Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é

We are delighted to welcome each of our new faculty members to the UTEP community. Many of our new colleagues have moved to El Paso from places across the globe—from Germany, Illinois, California, the Republic of Cameroon to Mexico and Brazil—while some have already been here at UTEP and are settling into new roles. We are grateful for their presence and look forward to the many contributions they will make as educators, scholars, and leaders on campus and in the community. Welcome to UTEP!

Elias Adanu
Assistant Professor, Department of English

Dr. Adanu has earned a tenure-track position after serving as a visiting assistant professor in the UTEP Rhetoric and Writing Studies program. His research background is in non-Western and cultural rhetorics, visual rhetoric, digital rhetoric, technical writing, and migration and diasporas. Dr. Adanu earned a doctoral degree in English from Texas A&M Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a bachelor's in English and political science (summa cum laude) from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Ghana in Accra, Ghana. He holds a graduate certificate in digital humanities and in Africana studies. Dr. Adanu is a member of the following affiliations: Rhetoric Society of America (RSA), Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCC), African Studies Association (ASA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and Rhetoric Society of Ghana (RSG). He served as a reviewer in the RSA 2022 Conference, and as the international students' representative during his time at Texas A&M. Dr. Adanu has a vast background in professional writing. He worked for Docs Essentials as the CEO and lead content developer,  writing consultant for the British Council of Ghana, and conference rapporteur and technical writer for conferences held by the United Nations and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations. Dr. Adanu has a five chapter monograph project in progress entitled, The Rhetorics of a Afropolitan Projects: Mobility, Circulation, and Publics. As an avid photographer, he is also interested in visual rhetorics, specifically, how photography shapes public culture.

Kosaku Aoyagi
Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

Dr. Aoyagi joins UTEP from the Boston Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é School of Medicine with an expertise in central pain mechanisms (e.g., central sensitization, inefficient descending pain inhibition) including risk factors and consequences, physical therapy, targeted assessments and treatments based on underlying pain mechanisms, clinical epidemiology, and interdisciplinary pain management. His research goal is to establish mechanism-based physical therapy (PT) pain management to improve symptoms in knee osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain. Dr. Aoyagi earned a doctoral degree in rehabilitation science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas Medical Center, a master’s degree in rehabilitation science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois at Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education in Tokyo, Japan. While completing his postdoctoral training at BU School of Medicine, Dr. Aoyagi used data from one of the world’s largest cohort studies, the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST), with over 3000 participants with or at risk of knee OA. He also pursued developing professional research and teaching skills by participating in competitive courses including a grant writing course in rheumatology clinical research (Harvard Medical School), an early research career development course (BU School of Medicine), and the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project (Boston Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é). Dr. Aoyagi serves on the editorial board for Frontiers in Neurology and is an ad hoc reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals including Pain Journal, Arthritis Care and Research, and Pain Medicine. In his downtime, he enjoys running, scuba diving, reading, and family time.

Edel Arrieta
Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Arrieta has earned a full-time position as assistant professor of practice after serving as a research assistant and instructor in the W.M Keck Center for 3D Innovation at UTEP. His areas of interest include linear and non-linear computational mechanics, modeling and simulation, additive manufacturing and metamaterials engineering, systems engineering, structural engineering, and project engineering. Dr. Arrieta earned a doctoral degree and master's degree in civil engineering from UTEP, and a bachelor's in civil engineering from Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. He holds numerous professional certifications in advanced linear analysis and linear static and normal modes analysis. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Arietta worked as a project engineer at Lintel in Juarez, MX where he was responsible for the design and assembly of light industrial manufacturing buildings. Dr. Arrieta's work was recognized among the Top 10 Universities in the 2016 MSC Software Simulating reality contest.

Melissa Baker
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration

Dr. Baker joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Toronto with a research focus on addressing political cognition, how individuals process their political worlds, the influence of emotions and mental health/well-being on political attitudes and behavior, and how people consume and use political information. She earned a doctoral degree in political science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California, Merced (UC Merced), and a bachelor’s in psychology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Baker is a member of the American Political Science Association, International Society for Political Psychology, and the Society for Political Methodology. She was awarded a grant from the Center for Effective Global Action at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California, Berkeley to study wellbeing interventions to increase political participation in underserved communities. Dr. Baker publishes her research in three disciplines: political science, psychology, and biology. While at UC Merced, Dr. Baker received a Departmental Teaching Award and an interdisciplinary grant to lead a working group entitled "Emotions in a Political Society". In 2021, Dr. Baker received the Marian Irish Award at the annual Southern Political Science Association meeting. The award is given to the authors of the Best Paper on Women and Politics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, live music, and watching basketball.

Harish Banda
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Banda joins UTEP from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a research background in electrochemistry of materials and specific expertise in developing materials for energy storage technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. His research at UTEP focuses on developing a precise control on the electrochemical features of an electrode-electrolyte interface through novel material and electrolyte design strategies. Dr. Banda earned a doctoral degree in chemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Grenoble Alpes, France, and a bachelor's-master’s dual degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Trivandrum. At MIT, Dr. Banda was the lead for the collaborative research effort between MIT and Lamborghini to develop high power batteries for fast-charging supercars. The collaboration led to successful development of high-power batteries made from sustainable organic materials and gave rise to three patents within three years. In 2018, he was invited to attend the annual Global Young Scientists Summit in Singapore. From 2019-2020, Dr. Banda served as an executive board member for the MIT Postdoctoral Association where he proposed and coordinated a broad effort from his graduating class in launching a blog that helped guide prospective doctoral students plan and prepare for graduate admissions within India, Europe, and the U.S. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing volleyball, and watching soccer.

Spencer Barnes
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Barnes joins UTEP from Florida State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (FSU) with a research background in the influence of human phenomena on prices in financial markets. He is particularly interested in the impact on recognition, gender, ethnicity, and mortality. He earned a doctoral degree in finance from FSU, a master’s in economics from FSU, and a bachelor’s in economics from Belmont Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. During his time at FSU, Dr. Barnes served as the director of the Finance and Accounting Ph.D. Student Seminar Series. Most recently, he solo authored the article “Killing in the Stock Market: Evidence from Organ Donations” in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance. In 2021, other research earned him the Best Paper Award from the Academy of Economics and Finance (AEF), the Southwestern Finance Association (SWFA), and the American Finance Association (AFA) Conference. Dr. Barnes is a member of the AFA and the Financial Management Association (FMA). Dr. Barnes’ wife is an electrical engineering for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. They have a dog named Katara and a cat named Thor, which mean thunder and rain drop together. During his downtime Dr. Barnes enjoys golfing, horse racing, listening to music, and reading.

Anadeli Bencomo
Professor and Dean, College of Liberal Arts

Dr. Bencomo joined UTEP in June of 2022 as dean of the College of Liberal Arts with a faculty appointment as a professor in the Department of Languages and Linguistics. She comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Houston (UH), where she served as a professor of Latin American literature and cultural studies and held several administrative posts. Dr. Bencomo’s research on Mexican Narrative (i.e. Narconarratives, Urban Chronicle, and Postmodern Fiction) fits in the crossroads of Literary Studies, Critical Theory, and Cultural Studies. Her literary research also focuses on narrative genres (i.e., short novels), and market trends for Latin American authors. At UH, Dr. Bencomo also served as associate dean for faculty and research in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, two terms as chair of the Department of Hispanic Studies, and director of Spanish Graduate Studies. Dr. Bencomo is a native of Venezuela. She earned a doctoral and master’s degree in Latin American literature from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Pittsburgh and Universidad Simón Bolívar, in Caracas, Venezuela, respectively, and a bachelor’s degree in literature from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas. She also earned a higher diploma in modern French studies from the Alliance Française in Paris. Throughout her career she has been awarded two Fulbright Scholarships and two Rockefeller Foundation Grants to conduct research in Mexico.

Ritwik Bhattacharya
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

Dr. Bhattacharya joins UTEP from the School of Engineering and Sciences Tecnologico de Monterrey, Queretaro in Mexico. His research interests are in the arena of statistical quality control techniques and ordered statistics. Dr. Bhattacharya is interested in the problem of parametric/non-parametric control chart techniques in high-dimensional processes, acceptance sampling, inference based on order statistics, design issues in reliability life-testing experiments, Bayesian design problems in reliability, and survival analysis. He earned a doctoral degree in quality reliability and operations research from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, India; a master’s in mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India; and a bachelor’s in mathematics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Calcutta. Dr. Bhattacharya served a postdoctoral fellow at the Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas (CIMAT) in Monterrey, Mexico, where he also served as a committee member of a Ph.D. thesis on Engineering. He is recognized as a Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI) level I by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) in Mexico - a prestigious recognition of active researchers in Mexico. He has delivered talks and workshops as an invited speaker at the National Institute of Technology Surat (India), CIMAT, and ISI; and designed industrial engineering undergraduate courses on statistical quality control and operational management. He regularly serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Statistical Computation, Journal of Testing and Evaluation, and Mathematics and Computers in Simulation.

Mohammad Iqbal Hossain Bhuiyan
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Bhuiyan joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Pittsburgh. His research interests are largely directed towards understanding the pathophysiology of neurological disorders including vascular contributions to cognitive impairments and dementia (VCID) and ischemic stroke. Dr. Iqbal’s lab works on the development of innovative therapeutics based on novel translational studies. He earned a doctoral degree in biomolecular science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Science and Technology (UST), South Korea, a master’s degree in food engineering and bioprocess technology from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and a bachelor’s in Biotechnology from Khulna Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, Bangladesh. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Iqbal served as PI on an NIH R01 grant and Co-I of several NIH and VA grants. He was recognized for his research and received young investigator best award in VA Pittsburgh twice. He is an active member of different professional societies including American Stroke Association (ASA), American Heart Association (AHA), Society for Neuroscience (SFN) and serves as a review editor for Frontiers in Stroke, and as a reviewer for several journals including EJP, NRR, among others. His most recent book chapter is entitled, "WNK-SPAK/OSR1-CCC signaling in ischemic brain damage". He is excited to collaborate with faculties and PI’s of UTEP and other local and national institutes to develop therapeutic intervention for VCID and ischemic stroke.

Anass Bouchnita
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

Dr. Bouchnita comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at Austin, where he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. His research is highly interdisciplinary and aims to build mathematical models that integrate data and knowledge across multiple scales of biological hierarchy. He develops multiscale models using available multi-omics data and leveraging key collaborations with biologists and medical doctors to study complex problems in biology and medicine. Dr. Bouchnita’s research goal is to build in silico tools that help biologists gain insights into complex living systems and assist clinicians in the prediction of the best therapeutic plans for individual patients. In the future, he aims to combine his computation models with artificial intelligence to build trustworthy hybrid systems. Dr. Bouchnita holds two doctoral degrees—a PhD in mathematical modeling and scientific computing from the Mohammadia School of Engineering, Morocco; and a PhD in physiology, organism biology, interactions, populations from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Lyon, France. Dr. Bouchnita has published 30 peer-reviewed journal articles where he developed mathematical models to gain insights into complex systems originating from oncology, hematology, cardiovascular diseases, immune response, viral infections, developmental biology and infectious diseases. He is a member of the editorial board for Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena (MMNP)—an international research journal that publishes top-level original and review papers. In his downtime, he enjoys listening to classic country music, hiking, visiting museums, reading philosophical literature, and listening to podcasts. Dr. Bouchnita is deeply pleased and honored to join the UTEP community and is looking forward to making a positive impact and effectively contributing to the teaching and research of the university and the department.

Kelly Burke
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Burke joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with research focused on the intersection of social and legal psychology. Her work examines factors that contribute to injustice in the legal system as well as the factors that shape perceptions of legal authorities. Her current scholarship focuses on understanding the psychological mechanisms involved in police officer decision making and various factors that influence it, such as civilian race and officer empathy. Dr. Burke also examines how jurors’ decisions are influenced by case evidence such as police officers’ body-worn camera footage, and how police officer behavior and pre-existing trust in police influence public perceptions of police. She earned a doctoral degree in social and personality psychology and a master’s degree in psychology at UIC, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas. Dr. Burke’s co-edited volume, The legacy of racism for children: Psychology, law, and public policy, was named one of the Choice Review's 2021 Outstanding Academic Titles in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. She was awarded the UIC Psychology Department’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2021, and she mentored over 15 undergraduate research assistants, helping several of them to win awards, complete their honors capstone theses, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and present research at conferences throughout graduate school. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). Dr. Burke received the National Science Foundation Law & Science Dissertation Grant awarded by Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é for her dissertation study examining how civilian race influences police officer emotion, cognition, and interpersonal behavior. She won the AP-LS Diversity Research Award for her master’s thesis examining whether and how collective guilt influences juror decision making, and was awarded the UIC Dean’s Scholar Fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends. Dr. Burke is very excited to join the UTEP and El Paso community.

Nicolas Cachanosky
Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Cachanosky joins UTEP from Metropolitan State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Denver with a research focus on monetary policy, monetary reform, and political economy. He earned a doctoral degree and master’s degree in economics from Suffolk Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master's in economics and political sciences from Escuela Superior de Economía y Administración de Empresas in Argentina, and a licentiate in economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. He is a member of the Association for Private Enterprise Education, Mont Pelerin Society, and the Southern Economic Association. Dr. Chachanosky is the co-editor of LIBERTAS: Segunda Epoca and sits on the editorial board of the Review of Austrian Economics and the Economists’ Voice. He served as the president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and as the director of the Mont Pelerin Society. Dr. Chachanosky is a Senior Fellow of the Sound Money Project at the American Institute for Economic Research and a Fellow of the UCEMA Friedman-Hayek Center for the Study of a Free Society. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano and dancing tango with his wife.

Dora Carcoba
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Dr. Carcoba returns to her alma mater after working as an acute care nurse practitioner in the internal medicine and critical care unit at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, NM. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from UTEP; a master's in acute care from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; a post-master's FNP certificate from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UTEP. Dr. Carcoba is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), and the American Nurses Association (ANA). She holds an ACNP certification and serves as a family practice volunteer at the El Paso Baptist Clinic. Dr. Carcoba is fluent in Spanish. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, and cycling.

Justin Cardenas
Lecturer, Entering Student Experience

Justin Cardenas joins UTEP from Vista Hills Elementary School in El Paso, TX, where he served as a teacher and chair of the Fine Arts Department. He is interested in the differences between education on the border compared to that in other parts of the country. Additional areas of interest include economically disadvantaged communities, first-generation students, and helping students navigate world experiences. Cardenas earned a Master of Music with a concentration in performance and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education from UTEP. Cardenas is a dual-credit instructor and has a background in developing curriculums for grade-school-level fine arts programs. His curriculum design includes an interdisciplinary approach, bridging world history, religious studies as it relates to music development, and music theory and its evolution.  Cardenas received the Top Ten Teacher Award from Ysleta High School for three consecutive years (2017-2019). Cardenas shares that he is a family man, enjoys woodworking, and loves sharing his love of music with his students.

James Benjamin Chapman V
Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences

Dr. Chapman joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Wyoming, where he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics. His research focuses on the tectonics of convergent orogenic systems and the evolution of continental lithosphere. In Cordilleran systems, for example, he examines interactions between the mantle lithosphere, continental arc, orogenic plateau/hinterland, retroarc thrust belt, and retroarc foreland basin. His primary subdisciplines are structural geology, igneous petrology/geochemistry, geochronology/thermochronology, and sedimentary/basin analysis. Dr. Chapman earned a doctoral degree in geosciences from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arizona, a master's in geology from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso, and a bachelor's from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Dr. Chapman has mentored numerous students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Caitlin E. Coughlin
Assistant Professor, Department of Languages and Linguistics

Dr. Coughlin joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas with a research focus in using psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic methods to investigate how native and non-native speakers of a language process morphological information. She is also interested in what acoustic cues native and non-native speakers of a language use to parse the speech signal. She earned a doctoral degree in linguistics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas, a master’s degree in French language learning from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and a bachelor’s in teaching of French from UIUC. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Coughlin taught courses on language and mind, introductory linguistics, and reproducible linguistics research using ‘R.’ She serves as a journal manuscript reviewer for several publications which include Applied Psycholinguistics, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, and Lingua. In her downtime, Dr. Coughlin enjoys cooking and running.

Erika Edwards
Associate Professor, Department of History

Dr. Edwards joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of North Carolina at Charlotte with research focused on African Diaspora, Afro-Latin America, black women, gender, and state-formation. She earned her doctoral degree in Atlantic history from Florida International Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a bachelor’s in history from Grand Valley State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Dr. Edwards is a member of the Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH), the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD), and the Conference of Latin American History (CLAH). She is currently the co-executive director of CLAH. In 2020, Dr. Edwards published her award-winning book, Hiding in Plain Sight: Black Women, the Law, and the Making of a White Argentine Republic. She served as a board member (2017-2022) for Latin Americans Working for Achievement (LAWA) and provided the keynote address for the LAWA's Scholarship Award Ceremony in 2014. Dr. Edwards’ Hiding in Plain Sight won several awards including the 2021 Western Association of Women’s Historians’ Barbara “Penny” Kanner Book Award, the 2020 Association of Black Women Historians’ Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize, a 2021 Finalist for the Schomburg's Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery Harriet Tubman Book Prize Award, and the 2020 Finalist for the Berkshire Women Historians Book Prize. She has recently provided a talk for the U.S. Embassy in Argentina about the history of whitening/race-making in Argentina and was interviewed by NPR for a feature about race and the World Cup which will air November 2022. In her free time, Dr. Edwards loves to dance to salsa and 80s music.

Zhengtao Gan
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Gan joins UTEP from Northwestern Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where he completed his postdoctoral studies as a research assistant professor. His research background is in multiscale and multiphysics modeling for advanced manufacturing, and mechanistic artificial intelligence. Dr. Gan earned a doctoral degree from the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing, China, where he was honored as an Outstanding Graduate of Beijing. He earned a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Chongqing Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, China, receiving several honors including the Qiu Shi scholarship, 1st place in the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é's mechanics competition, and 1st place in the National Experimental Mechanics Competitions. As a doctoral candidate, Dr. Gan was recognized as the Top Performer by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Additive Manufacturing Modeling Challenge Series: Micro-scale Process-to-Structure Predictions. During his postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern, Dr. Gan was awarded three 1st place positions by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Additive Manufacturing Benchmark Challenge. Dr. Gan serves as a reviewer for numerous publications including Nature Communications, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Optics and Laster Technology, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, among others.

Diego L. Leal G.
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Leal joins UTEP from Southern Methodist Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SMU), where he served as a visiting assistant professor of finance. His research focus is in nonlinear structural estimation of corporate bond liquidity. He earned a doctoral degree in finance from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Oklahoma and a master's in finance from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Rochester. He completed his undergraduate studies in industrial engineering from Universidad Simón Bolivar in Venezuela and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. He recently published "Estimating the Term Structure of Corporate Bond Liquidity Premiums: An Analysis of Default Free Bank Bonds" in the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money. During his time at SMU, Dr. Leal was nominated for the Honoring Our Professors Excellence Award, which celebrates the hard work and accomplishments of faculty alongside the students who nominate them.

Jesse Glaze
Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting and Information Systems

Dr. Glaze joins UTEP with research focusing on capital markets, retail investors, firm disclosures, and information intermediaries. He earned a doctoral degree in accounting from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), a master’s in accountancy from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Georgia, and a bachelor’s in accounting from Georgia State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Dr. Glaze is a certified public accountant, worked as an external auditor at Grant Thornton LLP in Atlanta, GA, served as president of the Doctoral Student Body Association at the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder, and is a member of the American Accounting Association. He was a 2021 AAA/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium Fellow, a two-time recipient of the Gerald Hart Research Fellowship at CU Boulder, and a recipient of the Outstanding Accounting Ph.D. Student Fellowship at the CU Boulder. In his spare time, Dr. Glaze enjoys hiking, staying active, reading, and spending time with his wife, Ally, and their newborn son, Morrison.

Amanda Goodson
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice

Dr. Goodson joins UTEP from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é with a research agenda emphasizing best practices for practitioners by identifying and addressing limitations to system responses to crime victims. Dr. Goodson is particularly interested in disentangling police responses to domestic and sexual violence. She earned a doctoral degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s in criminal justice and a bachelor’s in criminal justice and psychology from Boise State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Dr. Goodson was the PI of a $5,000 small grant awarded by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and was the 2019 recipient of the American Society of Criminology—Division of Women and Crime Graduate Scholar Award. She is a member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. In her free time, Dr. Goodson enjoys reading mass quantities of fiction novels and traveling. She is excited to join the UTEP community.

Chris Guerra
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice

Dr. Guerra joins UTEP with research interests in immigrant antisocial behavior, theoretical mechanisms contributing to the immigrant paradox, and myriad other criminal justice related issues that would benefit from advanced theoretical and methodological perspectives. These include various policing issues and behavior in online environments. He earned a doctoral degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SHSU), and a master’s and bachelor’s in criminal justice from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of North Texas. Dr. Guerra successfully defended and received his Ph.D. in May 2022. As a student, he was a member of the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the College of Criminal Justice at SHSU and the president of the Criminal Justice Graduate Student Organization. He is a member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and Latina/o/x Criminology (LC). Dr. Guerra published his first lead peer-reviewed article in a high impact journal in June 2022 and his first peer-reviewed article in January 2020. He was a finalist for graduate student of the year during his time as a doctoral candidate. During his downtime, he enjoys disc golf, online gaming, and listening to podcasts.

Eunae Han
Assistant Professor, Department of Education Psychology and Special Services

Dr. Han joins UTEP from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Iowa (UI). As a counselor and educator, she believes that it is critical for the counseling profession to assist counselors-in-training to develop Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies. Her research interests include feminist approaches to counseling education, trauma-informed counseling and supervision, and researcher identity and research mentoring for women of color. Dr. Han earned a doctoral degree in education with a specialization in counselor education and supervision from the UI, two master’s degrees in education from UI and Seoul National Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SNU) in South Korea, and a bachelor’s in English language education from SNU. In South Korea, Dr. Han was trained by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (ROK) to provide counseling for survivors of gender-based violence and to teach suicide prevention to K-12 students. At the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Iowa, she continued advocating for women by working with the Student Advisory Committee on Sexual Misconduct (SACSM) and the Council for the Status of Women. Dr. Han was selected as an emerging leader and participated in leadership training to connect with other leaders from the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the Korean Counseling Association. Dr. Han was awarded the NCACES Research Award in 2020, the 2021 ACES Research Grant Award, and the Dean’s Achievement Award from the UI College of Education. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and watching movies.

Hyunrang Han
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Dr. Han joins UTEP from Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (ASU) with a research focus in nonprofit management from a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) perspective. Specifically, she is interested in historically underrepresented groups in our society and how to empower them within the nonprofit sector. The second branch of her research is related to philanthropy and social inequality. She is particularly interested in the roles, impacts, and institutional characteristics of grantmaking foundations that support women’s causes in the U.S. Her work has led her to collaborate with practitioners and scholars across sectors and find governance-based solutions to societal issues for social innovation. She earned a doctoral degree in nonprofit leadership and management from Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s in NGO policy and management from Kyung Hee Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in South Korea (KHU), and a double bachelor’s in sociology and mass communication from KHU. She is a member of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR), and the Korean Nonprofit & Philanthropy Researchers Network (KNPRN). Dr. Han served as staff and researcher for the YMCA of East Timor where she worked on the development of self-reliant fair-trade coffee in East Timor, a project on nonprofit open data collective, and a project on the determinants of disaster mass care services production and impacts by Arizona Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations. While at ASU, Dr. Han was awarded the Graduate & Professional Student Association Outstanding Research Award, and the Dr. Mark and Mrs. Judy Searle Dissertation Research Grant. In her free time, Dr. Han enjoys traveling and dancing. She is excited to be joining the UTEP community and to have the opportunity to collaboratively work with students and researchers to advance our knowledge of nonprofit studies.

Armanj D. Hasanyan
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Hasanyan joins UTEP from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) with a research focus in advanced composites and manufacturing methods which include experimental and numerical fracture mechanics, 3D printing of composites; and the designing and analysis of large, deployable composite shell structures for space missions and spacecraft design. He earned a doctoral degree and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Michigan (MICH), and a bachelor’s in engineering science and mechanics from Virginia Tech. While at Caltech, Dr. Hasanyan worked on the Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) spacecraft, which included the development of a 2m x 2m large deployable spacecraft structure that is scheduled for launch in-space deployment in December 2022. While at MICH, he proposed a novel continuum mechanics theory called micropolar theory for modeling localization phenomena in composite, textile, and honeycomb materials under compression loading; and won the Harry H. and Lois G. Hilton Student Paper Competition in Structures for 1st place in the AIAA SciTech student paper competition. Dr. Hasanyan is an active member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and he sits on the AIAA Spacecraft Structure Technical Committee.  In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing and watching basketball games, exploring new cities, salsa dancing, and occasionally skydiving. Dr. Hasanyan looks forward to joining the UTEP community and having the opportunity to engage with its amazing faculty and students.

Daniel B. Heiman
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education

Dr. Heiman joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of North Texas (UNT) with a focus on critical ethnographic research that examines critical consciousness, activism, and acompañamiento in dual language bilingual education (DLBE) and bilingual teacher preparation contexts. He earned a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction with a focus on bilingual and bicultural education from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at Austin and a master’s in education from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Heiman was a 4th grade bilingual teacher in El Paso, TX from 2000-2005, a professor at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Veracruz, Mexico from 2006-2010, and an assistant professor of bilingual education and faculty affiliate in Latin@ and Mexican American Studies at UNT from 2018-2022. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and is part of the Council on Anthropology and Education (CAE) in the American Anthropological Association. In 2018, Dr. Heiman's dissertation "Two-way immersion, gentrification, and critical pedagogy: Teaching against the neoliberal logic" tied for first place for Outstanding Dissertation in the Bilingual Education SIG from the American Education Research Association (AERA). He was a CAE Concha Delgado Gaitán Fellow in 2020, and his 2021 article in Anthropology & Education, “’So is gentrification good or bad?’: One teacher’s implementation of the fourth goal in her TWBE classroom”, was one of the most downloaded articles in its first 12 months of publication. During his free time, he enjoys biking and being outdoors with his familia. Dr. Heiman is excited to be coming back to El Paso after 17 years.

Darla Hernandez
Clinical Instructor, School of Nursing

Darla Hernandez comes to the UTEP School of Nursing after serving in the community in adult oncology and pediatrics. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso. Hernandez also has a background in assessing, and designing network and unit educational programs for nursing personnel. She holds a certification in pediatric oncology nursing (CPHON), pediatric chemotherapy, and basic life support (BLS). Hernandez has served as a volunteer with the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses (TPAPN), with the Special Olympics for their Free Medical Day, and the Inner Resources for Children & Families Foundation. She is a member of the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, Texas Nurses Association, and the National League for Nursing.

Regi Johny
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Regi Johny comes to UTEP after working in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Medical Center, where she cared for patients will cardiac diseases such as congestive heart failure and myocardiac infarction. Johny brings to UTEP over 23 years of bedside experience. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso. Johny holds certifications in basic life support (BLS),  advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), critical care nursing (CCRN), and is a member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

Eda Koculi
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Koculi comes to UTEP from Johns Hopkins Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é with research focused on the protein-RNA interactions implicated in human diseases. Dr. Koculi’s research goal is to use the biochemical and structural knowledge obtained in her laboratory to treat bacterial and viral infections and stop cancer progression. She earned a doctoral degree in biophysics from Johns Hopkins Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s degree in biochemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Oklahoma, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Koculi is a member of the American Chemical Society, Biophysical Society, and RNA Society. She is the recipient of multiple grants and the author of 21 papers, which are cited more than twenty-nine thousand times in Google Scholar. Having a complete understanding of the importance of diversity in performing scientific research creatively and efficiently, she has successfully mentored many undergraduate, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from groups historically underrepresented in sciences. In her free time, Dr. Koculi enjoys hiking, and is excited to experience the many breathtaking State and National Parks that El Paso has to offer.

Kelly Lambeth
Clinical Instructor, Speech Language Pathology Program

Kelly Lambeth joins the faculty at her alma mater after serving the community of El Paso, Texas as a speech language pathologist. She brings to UTEP a research background in traumatic brain injury and clinical instruction. Lambeth earned a master’s in speech-language pathology and a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso. (UTEP) During her studies at UTEP, Lambeth worked as a research assistant for the UTEP Concussion Management Clinic where she worked with postdoctoral fellows on mTBI research. Her work involved using neurocognitive evaluation batteries to determine mTBI status and providing recommendations and return-to-school protocols. As a speech language pathologist in the clinical field, Lambeth supervised speech language pathologists completing their clinical fellowship year and co-presented on pediatric dysphagia/feeding disorders to various health medical professionals who were continuing their education (CEUs). She is a member of the El Paso Speech and Hearing Association and the American Speech Hearing Association. Lambeth is certified in Concussion Management (CMC) and licensed in Speech Language Pathology in the state of Texas and has an ASHA Clinical Competency Certification (CCC-SLP). During her downtime, Kelly Lambeth enjoys playing tennis, watching movies, and reading.

Christoph Lauter
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science

Dr. Lauter joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Alaska Anchorage with research focused on reliable floating-point and fixed-point computer arithmetic, a priori error computer arithmetic, code generation for numerical algorithms, and reliable machine learning. He earned a his doctoral degree in computer science from École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in Lyon, France, his master’s in computer science and bachelor’s degree from Technische Universität München in Munich, Germany. Dr. Lauter is a member of IEEE, is on the editorial board of Reliable Computing Journal, and is applying to be a member of the Program Committee of ARITH Conference. He prides himself on having a mix of industry work experience (Intel) and working in academia (Sorbonne, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Alaska, and now, UTEP). Dr. Lauter has also been a PhD advisor in the past with all three of his PhD students working in important roles in industry and academia (ASML, Max Planck Institute, and Université de Nantes). He is the chief architect of Sollya Software tool, the main author of Metalibm software, and the co-inventor of a priori error concept for numerical algorithms. Dr. Lauter defended the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches in 2019, won the Best Paper Award with Nicolas Brunie, Florent de Dinechin, and Olga Kupriianova for "Code generators for mathematical functions" in Proceedings of the 22nd IEEE Symposium on Computer Arithmetic in 2015, and has been the local manager for ANR (French NSF equivalent) Metalibm Research Award. In his free time, he enjoys travel and languages (German, Russian, French, English, and a bit of Spanish), collecting old telephone sets and central office hardware, phreaking, being a member of Telephone Collectors International and of CNET, and being a dad to his two children.

Olga Lauter
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Olga Lauter joins UTEP from EHESS in Paris, France with research focused on urban anthropology in the Arctic. Her other research interests include co-production of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge, cross-cultural religious experience, and ethnohistory. She is currently finishing her manuscript for her doctoral thesis in Anthropology. She earned a master’s in Linguistics and Teaching: English/German from the State Linguistic Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, and a bachelor’s degree in Applied Foreign Languages: German and Russian from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Jean Moulin Lyon 3 in France. She completed 4 year-long fieldwork in collaboration with the urban Yup’ik population in 2022, serves as a board member of USAPECS that works on improving collaborations between early career researchers and polar organizations, and had a 3-year teaching experience at ESAM School of Advanced Management and Finance, EFHT Ecole Française Hôtesse et de Tourisme, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Paris Est Marne-la-Vallée. Olga Lauter is a board member of United States Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS), a member of International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) and is applying to become a member of the American Anthropological Association. She was a reviewer for the preparation of the Arctic FROST workshop and book publication, has presented at nine national and international conferences (e.g., International Congress of Arctic Sciences, Russia, Vienna Anthropology Days, Austria, Annual Meetings of the Alaska Anthropological Association, Fairbanks, Alaska), and has produced three articles at various stages of publication. In her free time, Dr. Lauter enjoys Languages (Russian, German, English, French, and a little bit of Spanish), cultures, and traveling.

Feng Liu
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Liu joins UTEP from Western Illinois Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where she served as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics and Decision Sciences. Dr. Liu's research focuses is in econometrics, the economics of bubbles, forecasting, and monetary policy. She earned a doctoral degree in economics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Mississippi, where she was honored with the Graduate Achievement Award for two consecutive years, and a doctoral dissertation fellowship. Dr. Liu completed a master's in finance from the Shanghai Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Finance and Economics, and a bachelor's in statistics from Qingdao Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in China. She is a journal referee for Econometrica, Journal of Economic Theory, Theoretical Economics, and Statistics and Probability Letters.

Weiqin Lu
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Lu joins UTEP from Stony Brook Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where she developed a frontier research program to understand how pancreatic cancer risk factors such as inflammation and obesity promote oncogenic KRAS-mediated pancreatic cancer initiation and development. Specifically, she is investigating why pancreatic acinar cells harboring oncogenic Kras mutations are vulnerable to the development of pancreatic cancer upon high-fat diet challenge, the role of ROS in the synergistic interaction between inflammation and oncogenic KRAS in promoting pancreatic cancer initiation and development, and the metabolic alterations that occur in the progression from pancreatitis to pancreatic cancer. She earned a doctoral degree from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS). Dr. Lu has been invited to present her work in international and national meetings, serve as an editorial board member, review manuscripts for several prestigious journals, and review grants for NIH study sections and other national and international funding agencies. She is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Pancreatic Association (APA) and serves in several professional societies. Dr. Lu has been recognized for her outstanding research with a range of prestigious awards and grants from MD Anderson Cancer Center, Stony Brook Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and hiking.

Marguerite Mauritz
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Mauritz joins UTEP with a focus in ecosystem carbon cycling and storage mechanisms, how ecosystems respond to climate change and other pressures, and the resiliency to short-term ecosystem stressors. She earned a doctoral degree in ecology through the Join Doctoral Program from San Diego Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and UC Davis, and a bachelor’s in biology from Durham Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in the United Kingdom. At UTEP, Dr. Mauritz is involved in the Dryland Critical Zone Grant, Signals in Soils Grant, and has previously participated in the PolarTrec project which connected her with a high school teacher in the field. She is a member of the American Geophysical Union, Ameriflux, and 500 Women Scientists. Dr. Mauritz was awarded the American Geophysical Union Biogeoscience Excellence in Refereeing Award. In her free time, she enjoys being active outdoors, bike commuting, training her dogs, cooking, and learning Spanish. Dr. Mauritz enjoys helping students become more confident in their data analysis and R coding skills, mentoring students and being amazed by the natural world around us. She has been in El Paso for three years and is looking forward to continuing her current work and finding new ways to learn and engage with the community.

Rebecca Mayer
Professor of Instruction, Department of Theatre and Dance

Rebecca Mayer joins UTEP from Western Wyoming Community College, where she served as an assistant professor and department performing arts faculty and head of the Dance Department. Her research focuses on understanding the challenges and opportunities for performing arts students from rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Mayer is currently developing a solo choreography and storytelling piece that examines her history of teaching and learning urban dance forms (Tap and Jazz Dance) in rural communities. Her theatre and musical theatre teaching and learning approach centers on foundational and specialized techniques for script analysis, acting, physical performance, choreography, and solo work. Her approach involves empowering students to create their own opportunities to perform new and published works of theatre while maintaining agency and honoring personal identity. She earned an Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (VCU), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (cum laude) in Theatre Studies from Boston Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Mayer has performed, directed, and choreographed work for various theatres including the Okoboji Summer Theatre in Iowa, Boston Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Classic Greek Theatre and the Action/Adventure Theatre, Children's Theatre and Teatro Milagro in Oregon, London Tap Jam in London, and more. She has been recognized for her directing and choreography of Points of Departure and the Nutcracker17, which took place at Western Wyoming Community College, and the The Rocky Horror Show, TheatreVCU. During her downtime Mayer enjoys hiking, camping, sewing, quilting, and needlework.

Kenith Meissner
Professor and Dean, College of Engineering

Dr. Meissner joins UTEP as Dean of the College of Engineering, where he also holds a faculty appointment as professor in the Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Meissner comes to UTEP with a robust history of service in both the private sector and academia, having most recently served as the Executive Dean/Pro-Vice Chancellor and as professor of Science and Engineering for Swansea Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Wales. Dr. Meissner’s research has centered on the development of novel optical techniques and materials for diagnosing disease. In addition to his academic career, he has worked with several companies to develop a noninvasive glucose measurement system for people with diabetes. Dr. Meissner earned a doctoral degree in optical sciences from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arizona. After graduating, he served as a postdoctoral appointee in the Surface Physics Group at Sandia National Laboratories, where he researched both white light emitters and intracavity spectroscopy on cells. He completed his undergraduate studies in in electrical engineering from Lehigh Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Bethlehem, PA. He serves on the Institute of Physics National Awards Committee, and as a fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Brandon Merritt
Assistant Professor, Speech Language Pathology Program

Dr. Merritt (he/they) joins UTEP from Indiana Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é-Bloomington (IU Bloomington) with a research agenda focusing on gender diversity and speech communication. As the PI of the PRIDE Lab, their work aims to clarify the role of speech features that are important for gender perception in a variety of speech contexts, explore listener characteristics and experiences that may influence perception of speaker gender, and contribute to understanding the perceptual representation of speech. They earned a doctoral degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from IU Bloomington, a master’s in Speech-Language Pathology and a bachelor’s in Spanish from East Tennessee State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Dr. Merritt has worked as a clinical speech language pathologist for over nine years and is a mentor to graduate speech-language pathology students through ASHA’s Student to Empowered Professional program and the LGBTQ+ CSD Student Association. They are a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Acoustical Society of America. Dr. Merritt most recently received an honorable mention for the Vanderbilt Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences Rising Star Award, won the Indiana Lions Speech and Hearing McKinney Outreach Award, and received the Indiana Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é James Fielding Student Advocate Training Award. During their free time, Dr. Merritt enjoys spending time with their dogs, fiber arts, and hiking.

Jonathon Mohl
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

Dr. Mohl has earned a tenure-track position after serving as assistant professor of research in the UTEP Department of Mathematics, and as a systems analyst in the UTEP Border Biomedical Research Center. His research focuses on the bioinformatic analysis of large data sets in biology using high-performance computing machines. He uses data/computational science techniques to help solve relevant biological questions in areas such as population genetics and cancer. This research has included projects that determined what is floating around in the dust storms in El Paso, TX as well as predicting O-glycosylation of proteins. His work not only looks at the analysis of the data but is developing software to handle the ever-increasing amount of data being generated within the laboratory. Dr. Mohl earned a doctoral degree in computational science from UTEP, a graduate degree in bioinformatics and a graduate certificate in public health from UTEP, and a bachelor's degree in microbiology and biochemistry from Colorado State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. He enjoys working with students and faculty from a broad range of disciplines, helping to train them in Python programming and the use high-performance machines at UTEP, the Texas Advanced Computing Center and through XSEDE. Dr. Mohl has served as a judge in the UTEP Annual Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives Symposium for the last eight years, and has mentored undergraduate students in the UTEP BUILDing SCHOLARS program. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, Society for Glycobiology, International Society of Computation Biology, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the UTEP College of Science Graduate Student Council. In 2019, Dr. Mohl was recognized with the UTEP College of Science Academic and Research Excellence Graduate Student Computational Science Award.

Saideh Mortazavi
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Mortazavi joins the UTEP faculty as an assistant professor of instruction after serving as an instructor of organic chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. She earned a doctoral degree and a master's degree in chemistry from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso, and a bachelor's in chemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California and Beheshti Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, Iran. Dr. Mortazavi received the Outstanding Graduate Student in Chemistry Award during her graduate studies at UTEP. She is a member of the American Chemical Society, and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Anne-Marie Núñez
Executive Director, Diana Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success;
Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations

Dr. Núñez joins UTEP from Ohio State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where she served as professor in the Department of Educational Studies Higher Education and Student Affairs. Her research employs sociological approaches to explore how multiple social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, class, linguistic) shape educational opportunities in diverse social contexts, including college outreach programs, different higher education institutional types, and various policy environments. Dr. Núñez is the inaugural Executive Director of the Diana Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success and Distinguished Centennial Professor in Educational Leadership and Foundations at The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso. She has collaborated on several NSF grants with budgets totaling over $10 million, including with the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), to build inclusive environments in geoscience and computer science disciplines. Her work employs sociological approaches to explore how multiple social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, class, linguistic) shape educational opportunities. She has published several studies on the higher education experiences and trajectories of Latinx, first-generation, English Learner, working, and migrant students. Her book Latinos in higher education and Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Creating conditions for success has provided a framework for serving Latinx students in higher education. In addition, she co-edited Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Advancing Research and Transformative Practice, an International Latino Book Award winner and the first book to focus on HSIs as organizations. She also has served as a National Academy of Sciences Committee member to co-author and disseminate a report about how Minority-Serving Institutions contribute to the science workforce. In 2021, she was identified in the Stanford Elsevier Scholar Index as being among the top 2% of scientists in the world. The American Educational Research Association (AERA) also recognized her as a 2022 AERA Fellow, an honor give to top scholars in educational research with sustained exceptional research contributions. Dr. Núñez earned a doctoral and master's degree in higher education and organizational change from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California, Los Angeles; a master's in administration, policy analysis, and evaluation from Stanford Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; and a bachelor's (magna cum laude) in social studies from Harvard Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é.

Wilson Poon
Assistant Professor, Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Poon joins UTEP from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California, San Francisco, where he was a NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow. His research background is in defining delivery pathways of nanoparticles. Dr. Poon earned a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Toronto (UToronto); a master's in engineering from the McGill Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Montréal, Canada; and a bachelor's (with honours) in biomedical engineering from UToronto. Dr. Poon is a recipient of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) Doctoral Completion Award, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, and the CIHR Canadian Graduate Scholarship Master’s Award, to name a few. He is an advocate for student mentorship, having supervised students - many who have graduated with honours - since the start of his graduate studies at McGill Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Dr. Poon has served as master of ceremonies and judge for the IBBME Annual Research Conference, and judge for the 2020 Vancouver Nanomedicine Day.

MD Fashiar Rahman
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering

Dr. Rahman joins UTEP with a research concentration on artificial intelligence and data analytics for industrial and healthcare systems with the specific application of automated quality inspection and medical imaging investigation. His research interest also includes data-driven systems optimization and supply chain management. He earned a doctoral degree and master’s degree in computational science from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso, and a bachelor’s in industrial & production engineering from Khulna Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Engineering and Technology in Bangladesh. Dr. Rahman is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education, SPIE Medical Imaging, and serves as the CO-PI for the Modeling and Simulation Project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. His research has been published in several journals such as CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology, Journal of Visual Communication and Image Representation, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (AIEDAM), and the Measurement, International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics. In his free time, Dr. Rahman loves to spend time with his family, traveling, reading, and playing cricket with friends. He is excited to join the UTEP community and begin his tenure-track career in academia.

Teri Rosen
Clinical Instructor, School of Nursing

Teri Rosen joins the UTEP faculty after serving in the community as a nurse for El Paso Community Home Health Care. As a nurse, her primary interest is to promote wellbeing and to facilitate healthy lifestyles. She has a personal interest in empowering people, particularly women, by giving them the tools and knowledge they need to reach and maintain their optimal health status. Rosen earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso.

Rafael Sánchez
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Sciences

Dr. Sanchez joins UTEP after completing his Post-Graduate Year 2 (PGY2) Ambulatory Care Residency at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Florida College of Pharmacy. He completed his Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) Community Pharmacy Residency at Aza Health in Palatka, Florida. He received a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Florida College of Pharmacy. Dr. Sanchez has practice interests in ambulatory care, infectious diseases and cardiology, His research interests include improving medication access to the LGBTQIA+ community to prevent HIV infections.

Oishani Sengupta
Assistant Professor, Department of English

Dr. Sengupta joins UTEP with research focused on the relationship between race and affect in British colonial print culture. She is particularly interested in the ways in which visual texts transmit and popularize stereotypes about race, primitivity, and indigeneity through transcontinental print networks crafted by empire and she traces the evolution of print genres and affective reading practices across the British empire in the 19th and 20th century in the visual texts of the Kipling, Henry Rider Haggard, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, among others. She earned her doctoral degree in English Literature from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Rochester, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English Literature from Jadavpur Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in India. Dr. Sengupta was the project coordinator for the William Blake Archive where her role involved navigating their publication schedule across institutions and coordinating the workflow of students. She also worked with the Koller-Collins Center for English Studies at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Rochester Libraries to diversify their collections to represent the many Englishes that comprise scholarship in the discipline, and, as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Digital Humanities, she organized conferences, talks, workshops, and roundtables that sustained and supported interest in digital scholarship at UR and the great Rochester area. Dr. Sengupta is a member of the Modern Language Association (MLA), the North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA), and the Northeast Victorian Studies Association (NVSA). She was awarded Diversity Mentorship Program by the Northeast Victorian Studies Association (NVSA) for the year 2021-2022, was selected to be a part of “The Archive Seminar”—a Mellon-funded interdisciplinary seminar on archival practices and theories—at the Newberry Library in 2019 and was selected to be an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Digital Humanities from 2017-2019. Dr. Sengupta’s hobbies are cooking, translating, and looking at old, tattered, out-of-print books.

Brett Seymoure
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Seymoure comes to UTEP from Washington Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in St. Louis with a research background in light and the role it plays in driving biological functions. His research primarily centers on insects and spiders and how they adapt to different light environments, and how visual systems such as anthropogenic light evolve and affect organisms. Dr. Seymoure’s approach utilizes a sensory and behavioral ecological perspective to shed light onto evolutionary and conservation biology. He earned his doctoral degree in biology from Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where he received the Graduate Student Leader Award. He completed his undergraduate education in biology with honors (magna cum laude) from Alma College in Missouri. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Seymoure earned a graduate fellowship with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, followed by a Night Skies Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the National Park Service. He then received a Grossan Family Postdoctoral Fellowship with The Living Earth Collaborative at Washington Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. In 2016, Dr. Seymoure was recognized with the Paper of the Year Award by the Journal of Zoology. He is a board member of the Conservation Behavior Committee of the Animal Behavior Society, a chapter board member of the International Dark Sky Association, and he sits on the advisory board for the Zoological Lighting Institute. During his downtime, Dr. Seymoure enjoys backpacking, running, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, reading about natural history, and working on DIY projects.

Afroza Shirin
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Shirin has earned a tenure-track position after serving as a research associate in the Aerospace Center (cSETR) at The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Her research experience and expertise are in dynamical systems modeling, design, navigation, and control, using techniques and algorithms from nonlinear dynamics, nonlinear optimal control, optimization, and machine learning. Dr. Shirin earned a doctoral degree in engineering from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of New Mexico, where she worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She completed a master's and bachelor's in mathematics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Shirin has mentored undergraduate and graduate students to develop their programming skills and course work in dynamics, control, mechanics, optimization, and nonlinear dynamics.

Kedron Silsbee
Assistant Professor, Department of Physics

Dr. Silsbee comes to UTEP from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, where he completed a postdoc and co-supervised a bachelor-thesis project on the fragmentation of interstellar dust grains. His research focuses on star and planet formation. He has studied orbital dynamics in the context of planet formation, and the dynamical evolution of comets in our solar system to propose a novel explanation for how black holes merge. His research interests include the transport of the low energy cosmic rays that heat and ionize the gas in star-forming regions. Dr. Silsbee earned a doctoral degree in astrophysics from Princeton Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Caltech. While at Princeton, he was involved in teaching and designing curriculum for math and science classes for prisons in New Jersey. During his downtime he enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering, and playing classical piano.

Harleen Singh
Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Sciences

Dr. Singh joins UTEP from Oregon State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where she served as an associate clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The Ohio State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (OSU), then went on to complete a post-graduate residency program in adult medicine at OSU. Her primary practice interests are in ambulatory care cardiology and her research interests include investigating the impact of pharmacist-based interventions on health outcomes for patients with heart failure.

Fredy Solis
Visiting Associate Professor, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Dr. Solis comes to UTEP from the Department of Physical Therapy at Brenau Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Georgia. His research interest is focused on understanding the interactions and relationships among physical activity, pain-related psychosocial factors, and pain processing both in healthy people and people with acute musculoskeletal pain. Dr. Solis earned a doctoral degree in rehabilitation science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Florida (UF), where he also completed a master’s degree in applied physiology and kinesiology as a Fulbright Scholar. During his time at UF, Dr. Solis was also recognized with the Frederick Family Scholarship in Physical Therapy for his outstanding work in academics, teaching, and research. He completed his undergraduate studies in physical therapy from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua – Managua. Dr. Solis is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and the North Carolina Physical Therapy Association. During his time at Brenau Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, he served as his university’s representative on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Consortium of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT).

Johannes Strobel
Professor, Department of Teacher Education, STEM Division;
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Education

Dr. Strobel joins UTEP from SRI International, where he served as director of the STEM and CS Education program. Dr. Strobel's research focuses on STEM as an innovation in education ranging from Pre-K to higher education and workplace culture; making and 3D printing; online professional development of teachers; and defiance, worldviews, empathy and care in engineering. His research has been implemented by a variety of audiences. For example, he is the lead designer for Hands on Standards - STEM in Action, a set of integrated STEM modules for Pre-K to 5th grade students. The national version is used in 400,000 classrooms, reaching 8,000,000 students. The international version has been used in 35 countries and was selected as a finalist for two international education awards. Dr. Strobel has been principal investigator (PI), co-PI, and key personnel of research and development grants totaling over $36,000,000 in the United States and Canada. Funding sponsors of grants have included: NSF, U.S. Department of Education, DARPA, FQRSC (Provincial Funding, Quebec), SSHRC (Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) and several private and corporate foundations. He has published 169 papers in journals, proceedings, and book chapters, and has coedited five books (many with graduate/undergraduate students). Dr. Strobel is founding editor of the Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER) and has served on several boards of engineering education, learning sciences, and educational technology journals in the United States and internationally. He recently was honored with the Outstanding Educator award by the IEEE, St. Louis Section. (2021). In 2018, Dr. Strobel received the Science Educator of the Year Award from the Academy of Science of St. Louis, and the STEM Excellence Award from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). He is a regular visiting professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, having served in 2008, 2012, and 2018. Dr. Strobel was selected as the 2019 Forrest Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Dr. Strobel earned a doctoral degree and a master's degree in information science & learning technologies from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Missouri, Columbia, and a bachelor's in philosophy from the Munich School of Philosophy.

Camilia Torriani-Pasin
Associate Professor, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Dr. Torriani-Pasin comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of São Paulo, Brazil (USP), where she served as a professor and coordinator of the Motor Behavior and Neurorehabilitation Group. Her research background is in motor behavior (motor control and motor learning) and neurological rehabilitation. Dr. Torriani-Pasin earned a doctoral degree in motor behavior health sciences from USP and a bachelor's in physical therapy from USP.  While at USP, Dr. Torriani-Pasin directed an interdisciplinary research program focused on understanding motor behavior, especially motor learning after neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. She was a member of the Physical Education Graduate Program at USP, where she mentored students at the graduate and doctoral level. She has co-authored more than 50 research papers including chapters, proceedings, and commentaries.

Annie Tremblay
Professor, Department of Languages and Linguistics

Dr. Tremblay joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas where she was a Professor of Linguistics. Her research focuses on the psychological mechanisms that underlie bilingual speech perception and spoken word recognition, on the factors that affect listeners’ representation of speech information in each of their languages, and on the development of perceptual training methods to enhance speech perception and spoken word recognition in bilinguals. She has worked with adult bilinguals from a variety of native-language and second-language backgrounds, including French, English, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, and Mandarin. Dr. Tremblay earned her doctoral degree in Second Language Acquisition from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Hawai‘i, a master’s degree in Spanish Linguistics, and two bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and in Second Language Teaching from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Ottawa (Canada). She is the recipient of an NSF (National Science Foundation) grant for a project investigating how bilingual listeners’ speech perception and spoken word recognition can best benefit from perceptual training, and she was the recipient of an NSF grant for research investigating the effect of the native language and linguistic exposure on bilingual listeners’ segmentation of continuous speech into individual words. She is currently an Associate Editor for the academic journal, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. In her free time, she likes cycling, running, strength training, and yoga. Dr. Tremblay is excited to join UTEP, contribute to the access to excellent higher education mission of the university, and continue her research with Spanish-English bilinguals in the community. 

Glenn “Boomer” Trujillo
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy

Dr. Trujillo comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Louisville and wonders what it means to live a good life and be a good person. To investigate this, he applies ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers to contemporary problems. For example, he has written on why Aristotle might be okay with us using biotechnologies that improve our thinking and has recently written articles about ancient Cynicism, a school of philosophy that challenges authority and champions simple living. He tries to get historical figures to weigh in on contemporary ethical issues, and he hopes that his work is rigorous yet accessible. Dr. Trujillo earned his doctoral degree from Vanderbilt Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Houston, and a bachelor’s from St. Edward’s Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. He is a Fulbright scholarship recipient and studied in Bochum, Germany. Dr. Trujillo served on the Diversity Committee at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Louisville (UofL) Department of Philosophy where he led a workshop on diversifying logic curricula and connected the Department to a local organization that helps Hispanic students get into college and graduate. Dr. Trujillo is a member-at-large of the Southwestern Philosophical Society and a member of the American Philosophical Association. He won the Southwestern Philosophical Society Presidential Prize Award for the article, “Possessed: The Cynics on Wealth and Pleasure”. The article was a two-time Faculty Favorite Nominee at UofL. In his free time, Dr. Trujillo enjoys playing hardcore and metalcore guitar; doing free, public live streams about philosophy; and reading and writing speculative diction short stories. He is originally from Dumas, Texas, a small town near Amarillo. Dr. Trujillo was the first in his immediate family to graduate college. He is excited to work with UTEP students, faculty, and staff to build an intellectual community.

Eduardo Villacis Calderon
Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting and Information Systems

Dr. Calderon joins UTEP with a research focus on Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Health Communities (OHC). He studies how OHC design affects the exchange of social support, influences people’s beliefs, and contributes to societal problems. As part of Dr. Calderon’s research, he has investigated how perceptions of Facebook’s newsfeed algorithms contribute to vaccine hesitancy, how people reply on social media affordances to mitigate social overload, and how OHC users can get hurt while helping others. He earned his doctoral degree in business information technology and his master’s in business administration from Virginia Tech; and a bachelor’s in computer science from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. Dr. Calderon served on the board of the Latin American and Iberian Graduate Students Association, was the department representative for the Graduate Student Association during his time at Virginia Tech and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. During his down time, he enjoys soccer, cycling, and flying airplanes. Dr. Calderon loves learning from other cultures and knows how to say “hi” and “thank you” in nine languages.

Stacy Wagovich
Associate Professor, Speech-Language Pathology Program;
Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, College of Health Sciences

Dr. Wagovich joined UTEP in March of 2022 as associate dean of research and scholarship for the College of Health Sciences. She also holds a faculty appointment in the Speech-Language Pathology Program within the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, where she is director of the Language and Fluency Laboratory. Her primary area of expertise is in childhood fluency disorders and the interactions between language and cognitive factors and fluency across populations. Her funded projects have focused on partial word knowledge measurement in children with developmental language disorders and on language and executive function skills in young children who stutter. Her current projects explore mental state verb use in children who stutter, as well as the facilitation of expository discourse skills in children with and without developmental language disorders. Dr. Wagovich earned a PhD in communication sciences and disorders from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Georgia, a master of arts in speech-language pathology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Maryland – College Park, and a bachelor of science in education from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Virginia. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Wagovich served as the chair of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Missouri for five years. She has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Fluency Disorders and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, and she is currently the editor-in chief of Seminars in Speech and Language, Pediatric Section. She is also currently serving as the editor of the 2022 Proceedings of the Joint World Congress on Stuttering and Cluttering, held in Montreal held in May. Dr. Wagovich is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and the International Fluency Association.

Shi’an Wang
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Wang joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Minnesota with research focusing on systems and control theory, traffic flow theory, connected and automated vehicles, transportation cyber-physical systems, civil infrastructure systems, and smart cities. He earned a doctoral degree in Civil Engineering (Transportation) from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Minnesota, a master's in Electrical Engineering (Systems and Control) from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Ottawa in Canada, and a bachelor’s in Automation (Traffic Information & Control) from Chang’an Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in China. Dr. Wang co-authored Optimal Control of Dynamic Systems Driven by Vector Measures: Theory and Applications with Dr. N.U. Ahmed and has served as a reviewer for multiple reputable journals such as IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Transportation Research Part B, and Transportation Research Part C. He is a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). During his time at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Minnesota, Dr. Wang was awarded the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in 2022, the Matthew J. Huber Award in 2022, and the 2020 ITS Minnestoa Graduate Student Scholarship Award, MnDOT. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing tennis, and hiking.

Scott Weston
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences;
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Pharmacy

Dr. Weston joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Charleston, where he served as dean and professor at the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Weston has over 20 years’ experience in the private sector as a retail pharmacist and as a senior scientist in the field of computational chemistry with multinational firms such as Johnson & Johnson and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Weston holds several patents in the area of beta-lactamase inhibitors. Dr. Weston earned a doctor of philosophy in pharmaceutical/medicinal chemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Mississippi (Ole Miss), a master's in business administration from Harding Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and a bachelor's in pharmacy from Ole Miss. He received an Academic Leadership Fellowship from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and was recognized with the Graduate Research Award from Ole Miss for four consecutive years. Dr. Weston is a licensed pharmacist in the State of West Virginia.

Suyun Wu
Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting and Information Systems

Dr. Wu joins UTEP with a research focus on behavioral research in management accounting and control, incentive contracting, performance measurement and evaluation, managerial decision making, accounting ethics, and CSR-related control issues. She earned her doctoral degree in Accounting and her master’s in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting with high distinction from Wuhan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in China. Dr. Wu won the Best Doctoral Paper Award at the 25th Annual Ethics Research Symposium, was awarded the 2020 Georgia Tech CIBER Doctoral Research award, and has designed and taught Managerial Accounting at GT. She is a member of the American Accounting Association and the Institute of Management Accountants. Dr. Wu was a recipient of the 2022 Institute of Management Accountants Doctoral Scholars Stage III Grants and the 2019 IMA Doctoral Summer Research Scholarship. During her downtime, she enjoys exercising, playing the piano, and gardening.

Jie (Kevin) Yan
Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting and Information Systems

Dr. Yan comes to UTEP from the Wright School of Business at Dalton State College in Georgia, where he served as an assistant professor of management information systems. His research interests include data philanthropy, Fintech, global politics of technology, and employee innovation in online innovation communities. Dr. Yan earned a doctoral and master’s degree in management information systems from Baylor Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s degree in power electronics from Shanghai Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SHU) in China, and a bachelor’s degree in automation from SHU. Prior to his career in academia, Dr. Yan worked in Datacom and Telecom industries for Fortune 500 companies including Ericsson AB, Cisco Systems, and General Electric (GE). His industry experience focused on research development, sales, and marketing. During his downtime, Dr. Yan enjoys playing tennis, listening to country music, and going on road trips.

David Young
Associate Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences

Dr. Young joins UTEP with a research focus on the mechanisms that build continental mountain belts and the time spans over which they develop. He explores these phenomena in western Scandinavia and the Bhutanese Himalaya which contain regions that were buried deep underneath the mountains and exhumed subsequently to the surface. He uses multidisciplinary approaches that include field mapping, structural geology, metamorphic petrology, geochemistry, and geochronology to resolve intractable tectonic problems. Dr. Young earned his doctoral degree from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California at Santa Barbara, and a master’s and bachelor’s degree from Monash Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Australia. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America. Dr. Young obtained funding to link earth science students with career-relevant experiences in energy, water, and environmental industries; has a culmination of years of research unlocking the secrets of an iconic region of deeply subducted rocks in western Norway, and enjoys proselytizing the spectacle, wonder, and discovery of science annually to hundreds of diverse students. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Young spent some enlightening years in precious metal exploration in Australia and East Africa. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, dessert cooking, and writing. Dr. Young feels fortunate for the opportunity to fuse his personal journeys through the Americas and the Kingdom of Bhutan at UTEP.