Executive Vice President
Science & Technology

Kara has more than 15 years of experience conducting military R&D, with much of that experience being specific to the Army. She has supported a dozen Army Research Institute projects across five field units, serving as Principal Investigator or Project Manager for the majority of those. Dr. Orvis’ work has focused on Army training, including analysis, design, development, production, implementation, and evaluation. She has also worked across all echelons of the Army, from squad to Division staffs. The contract work she has led for ARI has received positive reviews, and associated publications have resulted in several awards, including conference best paper awards. Kara has led the development of a broad range of training products for soldiers, including classroom instruction, web-based instruction and job aids, CD-based instruction, handheld training apps, hip-pocket training, and a training game. The training knowledge and skills for that work has ranged from procedural military decision-making processes to complex leadership skills, such as ethical climate setting.

Kara holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from George Mason University and a B.A. in Psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Management, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Notable Publications

Belanich, J. Orvis, K. L., & Sibley, D. E. (in press). PC-based game features that influence instruction and learner motivation. Military Psychology. (Special issue on challenges in military training: research and applications of advanced simulation and training technologies and methods).

Duchon, A., Kelton, K., Foster, P., & Orvis, K. (2010). Method and system to compare data entities. Patent Number 7,822,750. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Orvis, K. L., Ruark, G., Engel, K. L., & Ratwani, K. L. (2010). Training Leaders on Emotion Management Skills: Challenges in Designing a Blended Learning Program. Symposium conducted at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Ratwani, K. L., Orvis, K. L., & Knerr, B. (2010b). An evaluation of game-based training effectiveness: Context matters. Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). Arlington, VA: NDIA. Nominee for Best Paper – Training Division

Ratwani, K. L., Orvis, K. L., & Knerr, B. W. (2010a). Game-based training effectiveness evaluation in an operational setting. ARI Study Report 2010-02, Arlington, VA.

For more information about Kara’s publications, please contact aptima_info@aptima.com.