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Amol Kulkarni
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Kulkarni joins UTEP from Howard Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (HU) where he served as associate professor in the College of Pharmacy. His research focuses on the design and synthesis of natural product-inspired small molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 inflammasome. The Nod-like receptor, leucine-rich repeat protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of neuroinflammation-associated disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Huntington’s disease, and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). His research employs a combination of classical and computational techniques for the design of novel compounds with potent and selective NLRP3 inhibitory activity, low toxicity, good oral bioavailability, and penetration into the blood-brain barrier. Dr. Kulkarni is also interested in the development of novel compounds for an HIV cure and the management of HIV-associated comorbidities. He earned a doctoral degree in chemistry from The State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of New York at Buffalo and both a master’s and bachelor’s in pharmaceutical chemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Mumbai. Dr. Kulkarni is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. His research has been funded by two R21 awards from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and two administrative supplements from NIMHD and NIH. While at HU, Dr. Kulkarni received the Professor of the Year Award and the Faculty of the Year Award multiple times. He has been the recipient of the Keystone Symposia Fellowship which provides training, mentorship, and career development opportunities for researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. He was recently appointed as the associate editor for the Springer journal Inflammation. During his downtime, Dr. Kulkarni enjoys reading and listening to music.   

Pryadarshini R. Pennathur
Associate Professor, Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering

Dr. Pennathur joined the UTEP faculty in January 2024, previously serving as an associate professor at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Iowa (UI) in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Prior to her work at UI, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at John Hopkins Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Her primary research interests are in studying people’s cognitive work and in designing information systems to support their cognitive work. Dr. Pennathur's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Library of Medicine at NIH. In a recent NSF project funded in 2020, she is modeling nurses’ decision-making when tele-triaging during the pandemic. She also received an NSF grant in September 2021 to study how artificial intelligence will impact office work and workers. Dr. Pennathur earned her doctoral degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from UTEP, and a master's and bachelor's in computer science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Madras in Chennai, India. While at UI, Dr. Pennathur received the 2018 Dr. Hamed K. Eldin Outstanding Early Career IE in Academia from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Additional awards recognizing her work in ergonomics include the 2014 International Ergonomics Association (IEA Liberty Mutual Medal and the 2014 Liberty Mutual Award for Best Article in Ergonomics. Dr. Pennathur is a scientific editor for the journal Applied Ergonomics and an associate editor for IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering. She serves on the Editorial Board of Human Factors in Healthcare, and the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. Dr. Pennathur serves as a reviewer in many research journals including the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. She continues to serve as an NSF panelist for many NSF programs.  

Jennifer Salinas
Associate Professor, Department of Social Work

Dr. Salinas comes to UTEP from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Health Sciences Center-El Paso, where she served as an associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine. Her research background focuses on health disparities, particularly in areas of obesity, cancer, and chronic diseases among Latinx populations in the U.S. and Mexico. Dr. Salinas earned a doctoral degree in sociology-demography from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at Austin, a master’s in social work from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s in psychology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Massachusetts. She completed her postdoctoral research in minority aging at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. Dr. Salinas is an editorial board member of BMC Public Health, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal focused on the epidemiology of disease. Throughout her academic career, Dr. Salinas has mentored undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.    

Emre Umucu
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health; Associate Dean for Research, College of Health Sciences

Dr. Umucu returns to UTEP as associate professor of public health and associate dean for research at the College of Health Sciences, previously serving at Michigan State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (MSU). He also serves as a research scientist at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Umucu’s research focuses on the health and well-being of civilians and veterans with chronic conditions, chronic illness and disease management and psychosocial adjustment, community participation and employment research, test construction and psychometric research, health policy and administration research, and international implications of disease and disability management. He received his doctoral degree in rehabilitation psychology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), a master's in public health from MSU, a master's in the field of rehabilitation psychology from UW-Madison, and a bachelor's in psychological counseling and guidance from Ondokuz Mayis Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Samsun, Turkey. Dr. Umucu is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Education (DOE), and other prominent funders. Dr. Umucu is passionate about aiding and building strong relationships with his students and his fellow faculty members. Dr. Umucu is a recipient of the American Psychological Association Research Excellence Award, the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association Research Award, the National Council on Rehabilitation Education President’s Award, and the Department of Health & Human Services Fellowship and Merit Award. Dr. Umucu is also Deputy Editor of Stress and Health, a well-known and impactful journal in psychology and public health.  

Maartje Van den Bogaard 
Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education, STEM Division

Dr. Van den Bogaard joins UTEP from Iowa State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (ISU) where she served as a Discipline-Based Education Research Fellow in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. Prior to ISU, Dr. Van den Bogaard was appointed tenured assistant professor in STEM Education and Head of Program for the Delft Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Technology (TU Delft) Science Education and Communication program where she was successful in doubling enrollment in the teacher training program and led the program’s accreditation renewal. Under her leadership, the program was voted best master's program at TU Delft in a national student survey (2020). Dr. Van den Bogaard’s research focuses on student success, complexity and curriculum innovation, with a particular interest in research methodology, and Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). She earned a PhD in Engineering Education from TU Delft and an MSc in Education from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Groningen – both in the Netherlands. Her doctoral dissertation was awarded the Glenn Earthman Outstanding Dissertation Award by the International Society of Education Planning for achieving both academic rigor and a strong action orientation for practice. Dr. Van den Bogaard has taught education foundation courses, research methods, and competency-oriented courses in classroom management, and collaboration skills for engineers. In addition, she has been a university instructor in professional development for five years. She served on the board of the SEFI Engineering Education Research SIG and is an associate editor for the European Journal of Engineering Education, the International Journal of Design and Technology Education, and Springer Nature Social Sciences. Dr. Van den Bogaard is a member of the Dutch Royal Society of Engineers (KIVI), the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), IEEE, and the American Society for Engineering Education. Outside of academia, she enjoys running and describes herself as a foodie.

Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny
Assistant Professor, Department of Creative Writing 

Ms. Aguilar Zéleny has earned a tenure-track position after serving as an associate professor of instruction in the UTEP Department of Creative Writing and director of the UTEP Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. Her research interests include women’s writing; Chicano, US Latino/a, and Latin American literature; works in translation, LGBTQ+ narratives; and creative writing pedagogy. Ms. Aguilar Zéleny completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from UTEP, a master’s in historiography from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), and a bachelor’s in Latin American Literature from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Sonora.  She is the author of the novels Trash (Deep Vellum, 2023), Basura (Tránsito, 2022), El Libro de Aisha (Random House, 2021), The Everything I Have Lost (Cinco Puntos, 2020), as well as the young adult series Coming Out (Epic Press, 2016). Her novels Basura and El Libro de Aisha are being translated into French and Italian respectively.   

Michael Ball-Blakely
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy 

Dr. Ball-Blakely joins UTEP from the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship. His research background is in immigration justice, particularly as it intersects with global justice, economic justice, and social equality. His work focuses on how high-income countries that exercise discretionary control over immigration facilitate a variety of domestic and global injustices including exploitation, climate change, and status harms. Dr. Ball-Blakely earned a doctoral degree and a master’s degree in philosophy from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Washington (UW). He is an active member of prestigious organizations such as the American Philosophical Association, the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World, and the North American Society for Social Philosophy. He has served on the executive committee for the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World (SPCW) and has held the role of Co-Moderator for the SPCW Pacific division. His most recent publications have been featured in the Journal of Social Philosophy, Essays in Philosophy, and Philosophy in the Contemporary World. Dr. Ball-Blakely's dedication and excellence in teaching have been recognized through several awards. He is the 2021 recipient of the UW Graduate Teaching Award, the Joff Hanauer Excellence in Western Civilization Graduate Fellowship (2020-2021), the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Tennessee Graduate Teaching Award (2018), and the 2018 Prados Summer Dissertation Award. Beyond academia, Dr. Ball-Blakely enjoys biking, live music, music festivals, basketball (pick-up games and fantasy), and D&D (dungeons and dragons). He and his partner, Christine, have two "children," Dunkel (dachshund) and Tolstoy (cat).   

Diana Bolsinger
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies

Dr. Diana I. Bolsinger begins a tenure-track position in the Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies after having served as director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies (INSS) graduate program at UTEP. Her research examines how Washington’s clandestine security relationships historically have impacted U.S. policymaking. Dr. Bolsinger’s current project, Dependence and Defiance: How Intelligence Ties Broke the U.S.-Pakistani Relationship, examines how Washington’s secret programs in Pakistan shaped the overall bilateral relationship. She most recently published in The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and The Texas National Security Review. Dr. Bolsinger is co-director of the Texas Intelligence Academy. She won the 2020 Bobby Inman Award for best student paper on an intelligence topic and serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Society for Intelligence History (NASIH). She holds a doctoral degree in public policy from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at Austin, a master’s in government from New Mexico State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s in education from Marymount Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a master’s in international relations from George Washington Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and a bachelor’s in international relations from Reed College. Before joining UTEP, Dr. Bolsinger served in multiple leadership positions in the ODNI, CIA, and Department of State, including assignments in South Asia, the Balkans, Northeast Asia, and Washington, DC.   

Narendra Bosukonda
Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Management, and Supply Chain

Dr. Bosukonda joins UTEP from Texas A&M Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (TAMU) with a research background in customer value, business-to-business marketing, and marketing strategy. Driven by a desire to bridge academia and practical applications, he utilizes various methodologies such as archival survey data analysis, econometrics, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques to conduct research with direct managerial implications. As an educator, Dr. Bosukonda is committed to providing students with a comprehensive understanding of marketing principles, strategic marketing, business-to-business marketing, and digital marketing. Dr. Bosukonda earned Ph.D. in Business Administration from TAMU, an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from the Rochester Institute of Technology at Saunders College of Business, and a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India. Actively engaged in professional organizations, Dr. Bosukonda is a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA), INFORMS Society for Marketing Science (ISMS), and the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS). His industry experience encompasses managing a manufacturing business in the Automobile Ancillary and Agricultural Implements sectors. Dr. Bosukonda’s work involved collaborating with suppliers and customers across multiple countries, including the USA, Spain, India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Africa. Prior to his academic career, he worked on designing equipment such as the coconut husk remover, coconut tree climber, and banana fiber extraction machine. He was the representative of the Indian Delegation at the Asian Forging Conference, in Taiwan, in 2014. He has received several notable awards and fellowships. Dr. Bosukonda was honored as the ISMS Marketing Science Doctoral Consortium Fellow in 2022 and also received the Academy of Marketing Science Doctoral Consortium Fellowship in the same year. In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Business Leadership. Outside of academia, Dr. Bosukonda enjoys archery, cricket, and classical literature. He is actively involved with the local community and looking for opportunities to help local businesses and non-profits with their marketing and product commercialization.   

Nicole Breault
Assistant Professor, Department of History 

Dr. Breault joins UTEP from Roanoke College where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of History. Her research and teaching interests revolve around early American legal and social history with an emphasis on urban governance, institutions, gender, and material culture. Her book manuscript-in-progress, titled “Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Revolutionary Boston”, draws on a neglected collection of night constables’ reports to examine the work of the watch alongside key events of the 1750s to 1790s. Her work reframes the history of the imperial crisis and revolution through the discourse of local authority and police powers, situating quotidian experiences in the larger transatlantic dialogue on law, empire, and subjecthood. Dr. Breault completed her PhD at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Connecticut, an MA at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Massachusetts Boston, and a BA from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Vermont. She is an active member of the American Society for Legal History. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the American Historical Association, American Philosophical Society, Boston Athenæum, Huntington Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, Roanoke College, and UConn Humanities Institute.    

José R. Bucheli
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Bucheli joins UTEP from New Mexico State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where he worked as an assistant professor of economics. His research addresses topics at the intersection of labor, development, and migration economics. Some of his recent work has explored the impact of return migration on development in Mexico and the effect of U.S. immigration policies. Originally from Ecuador, Dr. Bucheli obtained his PhD in economics at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of New Mexico (UNM) and completed a research fellowship at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California San Diego Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Some of his work has been published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the Journal of Population Economics, and the International Migration Review. Dr. Bucheli earned his master’s and bachelor’s in economics from UNM. Dr. Bucheli is a member of the American Economic Association and the American Society of Hispanic Economists. He was honored with the Outstanding Emerging Scholar Award from the Western Social Science Association (2020) and received a research grant from the Inter-American Development Bank to study migration in Latin America (2019-2020). Beyond research, Dr. Bucheli has nurtured the growth of aspiring economists. He has mentored both undergraduate and graduate students, guiding them toward successful careers in the private and public sectors, as well as encouraging them to pursue further academic achievements.   

Jaeyoung Cho
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Cho joins UTEP after completing his postdoctoral research at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Lemont, Illinois. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SNU). While at ANL, Dr. Cho focused on studying theoretical kinetics and machine learning techniques to predict the combustion characteristics of biofuels. His engagement in the development of an advanced combustion kinetics model plays a pivotal role in expediting the discovery of novel biofuels boasting superior performance and reduced emissions. Throughout his career, Dr. Cho has been involved in mentoring high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented minorities and fostering a diverse environment in the scientific community. He is a member of the Combustion Institute and the American Chemical Society. Among Dr. Cho's notable accomplishments is his successful development of a performance prediction model for biofuel-propulsion systems based on a combustion kinetics experiment. His expertise has been recognized through involvement in DOE-funded projects such as the “Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines,” and the “Argonne-Sandia Consortium on High-Pressure Combustion Chemistry” projects. While at SNU, Dr. Cho received the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, and over the past seven years, he has published 12 first-authored papers in renowned peer-reviewed journals. He has showcased his research findings at more than 30 academic conferences. In his leisure time, Dr. Cho enjoys cooking and expressing his creativity through music composition.    

Amanda de Oliveira Barros
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering 

Dr. Oliveira comes to UTEP after serving as an assistant professor of mechatronics and robotics at Oklahoma State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Her research focuses on robotics and its application in healthcare. Most of her publications focus on the design and modeling of soft magnetic millimetric robots that can perform tasks wirelessly. Dr. Oliveira obtained her doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where she wrote and published five academic articles and became a member of ASME and IEEE societies. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Automobile Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her group undergraduate thesis entitled, “Kinematics of the Industrial Robot MOTOMAN MH5F”, won a 2018 Scientific and Technological Projects prize, awarded by the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of the State of Rio de Janeiro. During her free time, Dr. Oliveira enjoys sewing, cooking, and tinkering with creative robotics.    

Leticia M. Delgado
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance

Mrs. Delgado, costume designer and educator, joins UTEP from Lubbock Christian Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where she served on the faculty. Her research and creative work is focused on Chicanx dress and Latiné textiles, and their connection to identity, social justice, and equity. Mrs. Delgado earned an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from Illinois State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a BA in Theatre Arts from UTEP. She has served on numerous art education and social justice panels, participating in the Annual Statewide Summit on Mexican American Studies in Texas Schools and the Southeastern Theatre Conference’s Forum on Race and Representation in Theatre Design & Technology. Mrs. Delgado is also an active member of the Latinx, Indigenous and the Americas Focus Group of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), and was a member of the inaugural artEquity BIPOC Leadership Circle (2020). She is the co-author of the design textbook entitled, The Art and Practice of Costume Design. Her costumes have appeared on stages across the country, from the Illinois Shakespeare Festival to the Santa Barbara Theatre Group. One of Mrs. Delgado's design specialties is large scale custom dancewear, having designed for Ballet Lubbock for eight years. Her work has been showcased with the Santa Barbara Dance Theatre at international tours in China and Ireland. Her work was included in The Director’s Vision: Play Direction from Analysis to Production. During her downtime, she enjoys music, drawing, painting, visiting museums, and studying historical and regional dress.   

Shashwati Geed
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences 

Dr. Geed joins UTEP from Georgetown Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, previously serving as a research assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Her research focuses on mechanisms of neuroplasticity in the human brain. Specifically, she examines how inhibitory networks in the brain affect motor function with aging and in individuals recovering from a stroke. Dr. Geed's laboratory uses electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial alternating or direct current stimulation (tACS/tDCS), and MR spectroscopy to study brain activity. To understand upper extremity motor behaviors, she employs clinical function tests, force sensors, electromyograms, and accelerometers. A second line of her research focuses on machine learning applications in neurorehabilitation and statistics for neurorehabilitation clinical trials. Dr. Geed received her doctoral degree in Kinesiology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Wisconsin-Madison, and her bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Devi Ahilya Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in India. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR); and the American Heart Association. Dr. Geed is invested in scientific communication and outreach and serves on the editorial board of Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation (TSCIR).   

Saniya Lee Ghanoui
Assistant Professor, Department of History

Dr. Ghanoui joins UTEP with a research background in public and digital history, the history of gender and sexuality, and transnational/Borderlands history. She earned a Ph.D. in History from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); an MA in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; an MA in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College; and a BA in Communication and Media Arts from Marymount Manhattan College. Most recently, she served as program director of Our Bodies Ourselves Today, an online platform that enables the unique contributions, approaches, and functions of the feminist health and sexuality book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Dr. Ghanoui is producing a feature-length documentary film about the thalidomide scandal of the 1960s, and how one woman unknowingly entered a global pharmaceutical crisis and media storm for seeking an abortion. She is the Senior Producer for Sexing History, a podcast that examines how the history of sexuality shapes our present. While at UIUC, Dr. Ghanoui co-created SourceLab, a digital humanities research collective that produces a peer-reviewed series of student-authored digital documentary work. Her research has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the American Historical Association, the Swedish Institute, and the American-Scandinavian Foundation. She is a research affiliate at the Swedish Institute for North American Studies (SINAS) at Uppsala Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a Board Member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. In her free time, she is a marathon runner and enjoys exploring new cities through running.    

Lori M. Houghtalen
Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Education and Leadership

Dr. Houghtalen has earned a tenure-track position in the Department of Engineering Education and Leadership after serving as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering at UTEP. Prior to UTEP, Dr. Houghtalen served as the executive associate dean for sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences, Abilene Christian Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (ACU). Her research interests revolve around enhancing logistics and sustainability through optimization techniques while also focusing on broadening access and participation for under-represented groups in engineering. Her teaching interests involve Capstone design and engineering leadership development. In her previous role at ACU, Dr. Houghtalen designed industry-sponsored capstone experiences for engineering students and was a key contributor to initial ABET accreditation and recent re-accreditation of the general engineering program. She earned a doctoral and master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Tennessee. She is the recipient of the EURO/INFORMS 2007 Management Science Strategic Innovation Prize, a National Science Graduate Research Fellow, and the recipient of the 20/20 Teaching Innovation Grant at ACU. Outside of academia, Dr. Houghtalen enjoys traveling and baking with her family.     

Liru Hu
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, STEM Division

Dr. Hu has earned a tenure-track position following her role as an assistant research officer at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Hong Kong. During her time there, she supported the “C-for-Chinese@JC” project, which focuses on fostering culturally responsive education and services for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong. Dr. Hu’s research interests include dialogic education, visual learning analytics, collaborative problem-solving, computer-supported collaborative learning, and complexity in education. Her primary goal is to explore the role of academic discourse in teaching and learning and the potential of technology to support dialogic education. Dr. Hu earned a doctoral degree in learning sciences from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Hong Kong, a master’s degree in educational technology from Shaanxi Normal Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and a bachelor’s degree in educational technology from Nanjing Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the prestigious Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship Scheme, the highest level of scholarship offered by the Hong Kong government to attract exceptional global students. Dr. Hu actively engages in professional communities including the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the Global Chinese Conference on Computers in Education (GCCCE). In her free time, Dr. Hu enjoys playing badminton, practicing yoga and hiking.     

Mary J. Janecka
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences 

Dr. Janecka returns to her hometown, El Paso, to join UTEP after completing a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Pittsburgh (Pitt). Her research background centers on the effects of human habitat alteration on host-parasite co-evolution in river ecosystems, parasite biodiversity, and evolution, and integrating applied conservation and endangered species management with empirical research. She earned a doctoral degree in biology from Texas A&M Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (TAMU), a Master of Science in biology from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas-Pan American (currently known as UTRGV); and a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from Emporia State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. She is an active member of the American Society of Parasitologists, Women in Wildlife, and the Wildlife Society. With a background as an endangered species biologist, Dr. Janecka’s journey into research was driven by a desire to address the questions wildlife managers face in conserving threatened and endangered species, as well as fragile river habitats. Her work also delves into understanding how river ecosystems can foster parasite biodiversity. Throughout her career, Dr. Janecka has maintained strong partnerships with municipal water districts, landowners, non-profit community organizations, and wildlife professionals to ensure that her research and teaching efforts align with the needs of the community. Dr. Janecka was awarded the RK Dugger Fellowship for Women in Conservation during her time at UTRGV. As a doctoral student at TAMU, she served as the principal investigator on a USFWS grant that integrated conservation genetics and parasite transmission research for the threatened Concho water snake. During her postdoctoral fellowship at Pitt, Dr. Janecka was named on the recently awarded NSF grant, "OSIB: Dynamic Interactions Between Host Social Behavior and Parasite Virulence". During her downtime, Dr. Janecka enjoys catching reptiles and amphibians with her two children, kayaking, rock climbing, and running a dog boarding business as a side hustle.   

Jaeho Jang 
Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology 

Dr. Jang joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill), with a research focus on neuromechanical changes in chronic ankle instability and the associated long-term consequences of the condition, specifically focusing on slowing the early onset of ankle joint degeneration and/or posttraumatic osteoarthritis. His previous and ongoing research topics aim to understand alterations in biomechanics and mechanical joint loading at the ankle joint in patients with chronic ankle instability. He earned a doctoral degree in human movement science from UNC-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in athletic training from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nebraska at Omaha, and a bachelor’s degree in sports and leisure studies from Yonsei Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Jang is a member of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA), the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He was awarded a grant from the ACSM Doctoral Grant - Carl V. Gisolfi Memorial Fund in 2021. The grant focuses on investigating biomechanical indicators of the early onset of ankle joint degeneration in patients with chronic ankle instability, finding correlations between these markers and clinical biomechanical outcomes, and predicting worsening effects of chronic ankle instability on ankle joint loading in silico by deploying musculoskeletal modeling and simulation, which can be utilized in vivo in a long-term randomized clinical trial at his next level. Outside of academia, Dr. Jang enjoys playing guitar (fingerstyle).    

Jaeyoon (Jason) Kim
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering 

Dr. Kim joins UTEP from Texas A&M Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (TAMU) with a research background in Digital Twin, building information modeling (BIM), deep learning, computer vision, the Internet of things, virtual reality, infrastructure, and built environment systems. He received his doctoral degree in construction science from TAMU and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering - both from Sungkyunkwan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SKKU), South Korea. Dr. Kim won the Best Paper Award from the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering and was recognized with the Top Paper Award during the 2020 ASCE Construction Research Congress, providing him the opportunity to publish a special issue in the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. Dr. Kim serves as a reviewer for multiple journals including the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Advanced Engineering Informatics, Building and Environment, and the Journal of Computational Design and Engineering. He is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Korean-American Construction Engineering and Project Management Association (KACEPMA), and The Construction Management Association of Korea (CMAK).    

Mitchell Kirwan
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Kirwan comes to UTEP from Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where he completed his postdoctoral research at the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. His research focuses on the ways that sexual violence is associated with emotion regulation, alcohol intoxication, hostile masculine attitudes, minority stress, LGBTQ+ identification, and impulsivity. He recently published his research demonstrating that specific profiles of in-the-moment emotion regulation were predictive of an individual’s intentions to perpetrate (or not perpetrate) sexual violence. Dr. Kirwan earned a Ph.D. and Master of Science in Psychology from Oakland Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a Bachelor of Science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Michigan. He is a member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the Association for Psychological Science. Dr. Kirwan has provided guidance to more than 20 undergraduate and graduate students, supporting them in publishing their research findings and engaging in professional presentations. Dr. Kirwan has published in numerous high-impact journals, including Health Psychology; Archives of Sexual Behavior; Psychology of Addictive Behaviors; Psychology of Violence; AIDS and Behavior; and Personality and Individual Differences. Outside of academia, Dr. Kirwan enjoys movies, sports, and board games.    

Charles A. Larratt-Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice

Dr. Larratt-Smith comes to UTEP from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Querétaro, México, where he was an assistant professor in the School of Social Sciences and Government. Prior to that, he was a visiting researcher at the Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP) in Bogotá, Colombia; and a visiting professor at the Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in Mérida, Venezuela. His research focuses on human security and transnational migration with a regional focus on Latin America. Dr. Larratt-Smith is currently working on a research project that examines how state and non-state actors assume functions related to migrant incorporation in the Colombian and Mexican borderlands. His research has received funding from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Puentes Consortium, and the International Development Research Centre of Canada. Dr. Larratt-Smith earned a PhD from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Toronto in Political Science, an MA from The City College of New York (CUNY) in International Relations, and a BA from Brooklyn College (CUNY) in Puerto Rican & Latino Studies. His scholarly contributions have been featured in the Journal of International Relations and Development, International Migration, and Latin American Politics and Society. Beyond academia, Dr. Larratt-Smith reveals a passion for football (soccer) and admits to dedicating a significant amount of time to following his favorite club.    

Yun-Pai (Beatrice) Lee
Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences Program

Dr. Lee returns to UTEP after having served as an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education at Michigan State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. Her research focuses on exploring malleable risks and protective factors that can help people with disabilities deal more effectively with stress. Her goal is to further inform the development and validation of positive psychology-based, stress management interventions to improve community participation and the quality of life for people with neurological and psychiatric conditions. In particular, Dr. Lee is interested in looking at the extent protective person-environment factors can reduce vulnerability to experiencing stress and foster health and well-being in individuals with multiple sclerosis. She compares her teaching approach to neural networks that restructure, extend, and strengthen. In the classroom, she strives to increase student engagement and connectedness to enhance learning experiences and academic performance. Dr. Lee holds a doctoral degree in rehabilitation counselor education, a master’s in rehabilitation psychology, and a bachelor’s in psychology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an associate editor for the International Journal of Stress Management and serves as an editorial board member of the Stress and Health Journal and the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Dr. Lee has provided neuropsychological assessments, rehabilitation services, and counseling services in state, federal, and non-profit agencies. She serves as Co-PI for federal grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Resources and Services Administration.    

Yupeng Li
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences  

Dr. Li joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Minnesota (UMN), where he served as a research assistant professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, and completed postdoctoral studies affiliated with the UMN Masonic Cancer Center. His previous postdoctoral research took place at the Mayo Clinic Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. His research focuses on using mass spectrometry-based analytical biochemistry techniques and aims to address the mechanisms of carcinogenesis caused by tobacco use, develop biomarkers for cancer etiology studies, and promote chemopreventative agents in clinical. His research also focuses on small molecule drug discovery and development with a focus on targeting key proteins in DNA repair pathways or other pivotal signaling pathways in tumorigenesis. Dr. Li earned a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou, China; and a Bachelor of Science in traditional Chinese medicine from Tongji Medical School, Huazhong Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China. He is a member of the American Chemical Society. He expresses his enthusiasm for collaborating with UTEP faculty members in the realms of drug discovery and development, as well as biomarker studies utilizing high-resolution mass spectrometry. Notably, he has taken the lead in a project involving the growth of tobacco using 13CO2 labeling, a venture that has encompassed the plants' lifecycle from seed germination to flowering since 2019.   

Camila Leite Madeira
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering 

Dr. Madeira joins UTEP from the State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Campinas, Brazil (UNICAMP), where she served as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Analytical Chemistry. Her primary research area revolves around comprehending the behavior of emerging pollutants in the environment and designing microbial processes for their removal. She holds a keen interest in developing sustainable and dependable methods for wastewater treatment, with the goal of ensuring equitable access to clean water and sanitation. Her research has been published in top environmental engineering journals, such as Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Science of the Total Environment. She aims to promote inclusive education for underrepresented students in STEM programs. Dr. Madeira earned a doctoral and master’s degree in environmental engineering from The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arizona (UA), and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the Federal Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Itajubá, Brazil (UFMG). She is a member of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). While at UA, Dr. Madeira received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and was a fellow in the NIEHS Superfund Research Program. During her leisure time, Dr. Madeira enjoys visiting state and national parks, doing yoga, dancing, reading, and cooking.    

Melissa Melpignano
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance

Dr. Melpignano earned a tenure-track position after serving as an assistant professor of instruction and director of dance in the UTEP Department of Theatre and Dance. Her research–scholarly and creative–is committed to unhinging the colonial origins and mechanisms in choreography and dance practice. Her area of focus explores border choreographies in collaboration with global scholars, artists, and activists to study how artists rethink borders for sustainable living amid immigration and security policies focusing on U.S.-Mexico, Middle East, and Mediterranean borders. She supports many choreographers in their creative endeavors and has led an international group of Jewish artists in the project Choreographing Piyyutim, moving through the boundaries of liturgical practices and texts to foster international solidarity around anticolonialism and collective responsibility. She is a member of the DSA (Dance Studies Association), AJS (Association for Jewish Studies), and MESA (Middle Eastern Studies Association). Dr. Melpignano is a first-generation graduate immigrant (high school and college). She earned her doctoral degree in culture and performance from UCLA; a master’s in Italian and European studies from Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano Switzerland; a bachelor’s in performance studies from Università Ca' Foscari in Venezia, Italy; and a bachelor’s in contemporary dance from London Contemporary Dance School. Dr. Melpignano is a UTEP Edge fellow and an inaugural board member of the International Dance Studies Association. She is a recipient of the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award for dance research, a Mellon Dance Studies Fellow, and a Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California Regents Fellow. In Fall 2023, Dr. Melpignano will choreograph the play Metamorphoses directed by Jay Stratton, UTEP associate professor of theatre and dance. She is a translator of frontera and Latinx/é performance writing into Italian and is currently translating for poet Gris Muñoz and playwright Georgina Escobar. Outside of academia, she enjoys attending summer performance festivals, caring for her plants, reading novels and non-fiction books, and having long conversations with her dance friends around the world.    

Lisa Novak
Assistant Professor, Department of Art Education

Dr. Novak joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Georgia (UGA), where she completed her doctoral degree in art education. Originally from Vienna, Austria, Dr. Novak’s research and teaching interests focus on youth-led arts and community programming, emergent pedagogies, art education in social movements of the 20th century, and working and collaborating closely with students to reimagine art education. In 2015, she founded the School of Collaboration and Invention, a program that facilitates spaces for youth to engage in art and design through collaboration, community engagement, radical pedagogy, material interventions, and other site-specific activisms and media. She recently co-authored a chapter with a former student in an upcoming anthology titled Cultivating Critical Conversations in Art Education: Honoring Student Voice, Identity, and Agency, and in previous roles worked closely with youth to develop exhibitions, public programs, and a small community art garden. While at UGA, Dr. Novak taught teacher preparation courses and redesigned a Cultural Diversity in American Art online course, expanding content to include lessons on the interrelations of art museums and colonialism, art education and assimilation, contemporary Indigenous artists, disability and impairment as a creative force, and LGBTQ+ cinema. She obtained a master's in interdisciplinary design from the Emily Carr Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada; and a bachelor’s in graphic arts + design from Leeds Metropolitan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in the UK. Dr. Novak is a member of the National Art Education Association and the College Art Association. While at UGA, she received the Robert Nix Award for Excellence in Art Education and the Wilson Center Public Impact Grant which provided the opportunity to collaborate with two senior faculty members to develop new art education programs at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Georgia's contemporary art gallery, the Athenaeum.      

Celina Osuna
Assistant Professor, Department of English

Dr. Osuna joins UTEP from Arizona State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (ASU) where she was the inaugural Postdoctoral Research Scholar for the Social Transformation Lab. With an emphasis on Latinx and Indigenous environmentalisms, her research explores the aesthetics of desert places in literature, art, and film and their impacts on cultural imagination and geopolitical relationships to land. Dr. Osuna earned a doctoral degree in English Literature from ASU; a master’s in literature, culture, and place from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland; and a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from UTEP. Her monograph, entitled Desert Distortion is forthcoming from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Press and she is co-editing a volume titled Storied Deserts: Re-Imagining Global Arid Lands due out from Routledge in 2024. She is an executive council member of the Western Literature Association (WLA), and an active member of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (ASLE) and the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA). While at ASU, Dr. Osuna received a seed grant to organize the Ecologies of Justice symposium that brought together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars from all ranks. She was a guest for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio show, Ideas, and recently published an op-ed in Scientific American about the film Dune.    

Robert M. Pankow
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Pankow joins UTEP from Northwestern Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where he was a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Professor Tobin J. Marks as a recipient of the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship. His research interests include the design and synthesis of functional organic materials, polymer synthesis and characterization, organic synthesis, organometallics, sustainable chemistry, and organic electronics. At UTEP, his research group will be developing the next generation of conjugated polymers with a keen focus on self-healing materials, stimuli-responsive polymers, and mechanochemistry. Dr. Pankow earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Southern California under the guidance of Professor Barry C. Thompson, an M.S. in Chemistry from CSU Northridge, and a B.A. in Chemistry from UC Santa Barbara. A selection of his recent awards includes the 2019 MRS Spring Meeting Symposium Poster Award, G.K. Surya Prakash Award (2020), KAUST Solar Center Young Scientist Award (2022), and ORISE Success Story (2023). He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, and the Community Board for Materials Horizons.    

Robyn K. Pinilla 
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, BELSS Divison 

Dr. Pinilla comes to UTEP from Southern Methodist Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (SMU), where she completed her Ph.D. in Education. She earned an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from SMU and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at Arlington. Her research interests encompass early childhood mathematics, spatial reasoning, and sociocultural theories of teacher learning. Dr. Pinilla is deeply committed to supporting early childhood educators in fostering an inclusive learning environment, promoting mathematics proficiency, and engaging students in STEM domains. During her time in the Dallas area, Dr. Pinilla taught early childhood special education in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) between 2010 to 2018. Later, she served as the assistant principal of the district's sole Pre-kindergarten through Grade 2 early childhood campus. She is an active member of the American Education Research Association (AERA), the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In her role as the graduate student representative for AERA's Division H from 2021 to 2023, she organized and hosted fireside chat sessions at annual meetings to support graduate students in understanding research-practice partnerships and framing educational assessment appropriately after the COVID-19 pandemic, and now serves as the Division H Mentorship Committee Co-Chair. During her academic journey, Dr. Pinilla has been recognized with the AERA Division H 2022-2023 Graduate Student Grant and the SMU Moody School's Doctoral Completion Grant to support and disseminate her dissertation research. At SMU, she was also recognized with the 2023 Simmons Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award while contributing as a graduate research assistant on various education research projects funded by esteemed organizations like the McDonnell Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Toyota Foundation. Her dedication to scholarship and research extended to the 44th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA), where she was selected to participate in the inaugural pre-conference doctoral consortium. Her work led to the presentation of original research and publication in the conference proceedings. Outside of her academic pursuits, Dr. Pinilla finds joy in cycling, running, and spending quality time with her husband and their two chihuahuas. She is also an advocate of the MS community, actively supporting the National MS Society and Meat Fight, a Dallas-based non-profit dedicated to providing bikes to those living with MS.    

Aritran Piplai
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Dr. Piplai joins UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he taught introduction to AI courses and served as a graduate research assistant creating novel knowledge graph-guided reinforcement learning algorithms for autonomous cyber defense projects. His research background focuses on automated cyber defenses, cybersecurity knowledge graphs, cyber threat intelligence, reinforcement learning, and adversarial learning. Dr. Piplai earned a doctoral degree in computer science from UMBC and a bachelor’s in computer science and engineering from Jadavpur Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. While at UMBC, Dr. Piplai served on program committees for the International Conference on Machine Learning and the International Conference on Big Data. He was the session chair for the IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning Applications in 2022. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Piplai worked as an applied scientist with Amazon Science and was recognized with the Amazon Deep Learning Experts’ Award (2022) and the Python Programmers’ Award (2021).    

Anabel Renteria Marquez
 Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Renteria Marquez comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she completed her postdoctoral research and earned her doctoral degree in mechanical engineering. Her research background includes failure mode analysis, reliability assessment, functional devices, design optimization, physics-informed machine learning, and additive manufacturing. Dr. Renteria Marquez earned a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from UTEP and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Ciudad Juárez Campus). She is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) and the Center for Power Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS).      

Davi V. Q. Rodrigues
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Rodrigues joins UTEP with a research background in the design of microwave/millimeter-wave circuits and signal processing for radar and communication systems. He earned a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a bachelor’s in communications engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering in Brazil. While at Texas Tech, he worked as a researcher at Uhnder, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and Dell Technologies. Prior to academia, Dr. Rodrigues served first with the Brazilian Navy, and later with the Brazilian Army, where he was commissioned as First Lieutenant. Dr. Rodrigues is an active member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society and a recipient of the 2022 IEEE MTT-S Tom Brazil Graduate Fellowship Award, the 2022 Cadence Diversity in Technology Award, and the 2023 Texas Tech Horn Distinguished Professors Graduate Achievement Award.    

Louis Rouanet
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Rouanet, a French scholar, joins UTEP from Western Kentucky Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é where he served as an assistant professor of economics. His research background is centered on the application of economic principles to diverse historical contexts. These contexts range from medieval city charters to tribal constitutions, encompassing topics such as hyperinflation during the French Revolution and free-banking laws in pre-Civil War America. His teaching portfolio covers a spectrum of subjects including principles of macroeconomics, development economics, intermediate macroeconomics, as well as money and banking. Dr. Rouanet holds a doctoral and master’s degree in economics from George Mason Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (GMU). Additionally, he obtained a master’s in economics and public policy, as well as a bachelor’s degree in economics from Sciences Po in Paris. While at GMU, Dr. Rouanet’s research was recognized with the Snavely Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Studies. He is an associate editor at Public Choice, which recognized his research with the 2022 Gordon Tullock Prize for Best Paper in Public Choice by a Junior Scholar. Further highlighting his accomplishments, he earned a grant from GMU that provided the opportunity to visit the National Archives in Paris in 2019 to support his research endeavors.    

Nilotpal Sanyal
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Science

Dr. Sanyal joins UTEP from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, India with a research background in Bayesian statistics, high-dimensional variable selection, nonparametric regression, statistical genetics, and survival analysis. His work delves into areas including screening-based variable selection for high-dimensional data, mixture priors and non-local priors, wavelet-based multiscale methods for nonparametric regression, survival data methods in the presence of competing risks and/or cure fractions, gene-by-environment interaction methods, and predictive modeling for cancer. Dr. Sanyal earned his doctoral degree in statistics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Missouri (Mizzou), where he received a Graduate School Fellowship award. His academic journey also encompassed a master’s and bachelor’s degree in statistics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Calcutta, India. Dr. Sanyal is passionate about teaching, having instructed courses in descriptive statistics, statistical inference methods, and statistical data analysis to an international cohort of trainees at the Indian Statistical Institute. He has overseen the course project work of numerous trainees, shared co-mentorship of an undergraduate summer intern at Stanford Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and conducted workshops covering various machine learning methodologies for survival data, time series analysis, and programming using the R software. His expertise has been sought after by prestigious journals such as Nature Genetics, Neuroimage, PLOS Computational Biology, and IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, where he has been invited to review submitted manuscripts. Dr. Sanyal's contributions extend to the development of R packages, including GWASinlps, a tool for nonlocal prior-based SNP selection in Genome-wide association study data; and BHMSMAfMRI, a Bayesian hierarchical multi-subject multiscale analysis tool for functional MRI data. He is also acknowledged for his enhancements to the R package CGEN, designed for the analysis of case-control studies in genetic epidemiology. During his downtime, Dr. Sanyal enjoys reading science and philosophy, writing poetry and reflective pieces, meditation, listening to music and playing tabla (hand drums), watching films, hiking, and traveling.

Hamidreza Sharifan
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Sharifan joins UTEP from Albany State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é with research on environmental chemistry and forensics. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, focusing on the remediation of heavy metals in soil using nanomaterials, and an MSc in Environmental Process engineering from Stuttgart Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Germany. He conducted his postdoc at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of California Davis and Colorado State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é on GHG emissions from wastewater and fingerprinting of PFAS contaminants. He also worked on biotoxins and the transfer rate of polar organic pollutants at the Marine Research Institute of Alfred Wagner (AWI) in Germany and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). He has been an active reviewer for well-known journals such as ACS ES&T, and he received the Global Peer Review Award for being the top 1% reviewer in the field of environmental science. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and a scientific committee member for the International Conference on Water Resources Management & Sustainability: Solutions for Arid Regions in the UAE and Desert Technology XV in Jordan. He has taught many environmental chemistry and forensics courses and mentored students from historically underrepresented communities in science.    

Rhet Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance

Dr. Smith comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock), where he held the position of assistant professor of economics and finance. His research applies microeconomic concepts to topics that involve risky behaviors, health outcomes, and crime. Much of his research focuses on the spillover effects of cannabis legalization and the impacts of cannabis dispensaries on the communities in which they locate. His teaching incorporates current topics to emphasize the role economics plays in answering complex real-world questions. Dr. Smith’s most recent publication, “Main Street Business Initiatives and Crime in Small Towns” was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization which he co-authored with an undergraduate student who was interested in studying the impacts of geographically targeted economic policies in rural communities. He earned a PhD in Economics from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Georgia; an MA in Economics from Cleveland State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; and a BS in Business Administration with a focus in personal finance from Central Michigan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. While at UA Little Rock, Dr. Smith received the College of Business Faculty Excellence Award for Junior Faculty in Spring 2023. He has served as a journal referee for journals in multiple fields that include economics, public health, public policy, substance abuse, actuarial science, and criminology. Dr. Smith’s wife is a human resource director for a private corporation. They have three small boys, and together they enjoy getting out of the house to explore state and national parks.    

Christopher Tschumi
 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Tschumi comes to UTEP from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Washington (UW) where he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His research involves studies on how midbrain dopamine neurons play central psychological roles in reward learning and motivated behavior. Dr. Tschumi earned a doctoral degree in pharmacology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and a bachelor’s in psychology from California State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Long Beach. His research has been recognized at the annual UTHSCSA Physiology Student Symposium and the Translation Research in Addiction Conference, and has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience and the European Neuropsychopharmacology. He is a member of the American Aging Association, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology, and the Society for Neuroscience.    

Lizette O. Villanueva  
Assistant Professor, College of Nursing

Dr. Villanueva joins UTEP from the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing at Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC-El Paso). She is dedicated to advancing knowledge, research, practice, and education in nursing. Her research focuses on population health, specifically in underserved LatinX communities, and how language intersects with social determinants of health. Dr. Villanueva advocates for upstream healthcare by investing in and fostering collaboration, creativity, and empowerment. Her advocacy extends into building individual and community health knowledge through a wide range of activities such as outreach, education, cultural competency, social support, and improving access to excellent quality healthcare. Dr. Villanueva earned her PhD in curriculum and instruction from New Mexico State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; a Master of Science in Nursing from UTEP; a Master of Education from Stephen F. Austin State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é; a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Health Sciences Center Lubbock; and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Texas Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, and the American Public Health Association. She served as Social Justice Curriculum Champion (TTUHSC-El Paso), serves as District 1 representative on the government affairs committee for the Texas Nurses Association, and is a board member of the Desert Mountain Area Health Education Center whose mission is to improve the healthcare industry by leading the nation in recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse healthcare workforce for underserved communities. While at TTUHSC-El Paso, Dr. Villanueva received the Student Government Association Faculty Excellence Award. In her free time, Dr. Villanueva enjoys reading, cycling, and spending quality time with her family.    

Peimeng Yin
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences 

Dr. Yin joins UTEP from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where he served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division. His research background is in computational mathematics and applied mathematics with a focus on numerical analysis, partial differential equations, scientific computing, and data science. He has developed several advanced numerical methods for modern PDE challenges such as high derivatives, maximum principle preserving, singularities, high dimensions, and multiscale. Dr. Yin earned his doctoral degree from Iowa State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (ISU) and a master’s in computational science from Xiangtan Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. Prior to ORNL, Dr. Yin was appointed as a research assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas Medical Center, and he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Mathematics at Wayne State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (WSU) where he was recognized with the 2021 Postdoctoral Trainee Research Award. He is also a recipient of the Mario Gutierrez Award and a Wolfe Research Fellowship from ISU. He is a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). In his downtime, Dr. Yin enjoys listening to classical music, fishing, and spending time with his family.      

Stephanie Capshaw
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

Dr. Capshaw returned to the UTEP faculty in the spring of 2023 after serving a four-year appointment as founding director of the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS). Prior to USAHS, she served at UTEP for over a decade as a clinical associate professor and associate dean of the College of Health Sciences. Her research interests are in pediatric occupational therapy and community-engaged service learning. In her initial role at UTEP, she developed an international interprofessional course for UTEP students studying occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology, where students traveled to Guatemala. Throughout her career in academia, she has taught courses across OT curricula including Theories in OT, Intro to OT, Documentation in OT, Assessment in OT, Clinical Reasoning in OT, Conditions in OT, along with clinical courses primarily in pediatrics, research-based courses, and Capstone Education courses. She is a member of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, and the World Federation of Occupational Therapy. Outside of work, Dr. Capshaw enjoys cycling, Peloton workouts, raising her teenage daughter, and spending time with family and friends. She expresses gratitude for her return to UTEP, citing her love for the vibrant culture and close-knit community of the El Paso region.

Mandi L. Bever
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Sciences

Dr. Bever joins UTEP after having spent the last 15 years working and studying in Kansas. She is originally from Tyler, Texas. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Studies from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Kansas School of Pharmacy (KU School of Pharmacy) in Wichita, KS, along with a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Southwestern College in Winfield, KS. She successfully completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, Kansas, followed by a PGY-2 Pharmacotherapy Residency and a teaching certificate at UTEP. Dr. Bever’s teaching will primarily be in the UTEP School of Pharmacy’s skill labs and teaching P4 students on rotation with the family medicine team. Her interests include pharmacotherapy, geriatrics, critical care, and travel health. Dr. Bever is an active member of professional organizations, including the El Paso Area Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Texas Society of Health System Pharmacists, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Outside of her academic pursuits, Dr. Bever has a diverse set of hobbies. She is an avid traveler, having explored countries such as Costa Rica, Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands), the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Ireland. Her next travel destination is Iceland. In addition, she enjoys working on Lego kits, with a preference for creating vehicles and monuments. She and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors, particularly with their two dogs—a chocolate Labrador and a Dachshund.

Viridiana Ortiz
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work

Dr. Ortiz joins UTEP after completing her PhD from Our Lady of the Lake Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. She obtained a Master of Social Work and a Bachelor of Social from UTEP. Dr. Ortiz is the clinical director and founder of Mind Forward Mental Health Center and previously served as a mental health coordinator at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. She is a member of the HRSA BHWET Advisory Council at UTEP and a member of the Brain Trust Network-El Paso, a collaborative network of community stakeholders committed to changing minds and attitudes about mental illness in El Paso County to improve mental and emotional well-being for the health of children, youth, and adults. Dr. Ortiz is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor.

Kaleigh Stevens
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

Dr. Stevens joined the UTEP faculty in January 2023 with a practice background in neurological disorders, particularly in adults. Prior to her full-time appointment, Dr. Stevens visited UTEP several times as a guest lecturer. She received a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree from Washington Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in St. Louis and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from A.T. Still Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Arizona. Dr. Stevens is also a certified brain injury specialist. She serves as the Rio Grande District Chair for the Texas Occupational Therapy Association, for which she has been a member since 2015. She served as a presenter at the TOTA Conference, delivering sessions on two noteworthy subjects: "Developing and Executing a Community Mobility Education Program for Professionals Assisting Individuals with Neurological Conditions" and "Managing Visual Impairments in Individuals with Brain Injuries." In recognition of her service to the organization, TOTA honored her with the 2020 TOTA Service Award. Outside of academia, Dr. Stevens enjoys hiking, reading, and arts and crafts.  

Alessandra Narváez Varela
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Creative Writing

Ms. Narváez Varela joins the faculty of her alma mater, previously serving as a lecturer in the Department of Creative Writing. She is a poet and teacher, born and raised in Ciudad Juárez, México. She has published her poetry in Poets.org, Huizache, Acentos Review, and The Normal School. She was featured in “Seeking a Voice, Via a Bilingual M.F.A., in Writing and in Life,” an article in the New York Times Education Life section, where she spoke of her experience as a bilingual poet who writes mostly in English, instead of Spanish, her native tongue. Her, a chapbook, was published in 2018 by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Houston, the Department of Hispanic Studies. Her first book, Thirty Talks Weird Love, a young-adult novel in verse, was published in 2021 by Cinco Puntos Press, an imprint of Lee and Low Books; Treinta me habla de amor, the Spanish edition, was published by VR Editoras in 2022. Ms. Narváez Varela earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, all of which were earned at UTEP.

Samantha Michelle Nava
 Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Theatre and Dance

Samantha Michelle Nava is an El Paso native and the first to receive a B.F.A in Theatre Performance from UTEP. She continued her education and received an M.F.A from East 15 Acting School, a branch of the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Essex located in London, England UK. While part of East 15, she performed at Shakespeare’s Globe and completed a one-month residence at The Russian Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow. Professional credits include the UK premiere of Lanford Wilson’s Book of Days, Macbeth, Widows, Taking Care of Baby, and The Woman in the Wall. Once stateside, stage and film credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Romeo and Julieta, Chicago’s premier of The Kid Thing, Robin Hood and Maiden Marian, Future of Helium Uncertain (Ripped: The Living Newspaper Festival) The Box and The Law of Men. During her downtime, Samantha enjoys spending quality time with her husband and three senior rescue pups, cooking, and traveling. Her goal is to help build the theatre arts community through representation, collaboration, and exposure.   

Nora Paugh
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations

Dr. Paugh joins the UTEP Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, previously serving as an adjunct professor in the department. Prior to joining UTEP, Dr. Paugh worked as a high school principal for over 13 years. During that time she was recognized with the Principal of the Year Award by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and Region 19, along with the Rhosine Fleming Outstanding Counselor Advocate of the Year award by the Texas School Counselor Association. Her research and teaching interests revolve around efficient and effective school leadership, engaging classroom teaching and learning, project-based learning, languaging and literacy as sociocultural practices, translanguaging, and code-switching. Dr. Paugh is a UTEP alum and earned her Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, & Culture; an MEd in Instructional Specialist; and a BS in Education. She is a reviewer for the American Educational Research Association (AERA). During her downtime, Dr. Paugh enjoys quilting.   

Sara Renner
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Music

Dr. Renner joined the faculty in 2023, where she serves as Assistant Professor of Instruction for Applied Oboe and teaches courses in music literature. An accomplished oboist with a multifaceted career, Dr. Renner is an active performer, educator, and recording artist. She has taught at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nebraska-Omaha, the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Alabama, Washburn Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and most recently the Omaha Conservatory of Music. An active performer, Dr. Renner’s orchestral experience has spanned numerous orchestras in the Midwest including the Springfield (MO) Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, and South Dakota Symphony. In her orchestral experience, she has shared the stage with a variety of artists, including Baritenor Michael Spyres, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Celtic Woman. Dr. Renner holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Performance from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nebraska-Omaha and the Columbus State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Schwob School of Music, respectively. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2019 from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where her secondary discipline was Musicology with an emphasis in Early Music. Her teachers include Dr. Mark Ostoich, Dwight Parry, Christopher Philpotts, and Dr. Susan Hatch Tomkiewicz. Read full bio.

Carolina Terán López
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Teacher Education

Dr. Carolina Terán López joined the UTEP faculty as an assistant professor of instruction for the MA-DESJE program. She earned her PhD from the Teaching, Learning, and Culture program at UTEP, concentrating on sociocultural foundations of education. Dr. Terán López received an MBA from UTEP and a BBA in Economics and Secondary Education from UTEP. Her research seeks to recover the untold stories of first-generation bilingual Latina doctoral students, validate experiences and knowledge found in Communities of Color, and foster better academic experiences for underrepresented students. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Terán López taught for the UTEP Entering Student Experience program.    

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

Dr. Trujillo joined the UTEP faculty in a full-time role as an assistant professor of instruction, previously serving as visiting assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy. His research investigates what it means to live a good life and be a good person. To do 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.

Yermary Morales-Lozada
Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Morales-Lozada joins the UTEP faculty team as an assistant research professor after completing an NSF postdoctoral fellowship in the UTEP Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She brings a research background in biochemistry with specific expertise in the role of the human microbiome in the development of Colorectal Cancer (CRC). Her research focuses on developing a point-of-care (POC) immunosensor for CRC biomarkers detection at an early stage of the disease by using electrochemical analysis. Dr. Morales-Lozada earned her doctoral and bachelor's degrees in chemistry and biochemistry from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. She enjoys mentoring students in scientific research and helping them develop professionally, as she works enthusiastically to promote STEM education and create opportunities for young minority and female scientists. During her graduate and undergraduate studies, she was awarded the NIH Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) fellowship. She enjoys spending time with her family, working out, and cooking in her free time.    

Irma Torres-Catanach
Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Engineering Education and Leadership

Dr. Torres-Catanach joins the UTEP faculty, previously serving as a postdoctoral researcher on an NSF AGEP grant that supports Latinx doctoral STEM students to transition into academia. More recently, she's working as Project Director for STEM Fuerte, a Department of Education grant that supports El Paso Community College and UTEP students attain STEM degrees and enter the STEM workforce. Her research interests are focused on examining and elevating the experiences of underrepresented students in STEM across all educational levels (K-12 to graduate school), as STEM faculty or STEM employees, using intersectional and asset-based frameworks. The research areas that she's studying include mentorship experiences, communities of practice, the impact of stressors on physical & mental health, career decision-making processes, sense of belonging, and STEM identity development. Dr. Torres-Catanach earned a doctoral degree in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from UTEP, a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and a bachelor’s in psychology from New Mexico State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. She is also a bilingual (Spanish/English) mental health clinician licensed in Texas and New Mexico.

Alva Rodarte
Clinical Instructor, Clinical Laboratory Science Program

Ms. Rodarte has become a part of the UTEP faculty after her role as a lecturer in the UTEP College of Health Science. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Medical Branch. Additionally, she holds a master's degree in public health from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a Bachelor of Science degree from UTEP. With a wealth of experience as a medical laboratory scientist, Ms. Rodarte has contributed her expertise to institutions such as El Paso Children’s Hospital, Tenet Healthcare, and the Hospitals of Providence.     

Laurie Marshall
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Women's and Gender Studies 

Laurie Marshall brings an extensive 35-year tenure in education to UTEP, with certifications as a K-12 art and social studies teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history and education from Antioch College and master’s in art and education from Beacon College. Ms. Marshall pioneers innovative methodologies leveraging visual art and storytelling for consensus building, leadership training, and conflict prevention. Passionate about tapping into emergent wisdom and enhancing collaboration and communication skills, Ms. Marshall has devoted her career to fostering a culture of lifelong learning. For over three decades, she's empowered youth and adults alike as an author, innovator, and artist, championing creative collaboration. Her focus on peace building through art has been instrumental in her visionary educational approach, primarily serving low-income children, families, and schools as an Arts Integration and Project Based Learning specialist. Laurie is the Founder and President of Unity Through Creativity Foundation and founder of the Singing Tree Mural Project – platforms aimed at nurturing creativity, fostering a love for learning, and instilling a collaborative spirit. In particular, the Singing Tree Project has inspired participation from 23,000 people from 52 countries to create 128 murals. Her dedication to these causes led her to pen "Beating the Odds Now - Ten Steps for Teachers to Meet the Standards and Still Love What You Do," further solidifying her commitment to educational excellence while nurturing passion. Ms. Marshall is a member of the Eco-El Paso Board of Directors, Bioneers, and the Interfaith Alliance of the Southwest.        

Michelle Jula
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Women's and Gender Studies 

Michelle Jula joins UTEP with over 23 years of experience in the field of education. She is a native El Pasoan and UTEP alumna with a B.A. in English and American Literature, an M.Ed. in Reading Specialization, an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling, and an M.Ed. in Administration.  Michelle is part of a legacy of UTEP Miners, being a 3rd generation graduate, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, mother, uncle, and great uncle. Education runs deep in her family, with her mother and grandfather having served as educators in the El Paso region. Her passion for education is driven by her belief that every student can achieve success. She is committed to being a guiding force on students’ journeys to excellence. Michelle's career has been enriched by teaching experiences in various parts of the world, including Mexico, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Fiji. Michelle loves to travel and spend time with family and friends.       

Samuel F. Richardson II
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Criminal Justice 

Dr. Richardson joined the faculty of the Department of Criminal Justice in 2023. He is an experienced scholar and national defense practitioner, previously serving over 14 years in the military. He started off as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army and then transitioned into the U.S. Air Force as a Civil Engineering Officer. During his time in the military, he maintained accountability of over $2 billion in construction, directly supported a 2-Star General, managed high-level projects at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, commanded Security Forces personnel, and is now a Legislative Liaison with the Air Force. He earned his Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Liberty Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in 2022, a PhD in Management in 2018 from Walden Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, a Master’s degree from Missouri Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Science and Technology, a Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, and is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Naval Command and Staff College. He has served on faculty at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of the Potomac and the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Maryland.        

David Tanner
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Mr. Tanner joins the faculty after completing an MA in Sociology and a BA in Anthropology from UTEP. Throughout his graduate studies, he worked on research with the National Science Foundation on topics such as immigration and climate change. His research interests include race identity formation.



              

Creslan Williams
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies

Mr. Williams has come back to his alma mater, joining the Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies. Here, he will be instructing courses on the fundamentals of criminal justice as well as specialized topics. He holds both a master's and bachelor's degree in criminal justice, in addition to a bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies, all of which were earned at UTEP. Mr. Creslan is currently in his inaugural year as a doctoral student in UTEP's Sociology doctoral program.

     

Gillian Lynn Wong
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Dr. Gillian Wong is an anthropological archaeologist. She has a PhD in Archaeological Sciences from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Tuebingen (Germany) and an MS in Anthropology from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Utah. Her research focuses on human paleoecology using zooarchaeology, animal remains in the archaeological record. She is part of international research teams based in Germany and South Africa. In Germany, she studies the Paleolithic of Central Europe and explores how the relationship between humans and their environment impacted population movement in the past. In South Africa, she is part of the National Science Foundation funded project “Developing a high-resolution framework to define human-environment interactions across the Middle-to-Later Stone Age transition at Boomplaas Cave.” In this project, she studies the micromammals (like rodents and shrews) to reconstruct past environments from the Middle Stone Age to the more recent past in order to track the relationship between cultural change and the local environment. Her career path has included work in academia, museums, and cultural resource management and has allowed her to also work with projects from Baja California, France, and across the United States (including Alaska). She has been teaching undergraduate anthropology classes for over a decade and specializes in archaeology and biological anthropology courses. She is passionate about student engagement in research and uses her position as co-organizer of the Society for American Archaeology’s (SAA’s) Zooarchaeology Interest Group to provide resources and support to students in the society who are interested in the field. She also sits on the SAA’s committee for the Dienje Kenyon Memorial fellowship, a fellowship that supports women archaeologists in the early stages of graduate work in zooarchaeology.      

Andrew Bishop
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of English

Dr. Bishop joins UTEP from the Ohio State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, where he received his PhD in English. He specializes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature and culture. Dr. Bishop's scholarship draws upon sociology, critical theory, and the environmental humanities to explore issues related to labor, leisure, and nature. He earned an MA in English from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a BA in English from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Richmond. Prior to his PhD, Dr. Bishop taught literature and writing courses at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, NJ, where he also served as Coordinator of Composition II. Currently, he is working on a book manuscript that analyzes the crystallization of leisure in its modern form—commercially exploitable periods of free time—and the efforts of industrial-era, middle-class, American authors to conceptualize and regulate the proper uses of free time. Dr. Bishop's essays have been featured in Modern Fiction Studies, The Hemingway Review, and the Journal of Thoreau Studies, to name a few.

Levi Johnson
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences

Dr. Johnson joins the UTEP faculty as a visiting assistant professor, previously serving as an adjunct faculty in the UTEP Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences, and serving as lead physical therapist at Holloman Airforce Base in New Mexico. He is a UTEP alum with a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science/Kinesiology. Dr. Johnson is a licensed physical therapist in Texas and New Mexico and is a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist. He has been invited to speak at functions including the 311th Fighter Squadron Resiliency Training, Benefits of Strength and Conditioning and Early Therapy for F-16 Pilots; along with the 54th Fighter Training Squadron Resiliency Training, Spinal Mechanics, Common Pathology, and Non-invasive Treatment. Dr. Johnson is a member of the Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA), the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and the APTA Orthopedic Section.

Katherine Reyes-Brooks
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences

Dr. Reyes-Brooks joins the UTEP faculty as a visiting assistant professor, previously serving as an adjunct faculty in the UTEP Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences. Dr. Reyes-Brooks earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Hardin-Simmons Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas Medical Branch. She is currently a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences program at UTEP. Dr. Reyes-Brooks is the owner of Move Therapy Services and a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA).