ISU Impact: Engaging With The College of Arts and Letters

From ISU to Princeton to Posit: Dr. Michael Chow on Second Chances, Data, and AI

By Kandi J. Turley-Ames, Ph.D.

Published December 15, 2025 at 6:07 AM MST

Dean Kandi Turley-Ames talks with ISU psychology alum and software engineer Dr. Michael Chow about how he turned an early academic stumble into a path through cognitive psychology, a fully funded PhD at Princeton, and his current work building open-source tools for data analysis at Posit. They explore how ISU’s mentors and “second-chance” culture shaped his journey, why cognitive psychology is a powerful launchpad into tech, and how AI is transforming software development, learning, and the future of higher education.

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Kandi J. Turley-Ames, Ph.D.

Kandi Turley-Ames began her journey at Idaho State University by graduating from ISU with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 1990 and a Master of Science in Psychology in 1993. She completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at Washington State University in 1996. She is a graduate of the Higher Education Resource Service for women in higher education administration. Her academic area of expertise includes memory and cognition. She has published numerous papers with colleagues and students on how strategies impact memory and higher cognitive abilities.

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