Vanessa PatrickVanessa Patrick, PhD, is a professor of marketing and the associate dean for research at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. She has a PhD in business from the University of Southern California, and an MBA in marketing and a B degree in microbiology and biochemistry from Bombay University in India. Patrick has published dozens of research articles in top-tier academic journals in psychology, marketing, and management, and popular accounts of her work have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Business Week, Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Washington Post. In her research, she investigates strategies to achieve personal mastery and inspire everyday excellence in oneself and others and is a pioneer in the study of everyday consumer aesthetics. Patrick lives with her family in Houston, Texas. Read More Read Less