Meet our new faculty members

Ten members of the faculty who joined the SUNYIT family this semester will be profiled individually in upcoming issues of Interface. Here’s a brief introduction to the 10:

Ronny Bull
Lecturer in Computer & Information Sciences
M.S. (Computer Science)
SUNYIT
Pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science at Clarkson University; research interests include virtualization and voice over Internet Protocol technologies. Has worked extensively over the past 11 years as a systems administrator, information technology manager, IT consultant, software engineer for Exelis, and as an adjunct instructor at Mohawk Valley Community College and SUNYIT.

Elizabeth Campbell
Associate Professor of Nursing
Ph.D. (Community Health Education)
University of Tennessee
Extensive experience as a nurse educator, family nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist and trauma clinical specialist. Dissertation topic: “Perspectives on Self-Immolation Experiences among Uzbek Women.” Has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in nursing, community health, health assessment, pharmacology, transcultural nursing.

Coskun Cetinkaya
Associate Prof. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Ph.D. (Networking)
Rice University
Research interests include: Admission Control, Quality of Service, Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocols, Transport Protocols, Scheduling Algorithms in Wired Networks, and Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks. Has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in computer networking, wireless networking, computer performance analysis.

Robert Edgell
Assistant Professor of Technology Management
Ph.D. (Management)
University of St. Gallen
His scholarship expands upon his deep research commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, governance, and social justice. In his dissertation, he empirically tested how various forms of actor heterogeneity (i.e., cognitive, creative, social) positively influence organizational creativity outcomes, especially in media settings. Has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in leadership, strategic management, and change and innovation.

Firas Khasawneh
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science)
Duke University
Expertise in dynamics, vibrations, machining processes; dissertation focused on developing robust numerical techniques for studying systems with time delays. Research interests include dynamical and physiological systems whose global behavior is determined by the interactions of its sub-elements, e.g., neural networks in the brain; wind energy harvesting; and the effect of noise on machining processes.

Zhanjie Li
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Ph.D. (Civil Engineering)
Johns Hopkins University
Expertise in theoretical and computational mechanics, structural design and analysis of emerging cold-formed steel structures and their sustainability, to reduce the environmental and energy footprint of building; research objectives include structural resiliency initiatives such as computational mechanics, cold-formed steel structures, and structural optimization.

Ryan Lizardi
Asst. Professor of Digital Media Design & Humanities
Ph.D. (Mass Communications)
Pennsylvania State University
Current research interests revolve around representations of the past in media, specifically beloved childhood time periods and texts. Dissertation topic: “Playlist Past: Contemporary Media’s Construction of Perpetual Individual Nostalgics.” Professional background includes post-production and on-set experience in film and television; has taught a variety of courses, from film theory/history, to film production, as well as higher-level cultural theory courses.

Doreen Rogers
Instructor in Nursing & Health Professions
DNS (Nursing Education & Leadership)
Sage Graduate School
Dissertation focus: “Student and staff nurse perception of collaboration in the clinical learning environment: Comparison between Magnet and non-Magnet institutions.”
Has taught graduate and undergraduate courses and clinicals in fundamentals, pharmacology, advanced medical-surgical, and professional issues; extensive experience in intensive care, cardiothoracic intensive care, and medical surgical unit nursing.

Kathleen Rourke
Associate Professor of Nursing
Ph.D. (Nutrition Science)
Syracuse University
Experienced academician with extensive experience in interdisciplinary and innovative non-traditional education; broad clinical experience in nursing and dietetics. Dissertation topic: “The Effect of Calcium Supplementation on Bone Density in Weight Bearing vs. Non-Weight Bearing Female Athletes.” Has served as dean, associate dean, full professor and director at public and private institutions. Broad background in nursing in clinical, educational, research, government and trauma settings.

Yu Zhou
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering)
Johns Hopkins University
Research interests include analysis of robot kinematics and dynamics, robot motion planning, sensing and control, stochastic modeling of dynamic systems with uncertainty, and development of various robotic devices and automatic systems; medical applications, including robot-assisted and image-guided minimum invasive surgical techniques; and nano-scale, focusing on statistical mechanics of macromolecular chains and computational modeling of nanosystems.