Eric Zillmer

Anthony Cesarini (Triangle) - Drexel University commonly hosts writers who lecture students about their new books. This time, however, Drexel professor Eric Zillmer, Carl R. Pacifico professor of neuropsychology, tried a new approach. On Nov. 29, he hosted a photo gallery reception at the International House on 37th and Chestnut streets to mark the release of his new book, Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications.

"Normally, I give a lecture on a book and everyone falls asleep," Zillmer joked. "At the end, everyone tells me how good it was. So, I tried to do something different: cross over academic with design in an avenue of art."

Military Psychology was co-edited by Zillmer and Carrie Kennedy, a Drexel graduate.

Kennedy received her Ph.D. from Drexel in 2000. Currently, she is a lieutenant commander and neuropsychologist in the U.S. Navy and is working as the chief of behavioral health services at a detention hospital in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"She was one of the best students I have had, and we still work together," Zillmer said. "Unfortunately, she couldn't be here tonight, since she is deployed to the naval base in Guantanamo Bay."

John Langdon, professor of advanced typography and logo design, collaborated with Zillmer to develop the exhibit's artwork. He also created "Psychology of War," a drawing that viewers can interpret in multiple ways, specifically for the exhibit.

Langdon has previously exhibited his work with ambigrams at Drexel; he is well-known for his art and logo design, and was the basis for the protagonist in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code.

Zillmer stressed that no one person could be credited with writing the book. Of the 16 chapters in the book, psychologists in the field wrote 14.

"You would think that since I didn't personally write the entire book, this was a relatively easy project," said Zillmer. "But it was hard to reach out to other people and find experts in this specialized area. A lot of this information is classified, so it was difficult to put it in an unclassified way that was still useful. In the end, we created a useful guide that has been thought to be the definite handbook on the psychology in military environments."

Zillmer dedicated the book to his father, a 1944 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Zillmer grew up in the military; he was born in Japan and lived in ten different countries. When he came to Drexel in 1988, he preferred eating lunch at the International House in West Philadelphia because he considered himself an international student. He chose to showcase his new book at the International House because he considers it the "cultural epicenter of West Philadelphia."

Military Psychology is available at Barnes and Noble bookstores and is priced at $45.