital Nomad, and starting a second stream of research into new municipalism, sustainable local development, community wealth-building and cooperative models of production. Before coming to UT Austin, Jeff grew up in Metro Detroit, graduated with a BA in Philosophy with concentrations in Political Theory and Media Studies from Michigan State University, and a MA in Sociology from Northeastern University. He spent two years performing national community service as both an AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps member and an AmeriCorps Vista working in community outreach and policy research at Texas Impact in Austin, TX.

PhD, Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin. Researcher at Bureau of Business Research (BBR).

Kara studies race and gender inequality in paid and unpaid labor. Her dissertation is on the development of racialized masculinity among U.S. born Asian American men working in professional occupations. She is also a co-survey lead for the AAPI COVID-19 Project, studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work, health, and relationships of AAPI communities. She has also studied the way gender and race shapes the work experiences of graduates in chemistry and chemical engineering during the first five years after graduation. She has published in the Journal of Asian American Studies, Michigan Family Review, and the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity. 

At IC²_, Kara uses focus groups and surveys to train undergraduates and writes research reports and manuscripts with large state government agencies, private corporations, and academic researchers in multi-site research grants on the human dimensions of organizations, labor exploitation, and quality of life in rural Texas communities. Kara’s research at IC² has given her opportunities to enhance her quantitative skills and programming skills with data analysis software. She has also been able to extend her labor research into labor exploitation in low-wage labor and economic development in rural communities. Her future research endeavors include publishing her book manuscript, Optimized: Racial Economics of Cultural Strategies, and starting a second stream of research into racial inequality in health care and medical technologies. Before coming to UT Austin, Kara was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, graduated with a BA in Sociology and English from Tufts University, and a MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

Emily serves as a director of project management for IC² supporting the ongoing projects and programs at the institute. Prior to joining IC², Emily worked in the field of International Education for over 12 years, overseeing international academic programs, projects, and partnerships. Emily has held roles such as the Director of Study Abroad at St. Edward’s University, the Assistant Director of Study Abroad at UT Austin, and the Associate Director of Academic Affairs at Arcadia University, The College of Global Studies, London Center. She has taught courses such as Diversity in the British Workplace, Work in Thought and Action, and Cross-Cultural Communications and has lived and worked in multiple countries. She has earned her Master’s of Science in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Brunel University in London, a TESOL certification from Trinity College, Cambridge, and a certificate in International Higher Education Management and Leadership from the University of Albany.

Kelley Shrock, Senior Administrative Associate, comes to IC2 from the Department of Physics where she was responsible for research administration in the Center for High Energy Density Science. Kelley has worked at UT for over two years. Before joining UT, Kelley held a variety of roles in the technology, education, and government sectors. She holds a BA in Managerial Studies, Policy Studies, and Latin American Studies from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Current research interests: Developing methodologies for studying identities and needs of communities relevant for sustainable entrepreneurial activity and economic development.

Matt Kammer-Kerwick, PhD, is an NSF-funded Senior Research Scientist at the Bureau of Business Research, IC² Institute. He is the principal investigator of the study Disrupting Exploitation and Trafficking in Labor Supply Networks:  Convergence of Behavioral and Decision Science to Design Interventions, which examines the use of multi-actor stochastic models, reinforcement learning algorithms, and agent-based simulation models to assess and develop disruptive interventions for illicit supply chains.  He is also Lead Scientist at the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.  Current projects include the development and application of operations research models and data analytic methods toward solutions for social, environmental, and economic justice problems; assessing the scope and prevalence of human trafficking in the State of Texas; and assessing the perceptions and prevalence of interpersonal violence at institutes of higher learning within the UT System.  Prior to his role at the IC² Institute, he was a research consultant to industry for over 20 years and was President and Founder of Visionary Research, Inc. He has a PhD in Management Science and Information Systems from The University of Texas at Austin and previous degrees in Physics and Systems Engineering.

James E. Jarrett is a Senior Research Scientist at the Bureau of Business Research, IC² Institute. His Ph.D. is from the University of Pennsylvania, and he received his undergraduate degree from Antioch College. He has studied also at the London School of Economics and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. His recent work at the Institute has concentrated on evaluation (training, projects, programs), metrics and benchmarking, and economic impacts. Prior to joining the University of Texas at Austin, he served as Director of Research at the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Previously, he conducted and supervised research for eight years at the national Council of State Governments, in Lexington, Kentucky, a non-partisan, non-profit research and service organization. Nearly all of Dr. Jarrett’s 80+ articles, reviews, reports, and book chapters have been developed for policy makers in state and local governments.

Bruce has been responsible for strategic planning and research for the Bureau of Business Research since 1998. Under his leadership, the Bureau has won a number of research grants and contracts from a variety of sponsors, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the State of Texas. He is former editor of Texas Business Review and and in 2017 served as president of the Association for University Business and Economic Research, a leading professional organization devoted to improving the quality and application of research in public policy and business economics. Kellison frequently collaborates with social work scholars and has written about the economic impact of human trafficking, sexually oriented businesses, the rape kit backlog crisis, and sexual assault. He has a doctorate in government from The University of Texas at Austin.

Current Research Interests: technology and innovation-based regional development and entrepreneurship; technology transfer; sustainable environments and economic development (SEED) in small island developing states (SIDS).

Dr. David Gibson is a Senior Research Scientist Emeritus at the IC² Institute. He was a Senior Research Scientist and Nadya Kozmetsky Scott Centennial Fellow at the IC² Institute, 1998-2018; a Fulbright Scholar at Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal, 1999-2000; and visiting Professor II at Tromsø University Business School, Norway, 2013-2014. His most recent publication is “The Launch and evolution of a technology-based economy: The case of Austin, Texas,” (2019), D. Gibson and M. Oden, Journal of Growth and Change.  He is a consultant to businesses, academia, and governments worldwide and is currently Senior Advisor to the Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of West Indies Open Campus. Dr. Gibson received his PhD in sociology from Stanford University in 1983 with a concentration in organizational behavior, innovation, and communication theory.