The Department of Psychology welcomed Assistant Professor Josh Prasad this semester as the newest Industrial Organizational (IO) Psychology faculty member. Prasad’s research includes the assessment of vocational interests. He began his first semester at Colorado State University teaching the graduate level Industrial Psychology course.

Prasad received a B.S. in brain, behavior, and cognitive sciences from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2011. He then earned an M.A. in psychology from Wake Forest University in 2014 and an M.A. in organizational psychology from Michigan State University in 2017. He continued his educational pursuits at MSU, earning a Ph.D. in organizational psychology earlier this year.

Prasad’s research focuses on the use of assessments across diverse groups, vocational interests, and determinants of performance over time. He has experience with several IO related professions, including interning at Kaufman Financial Group to analyze employee engagement. He also served as a consultant for Ford and Associates and Drasgow Consulting Group.

Prasad is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. At CSU, he will expand upon his research to study the extent to which an individual’s interests match the activities performed in their environment.

His most recent research project goes beyond static assessments of performance to examining performance over time. Through examining performance longitudinally, Prasad aims to identify how our experiences can impact our ability to perform at work.