The Association for Psychological Science (APS) has bestowed the honor of Fellow to Robin Panneton, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and associate dean for undergraduate programs in the College of Science Dean’s Office.

APS awards Fellow status to members who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the field of psychology in such areas as research, teaching, and service, according to the group’s website. Candidates must have after 10 years of postdoctoral contribution to the field before being considered for the honor.

In her current position, Panneton supports current and future undergraduate degree programs and course offerings, spearheads academic policies for undergraduate education, oversees current and future programs for study abroad, and heads orientation for new and transfer students in the college. 

Panneton joined Virginia Tech in 1989. Her psychology research focuses on perceptual development from infancy into early toddlerhood, including speech, language and emotion perception, and social engagement. She is the director of the Infant Language, Environment, Attention, and Parenting Laboratory; a faculty affiliate of the School of Neuroscience, the Virginia Tech Center for Autism Research, and the Child Study Center; and has been Fulbright Faculty member since 2008. Among scores of publications, she has co-edited the book Parenting Stress and Early Child Development: Adaptive and Maladaptive Outcomes, and has served as associate editor of the journal Infancy since 2017. 

She earned her a bachelor’s in psychology in 1978 from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and master’s and doctoral degrees in developmental psychology in 1981 and 1985, respectively, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.