Project Director
The University of Alabama

Dr. Iryna Ashby is a postdoctoral research associate with the DEAP project. Iryna’s research interest focuses on competency-based and interdisciplinary education. She has extensive instructional design experience with multiple colleges and universities across the US, as well as corporate and non-profit organizations to create effective and engaging synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences for diverse learners, including interactive learning, self-paced learning, instructional materials, interactive videos, gamified experiences, and others.

Dr. Jay Bhuyan, Professor of Computer Science Department at Tuskegee University, spent 16 years working as a software architect at Alcatel-Lucent. As such, he brings rich industry experience, which is useful to this project. Dr. Bhuyan has expertise in Network Security and Machine Learning. He serves as the PI of a currently funded NSF ITEST grant whose purpose is to educate nearby high school students at Tuskegee University in Information Technology and Information Security. He is also recipient of an NSA grant which improves Intrusion Detection in a computer and network using system calls and deep leaning. He is a member of IEEE Computer Society and ACM.

Dr. Suzhen Duan is an assistant professor in the Department of Learning Technologies, Design, and School Library Media at Towson University. She received a Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University in 2022 and joined Towson the same year.  Her research interests mainly focus on applying positive psychology interventions (especially the Best Possible Self intervention) into the instructional design to promote learners’ well-being, positive attitudes, motivation, identity, and optimism. Additionally, she maintains an interest in computing education, particularly in the development of students’ competencies, encompassing knowledge, skills, and dispositions, for a managerial pathway. This interest is deeply rooted in her engineering education background and 11 years of experience in the educational technology company, where she served in roles such as project manager, product manager, and general manager.

Dr. Steven M. Grice is a research professor and executive director of Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC), an internationally recognized multidisciplinary social and data science research center that provides tailored research, analysis, and software architecture services with an emphasis on workforce and economic development. Dr. Grice provides vision and leadership for the center and with an emphasis on inclusive models of collaboration to provide strategic solutions for government, industry, and non-profit entities.

Hi, I am Kamrul Hasan a new PhD student at Purdue University’s Learning Design and Technology program. I have more than 6 years of professional experience in teaching and corporate training. I was born and raised in Bangladesh where I completed a BA (Hons.) in English Language and Literature in 2015 and an MBA in Marketing in 2018. I came to the USA in 2021 to pursue an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).

Currently, I am volunteering with Dr. Marisa Exter’s team in the DEAP project.  I am thankful for this wonderful opportunity to work with other team members. This allows me to learn and grow alongside my dedicated fellow members.

 

Dr. John Impagliazzo is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Hofstra University in New York. Dr. Impagliazzo has over five decades of teaching experience, including an endowed chair position at Qatar University in Qatar. He has a doctoral and master’s degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in engineering analysis, a baccalaureate in mathematics and physics (dual major), and an associate degree in electronics.

Impagliazzo has published eighteen books and hundreds of papers and made numerous presentations worldwide. He was editor-in-chief at ACM for nineteen years, where he founded ACM Inroads, the organization’s first computing education magazine, and served in multiple capacities on the ACM Education Board for over thirty years. At IEEE, Impagliazzo actively participated on the IEEE History Committee and has worked with the IEEE History Center for over twenty years, where he created the IEEE History Showcase Project and initiated the IEEE Global History Museum. As Vice President of Publications for the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, he created the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society journal. He also served on the Board of Directors of the IEEE Foundation for six years.

Impagliazzo has evaluated over one hundred computing and engineering programs worldwide, has more than thirty years of accreditation experience, and has chaired the ACM Accreditation Committee for twelve years. He is a CSAB Fellow, an ACM Distinguished Educator, an IEEE Fellow, and an IEEE Life Member.

Shamila Janakiraman is an Assistant Professor in Learning Design & Technology (LTEC) at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She teaches graduate level courses in LTEC and her research interests are in emerging technologies, attitude change instruction, online teaching and learning, and competency-based education. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University (2021-2023) where she worked on designing and developing a competency-based approach in computing education to prepare students for the professional workspace. Shamila is keen on exploring the use of emerging technologies in facilitating attitude change regarding the learning of different subjects, and attitudinal and behavioral learning regarding environmental sustainability and other socio-scientific topics.

Born in Mobile, Alabama and raised throughout the Southeastern United States, Dr. Jonathan Koh has experienced many different cultural settings that place valuable perspectives on social, political, economic, and cultural views. As the grandson of a southern, desegregation era high school principal and teacher, son of an elementary teacher and minister, and the husband of an elementary teacher, education has been and still is the focal point of his life. Jonathan Koh earned his B.S. in Political Science, a Master of Public Administration, and Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration while working as Research Coordinator for the Education Policy Center at the UA.

Ankita Kotangale is a PhD student in Learning Design & Technology at Purdue University. Currently engaged with a dynamic team, Ankita actively contributes to the development of a cutting-edge competency-based education model for computing science, aligning with her primary research focus. Dedicated to leveraging her technical knowledge gained as an information technology engineer, Ankita is committed to shaping the education field through innovative approaches and advancements.

Rajendra K. Raj is a Professor of Computer Science at Rochester Institute of Technology, whose research focuses on data science, distributed systems, and cybersecurity applied to critical infrastructure protection and healthcare. He helped to create the data science area within the computer science department and co-led the creation of RIT’s successful graduate certificate in Big Data Analytics. Prior to RIT, as a vice president of information technology at a multi-national financial services company, Raj designed, implemented, and managed high-performance private-cloud infrastructures and data management systems for globally distributed financial applications.

Timothy T. Reling, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the Mississippi State University National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center (NSPARC), a university research center that provides tailored research, analysis, and software architecture services with an emphasis on workforce and economic development. Dr. Reling holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from Louisiana State University, as well as B.A. degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Southeastern Louisiana University. His research interests broadly encompass sociology, criminology, penology, education, and public health.

His applied research examines criminal justice reform efforts within the context of correctional settings through the development, implementation, expansion, and evaluation of risk-needs-responsivity systems, as well as programmatic efforts addressing collateral consequences of incarceration. Throughout his career, Dr. Reling has worked with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections (LA DPS&C) as the lead statistician for the development and refinement of the Targeted Interventions Gaining Enhanced Reentry (TIGER) 4 th Generation Risk-Needs Responsivity System. His basic research emphasizes examinations of cultural and social structural determinants of sexual violence on college campuses. His work can be found in technical reports, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed journals such as Deviant Behavior, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Urban Studies, and Sex Roles.

Mihaela Sabin is Professor of Computer Science at the University of New Hampshire. Her current research includes computing education and curriculum development. Sabin chaired the ACM/IEEE IT2017 task group that authored the “Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology” report. She has received external funding awards from the National Science Foundation, New Hampshire Innovation Research Center, Google for Education, and other foundations for projects that support expanding professional learning of computational practices for K-12 teachers and increasing participation of marginalized students in computing.

Rahul Simha is Professor of Computer Science at The George Washington University, with an additional courtesy appointment in GW’s school of education. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts in 1990. From 1990-2000 he was first Assistant Professor of Computer Science, then Associate Professor at the College of William & Mary after which he joined GW in 2000.

Dr. Adrienne Smith is a learning scientist with over ten years of experience in education research and evaluation. She applies her knowledge of research methods and expertise in statistical analysis to study and measure the implementation and impact of innovations on participants’ knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors. Her current work focuses on supporting and evaluating the construction of collaborative communities and increasing diversity in STEM.  Adrienne started her career at top evaluation and policy organizations in North Carolina (Horizon Research and the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina) before founding Cynosure Consulting. Adrienne’s commitment to high-quality evaluation is born out of a personal desire to see greater participation of women and other underrepresented students, including students in rural areas and those who learn differently, in STEM education from pre-K through graduate studies.

Deepti Tagare is a PhD student in Learning Design and Technology at Purdue University. Her primary research interest is in teacher professional development in computational thinking skills. She investigates how professional development trainings impact K-12 teachers’ conceptual understanding,  ability to apply, and their ability to integrate computational thinking skills in their classroom. Prior to her PhD career, Deepti has worked as an instructional designer for five years in India. Her undergraduate degree is in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. She is passionate about transforming computing education into a competency-based system and works with the competency model team to help build a competency model for computing.

Dr. Michael Taquino is a research professor and deputy executive director at Mississippi State University’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC), an internationally recognized multidisciplinary social and data science research center that provides tailored research, analysis, and software architecture services with an emphasis on workforce and economic development.

Jafar Tavakoli is currently pursuing his PhD in Learning Design and Technology at Purdue University, with a primary research focus on Competency-Based Education in the field of Computing Science. In his earlier professional journey, he worked as a programmer in his home country, specializing in the development of educational software. Leveraging his programming skill, Jafar is passionate about enhancing the educational landscape by merging technology and learning design.

Cassandra Thomas is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and the Assistant Dean of the College of Business and Information Science at Tuskegee University. She earned her MS in Computer Science from DePaul University and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law from Alabama State University. Before joining TU faculty, she worked 5 years for AT&T Bell Labs. Her research areas include cyber security, STEM retention and curriculum development, and faculty development. She has also collaborated with research colleagues in computer science and other disciplines on projects that include infusing critical soft skills into technically focused students, data analytics and visualization, computational thinking, and designing secure software.

Susan V. Vrbsky is the Interim Department Head and Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Alabama. She has been a member of the Department of Computer Science since 1992.  She has served as the Undergraduate Program Director and Graduate Program Director of Computer Science.  As department head, she helped to create a new BS degree in Cyber Security and revamp the first-year computer science course sequence to improve student retention. Prior to joining the faculty at UA, she worked for several years in industry as a programmer analyst in Chicago, Illinois.

Tiffani L. Williams is a Teaching Professor and Director of Onramp Programs in the Department of Computer Science, and a Dean’s Fellow in Inclusion, Belonging, and Engagement in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From 2017 to 2020, she was the Director of Computer Science Programs and Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University-Charlotte. From 2005 to 2017, she was a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Fan Wu is a professor and head of Computer Science, the director of Tuskegee University Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and the interim director of Tuskegee University Office of Undergraduate Research. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 2008.

Rebecca Zulli Lowe is a social scientist who has over 15 years of experience in the areas of educational program evaluation and project management focusing on interventions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. She is also a research scientist specializing in educational policy research around teacher preparation, professional development, and school turnaround. In addition to completing a doctorate at UNC Chapel Hill in Educational Psychology and an undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, Rebecca has specialized training and expertise in the area of broadening participation of underserved and underrepresented groups in STEM.