معرفی
Erin Kearns serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice within the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska Omaha, while also directing Law Enforcement Partnerships at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Education and Technology (NCITE) Center.
Her research specializes in terrorism dynamics and targeted violence prevention, examining public responses to violence through mixed-method approaches including quantitative analysis, qualitative studies, and controlled experiments. Key investigations explore why groups fabricate terrorism claims, media coverage biases in terrorism reporting, and public perception of counterterrorism measures with particular focus on intersections between mental illness narratives and terrorist labeling.
Dr. Kearns' work demonstrates significant societal impact through extensive media engagement with major outlets including CNN, The Economist, NPR, and The Washington Post, where her analyses on torture depictions influencing public support and decade-long news coverage patterns of terrorism have shaped public discourse.
Her professional recognition includes the National Strategic Research Institute Fellowship and editorial board service for prominent criminology journals, reflecting scholarly authority in her field.
Through the NCITE Center, she actively bridges academic research and operational law enforcement through technology-driven partnerships focused on counterterrorism innovation and suspicious activity reporting systems.
