Bryant University's faculty and staff are always pushing the boundaries of discovery. Here are some of the recent scholarly breakthroughs from Bryant's thought leaders in economics, artificial intelligence, the health sciences, and other fields.
Reimagining Baseball as Spectacle: Trustee Professor of Management Michael Roberto, D.B.A., co-authored a WDI Publishing case study with former student, Jonathan Huntley ’21, on the Savannah Bananas, a barnstorming baseball team that reinvented the sport as entertainment. The case study found the franchise outperformed Major League clubs in digital engagement by prioritizing fan-centric experiences, offering lessons for legacy institutions on revitalizing traditional industries through bold innovation.
Majors, Double Majors, and the Earnings Premium: In The American Economist, Vice President for Strategy and Partnerships Edinaldo Tebaldi, Ph.D., and President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., alongside a University of New Hampshire colleague, analyzed 13 years of U.S. wage data. The study revealed how certain majors, and double-major combinations, enhance long-term earnings.
Strength Training and Mental Health: In the Journal of Clinical Medicine, Associate Professor of Biological and Biomedical Sciences and Exercise and Movement Science Program Coordinator Jason Sawyer, Ph.D., and colleagues tested a six-week resistance training program for college-aged women. Participants reported fewer depressive symptoms, suggesting structured strength training could serve as a valuable complement to mental health support for young adults.
VR as a Business Classroom Tool: Professor of Information Systems and Analytics Suhong Li, Ph.D., co-authored a study in the Information Systems Education Journal on virtual reality deployment across three universities. The research found VR boosts engagement in public speaking, visualization, and field trips, though success depends on training, infrastructure, and support.
AI Chatbots Across Campus Communities: In the Journal of Computer Information Systems, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics ML Tlachac, Ph.D., and Bryant co-authors Allison Papini, Terri Hasseler, Ph.D., Suhong Li, Ph.D., David Gannon, and Philip Lombardi examined how students, faculty, and staff use AI chatbots. Students were most likely to experiment, while faculty expressed caution. The team argues that tailored literacy programs are essential for responsible adoption.
Agent-Based Modeling in Actuarial Science: Professor of Mathematics Rick Gorvett, Ph.D., highlights agent-based modeling (ABM) in the Casualty Actuarial Society E-Forum as a new tool for actuaries. By simulating micro-level interactions to reveal macro patterns, ABM helps quantify risk and evaluate strategies across insurance and policy scenarios.
Modeling Better Treatments for Amblyopia: Research by Biological and Biomedical Sciences Professor Brian Blais, Ph.D., which used computational models of neural plasticity to evaluate treatments for amblyopia, a leading cause of childhood vision loss, was presented at the 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting. His simulations predict that binocular therapies — especially those using dichoptic masks and contrast disparities — can outperform traditional patching and penalization approaches.
Responsible Analytics in Health Care: Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics Geri Louise Dimas, Ph.D., co-authored a framework in the Journal of Forensic Nursing for applying analytics to combat human trafficking. The paper emphasizes survivor-informed, transparent approaches and highlights forensic nurses’ role in turning data into effective interventions.