  A matrix Hamiltonian model is developed to address the finite-volume effects
appearing in studies of baryon resonances in lattice QCD. The Hamiltonian model
includes interaction terms in a transparent way, and can be readily generalized
to address multi-channel problems. The eigenvalue equation of the model is
exactly solvable, and can be matched onto chiral effective field theory. The
model is investigated in the case of Delta -> nucleon-pion scattering. A robust
method for determining the resonance parameters from lattice QCD is developed.
It involves constraining the free parameters of the model based on the lattice
spectrum in question. The method is tested in the context of a set of
pseudodata, and a picture of the model-dependence is obtained by examining a
variety of regularization schemes in the model. A comparison is made with the
Luescher method, and it is found that the matrix Hamiltonian method is equally
robust. Both methods are tested in a more realistic scenario, where a
background interaction corresponding to direct nucleon-pion scattering is
incorporated into the pseudodata. The resulting extraction of the resonance
parameters associated with the Delta baryon resonance provides evidence that an
effective field theory style of approach yields a successful realization of
finite-volume effects in the context of baryon resonances.
