Bio
Matt DeLisi is Distinguished Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor, Coordinator of Criminal Justice Studies, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University. A renowned scholar, Professor DeLisi is one of the most influential and prolific criminologists in the world with over 400 scholarly publications on an array of topics in the social, behavioral, and forensic sciences. Professor DeLisi has published 30 books with a variety of publishers including Cambridge University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Jones & Bartlett, Kendall/Hunt, McGraw-Hill, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, Sage, University of Texas Press, and others.
In 2012, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for distinguished teaching and research achievement. In 2019, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science. He is the only scientist in the world who is a Fellow of both organizations.
Although he publishes in multiple content areas, Professor DeLisi is most famous for his research on serious, chronic, violent, and pathological offenders. He has provided expert services and consultation on capital murder and multiple-homicide offender cases in multiple federal and state jurisdictions. In 2013, Professor DeLisi testified to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and consulted on criminal justice policy to a variety of federal stakeholders including the United States Attorney General, National Institute of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. Since 2014, Dr. DeLisi has served as a research specialist with United States Probation and Pretrial Services and engaged with scores of practitioners in the federal judiciary and correctional spheres. Prior to entering academia, Dr. DeLisi worked as a pretrial services officer for five years.
He has been involved in several academic organizations including the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Association for Psychological Science, and Biosocial Criminology Association among others. Since 2017, Professor DeLisi has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom where he serves as Chair of the International Advisor Group for the None-in-Three Project, a multi-nation, multi-disciplinary, large-scale (£ millions) funded initiative to reduce gender-based violence.
Major Awards
- Distinguished Professor, 2020-present
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor (Endowed), 2018-present
- Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2019
- Fellow, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, 2012
- Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Criminal Justice, 2010-present
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