Dr. Jimmy de la Torre has been recognized by the White House as a recipient of the 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) – the highest honor a beginning scientist or engineer can receive in America.  This award is given to those who participate in community service through scientific leadership, education or community outreach while also exhibiting great potential for leadership in other fields.

Dr. de la Torre, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology of Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education, focuses on harnessing diagnostic assessments to improve classroom instruction and learning. His innovative testing models and methodologies are used to provide a finer-grained description of students’ specific strengths and weaknesses. He is also actively involved in various undertakings to promote the field of cognitive diagnosis and make it more accessible to education researchers and practitioners.

“This honor recognizes that rigorous work with important practical implications is being conducted in educational settings,” said de la Torre. “With the attention from this award, I look forward to researchers from other fields joining me in contributing and enriching this highly collaborative field.  I also hope that it focuses on the critical need for the development of more diagnostic assessments.”

Dr. de la Torre was nominated by his funding agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF) to receive the PECASE award. The honor will be bestowed during a White House ceremony January 13.  He has previously received from NSF a five-year Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award, which gives outstanding junior faculty secure financial footing to establish research programs and share knowledge through outreach programs.

Dr. de la Torre earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1992 and his master’s degree in statistics in 1997, both from the University of the Philippines.  In 2001 he earned an additional master’s degree in statistics followed by a master’s degree in psychology in 2002, and a doctorate in quantitative psychology in 2003, all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Two other Rutgers faculty members have also been named 2008 PECASE awardees; Dr. Hao Lin, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Dr. Charles R. Keeton II, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Additional information on Dr. de la Torre’s research can be found by clicking here or contacting 732-932-7496 x 8327