Hurtado's current research includes mortality reduction mechanisms in humans with emphasis on cultural niche construction.

Isabelle Petersen is an interdisciplinary humanities scholar with interests in art, literature, religion, and conservation ecology.

Cassell integrates emergence theory with the study of religion to explain how cultural, cognitive, and social structures give rise to religious life.

Ach teaches courses in literature, film, and interdisciplinary studies, and her research often combines insights from literary studies, the desert humanities, and land management history.

Oranli's research and teaching interests include social and political philosophy, Continental philosophy, theories of evil, postcolonial theory, genocide studies, critical philosophy of race, and feminist ethics.