Information Technology Faculty

Mario DeSean Booker currently teaches graduate network management, advance network, Managing IT, and management of Information Security classes at Purdue Global. With a specialization in cybersecurity and digital forensics, Booker educates others on the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats and the necessary measures to combat them. As a college professor, his passion for teaching shines through in his engaging and innovative approach to instruction, inspiring his students to become the cybersecurity professionals of the future.

Education: PhD, Information Technology, University of the Cumberlands; MS, Technology and Innovation Management, Northcentral University

Publications: Booker, M. D. (2022). Empowering, Engaging, and Equipping Technology through Acceptance: A Quantitative Study Utilizing the Modified Technology Acceptance Model (mTAM) to Explore Facial-Recognition Software Acceptance (FRSA) in the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI). Proquest.com     

Certifications: Comptia A+ Certification; CITI Information Privacy Security (IPS); QM APPQMR Certified; Coaching and Developing Employees Certificate; Purdue Global Certificate in Diversity-equity- inclusion and belonging Awareness; Career Essentials in Project Management by Microsoft and LinkedIn; Zendesk Customer Service Professional; Leading and Motivating People with Different Personalities – Certificate; Social and Behavioral Research Certification by CITI; (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity; Beginning Google Analytics; AWS Cloud Practitioner Essential; LMS- Moodle 3.11 Certificate; LMS-Canvas Certificate

Memberships: (ISC)² Black Doctorial Network; Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Judge; The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) 2020-present

Research Interests: Algorithms used within facial recognition software, and further digital forensic analysis of the algorithms as well as their implementation into various forms of police work

Noel Broman has been working in and serving as a subject matter expert in Information Technology for nearly three decades, with extensive experience in curriculum management and design, teaching in higher education, and project management. In addition, Broman has an extensive background in network management, security and design, with research interests in telecommuting in the 21st century, cryptography and cryptanalysis, effective organizational communication, ethics in information technology, information systems security and control, online learning management and facilitation, data management and analytics, and cognitive science and educational psychology.

Education: PhD, Nova Southeastern University; MS, Nova Southeastern University

Certifications: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE); Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)

Publications: Broman, N., Cates, S., Doyle, S., Escudier, B., Gallagher, L., Shelton, G., (2020), Making the case for virtual competency-based education Building a twenty-first century small business workforce, Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, August 6, 2020, https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/heswbl          

Purdue Global University Cybersecurity Webinar August 16, 2022. ACM Hosts: Prof. Noel Broman & Bob Cunningham, Dept. of VA. https://www.pgipods.com/webinar-acm-hosts-noel-broman-bob-cunningham/ 

Memberships: Sloan-C (The Sloan Consortium); ISOC (The Internet Society); CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association)

Carol T. Edwards has over 20 years of service and leadership in non-profit, business and the academic arenas. She has instructed IT and cybersecurity courses at Purdue Global for over 15 years. Edwards is responsible for course design and curriculum development in IT courses and the creation of a nursing course. She began her academic career as a Business Instructor, after which she served in academic positions as a substitute instructor and an academic advisor for national, international, study abroad and at-risk students at American Intercontinental University (AIU). She has worked in fortune 500 companies, is a notary public and a CAEL certified portfolio evaluator. Edwards is a frequent presenter, collaborator and writer for national conferences.

Education: PhD, Northcentral University; MEd, BIT, American InterContinental University ERT; AS, Essex County College

Publications: ProQuest, Journal of Online Higher Education, MERLOT Journal

Certifications: MOUS, Microsoft, CAEL Certification, GRAPE Camp Peer Reviewer - Merlot & Online Learning Consortium (OLC)

Honors and Achievements: Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Award, Innovations Lab Fellow, Peer Reviewer Extraordinaire, Outstanding Dedication to Students Award

Memberships: Great Emerging Methods (GEMs), Merlot, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Technology, Colleges & Community (TCC)

Research Interests: e-Learning, Education Technology, student Persistence, Student engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion

Chris Esquire has over 4 years of teaching and curriculum design experience in a variety of content areas and across several colleges and universities. Before joining the University, Esquire worked in public, private, and government sectors in IT and cybersecurity and is also an Army veteran. He has presented nationally and internationally, has several publications, and has award-winning cybersecurity research.

Education: DBA (ABD) Computer and Information Security, Northcentral University; JD, Birmingham School of Law; MSISM Project Management, Grantham University; BSIS IT & Accounting Fraud and Forensics, University of Alabama in Birmingham

Publications: International Guide to Cybersecurity, 2nd edition; There Was a Data Breach…Now What?; Data Breach Liability: The Cloud Is Not an Imaginary Place; Data Breach Liability: Protecting Your Clients, Customers, and Employees From Data Breaches; Addressing Privacy: GDPR, Cloud, and You; Applying the Risk Management Framework to the Cloud; Hacking Your Way at Sea: A Look Into Maritime Cyber Legal Issues; Critical Infrastructure Protection: Protecting Others by Protecting Yourself

Certifications: GPEN, CEH, CCSK, CSSGB

Honors and Achievements: First place award, November 2017: “Hacking Your Way at Sea: A Look Into Maritime Cyber Legal Issues”; Maritime Risk Symposium Alabama Legislature Medal of Honor Army Achievement Medal

Memberships: American Bar Association Privacy and Computer Crime, Vice Chair, 2017–present; Cloud Security Alliance Incident Management and Forensics Workgroup, 2015–present; American Bar Association YLD Law Practice Committee, Vice Chair, 2017–2018 term; ISACA Birmingham Chapter Academic Relations/Research Committee Director, 2016 term

Bar Memberships: Supreme Court of the United States, 2019; U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 2016; Veterans Affairs Accreditation, 2016; State of Alabama, 2015; U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, 2015; U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit, 2015

Research Interests: Game theory, privacy laws, cyber laws, international cybercrime, risk assessment, security governance, information security, project management, maritime security, cloud technology, technology laws, data breach liability

Susan Ferebee has been a professor in the information systems discipline for over 15 years and has been with Purdue Global since 2010. In addition to teaching graduate courses in writing and cybersecurity at Purdue Global, she serves as dissertation chair to a number of doctoral students outside the University. Prior to moving into teaching and research, Ferebee worked at Intuit, Lucent Technologies, AOL, and Tier3.

Education: PhD, Nova Southeastern University

Honors and Achievements: 2017 Faculty Scholarship Award (Kaplan University), 2017 McJulien Scholar Best Paper Award (AECT International Conference), 2017 Best Conference Presentation (Academic Forum), additional teaching and research honors

Research Interests: Developing narrative inquiries on unique needs of students in underserved populations, including Native American students, first-year online students, and home-schooled students

Tamara Fudge began her career at Purdue Global in Davenport, Iowa teaching writing, critical thinking, diversity, and communication classes before moving to teaching online courses in the School of Business and Information Technology. She specializes in web development, interface design, communication, and analysis and is a frequent collaborator, writer, and presenter. Prior to Purdue Global, Fudge taught music at the college and university level for over 20 years. She has sung opera and oratorio, and her compositions have been played on public radio and featured at a state choral convention.

Education: Doctorate in Music (DMus), Florida State University; MSIT, Kaplan University (now Purdue Global); Master's in Music and Bachelor's in Music, Indiana University

Publications: Quad City Times

Certifications: Microsoft Office Specialist Master

Honors and Achievements: Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Award, Innovations Lab Fellow (Center for Teaching and Learning, Purdue Global)

Marjorie Furay has over 40 years’ experience in IT and business before starting her academic career as a full-time instructor of the IT190-Information Technology Concepts course at Purdue Global. The course focuses on the fundamentals of technology using online certification training and lessons to prepare them for the CompTIA ITF+ certification. Furay is also VP of the Purdue Global Internship Program-Technology providing real-world/hands-on training and developing of skills prior to graduating and employment to undergraduate and graduate students in their final courses. The focus is for the student to gain the ability to implement their education and gain experience in the field of cybersecurity, analytics, software development, database, networking, project management, or IT Support. Furay is co-founder of 1mpact IT Group, an IT Consulting Company that provides guidance and services to companies that need help with marketing and growth of the company.

Education: MSIT, Walden University; BS, Purdue University Global

Certifications: CompTIA ITF+ Information Technology Fundamentals; Business Planning 101               

Research Interests: Impact and benefits of organizing, regulating, and instituting online virtual internship environments in a university

Gustavo “Gus” Gomez joined Kaplan University in 2004. Gomez started as an adjunct professor in the IT department, was later promoted to full-time adjunct, and currently holds a full-time faculty position in the networking department. He has taught IT classes for over 22 years, covering many different areas in the IT field such as programming, project management, cloud technologies, IT consulting, and networking. In collaboration efforts with the curriculum department, he participates in the process of course and curriculum development, and he also has course lead responsibilities.

Before joining Purdue Global, Gomez brings 20+ years of manufacturing experience in several industrial environments including purchasing manager at a petrochemical plant, and vice-president of R&D at a contract manufacturing firm. Gomez is a member of the National Cybersecurity League (NCL) and serves as a coach during the yearly competitions. He is an active member of PG’s Multiversity committee, and Cybersecurity Club, and performs as a subject matter expert in several IT courses.

Education: MS in Database Technologies, University of Maryland University College; BSChe in Chemistry, Catholic University of Puerto Rico

Publications: Data warehousing to advance the educational paradigm, research paper, University of Maryland University College.
Database for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design (2013, Pearson) - 13 chapters of student and Instructor exercises, templates, and Q&A

Certifications: Online Faculty Certificate 2015; ITIL in progress; Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)            

Memberships: ISACA; ACM; IEEE        

Research Interests: Network security, approaches to cybersecurity threats and prevention, cloud technologies

Ahmad Kassem began his academic career in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue Global in 2007. He currently serves as a full-time faculty member and course lead for programming concentrations. Kassem teaches undergraduate courses in IT with a special emphasis on programming and has worked on a variety of course development projects, including data analytics curriculum development.

Prior to Purdue Global, Kassem was employed as an IT director, project manager and senior developer working in the oil and gas, finance, and telecommunication industries managing large-scale projects such as Y2K and SAP implementation.

Education: ABD, Argosy University; MS, Houston Baptist University; BS, University of Houston                

Publications: Chen, Alan Chia-Lung a, Elhajj, Ahmed, Gao, Shang c, Sarhan, Abdullah, Afra, Salim, Kassem, Ahmad, Alhajj, Reda. Approximating the maximum common subgraph isomorphism problem with a weighted graph In Knowledge-Based Systems. September 2015.

Effectiveness of Mobile Electrocardiogram in Healthcare: From Mobile Application and Development to Community Reaction. IEEE/ACM International Conference - Conference Paper. (July 2017.)

Certifications: CompTIA Network +; CompTIA A+; Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate; Google IT Support Professional Certificate

Memberships: IEEE; ACM

Research Interests: Social networks analysis and mining; health informatics, biomedicine and bioinformatics

Jean Kotsiovos began her career at Purdue Global (previously Kaplan University) in 2004 as an adjunct instructor teaching database and programming courses for the School of Information Technology. She has held various positions at the university over the past 29 years, including adjunct IT faculty, department chair, and assistant dean of curriculum. For the past 15 years, she served as the Executive Director of Curriculum and Innovation. Kotsiovos played a pivotal role in the development of the online degree programs and courses in the learning management system (LMS). Additionally, she implemented various instructional technology tools to enhance the student learning experience. She has extensive IT industry experience in software development, website design, and database management systems.

Education: PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in Applied Computer Science, Northcentral University; MA in Education with a specialization in Computer Education, Governors State University; BS in Business Administration - Information and Decision Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

Publications: Reviewer of Retailing and E-tailing for Goodheart-Willcox Company, 2015.

Co-author of Microsoft Office 2010: Productivity Strategies for Today and Tomorrow textbook for Jones & Bartlett, 2013

Author of Banking & Financial Systems Workbook for Goodheart-Willcox Company, 2012

Contributing author for the Exploring Microsoft Office 2007 Vol. 2e textbook for Pearson Education

Contributing author for the Exploring Microsoft Office Excel 2007 textbook for Pearson Education

Reviewer for the Computer Security Penetration Systems textbook for Cengage

Technical editor for the Exploring Microsoft Office 2007 textbook for Pearson Education

Technical editor for the Exploring Microsoft Excel 2007 textbooks for Pearson Education

Certifications:  Brightspace Teaching and Learning Certificate; Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design, University of Illinois; Microsoft Office Specialist 

Honors and Achievements: Purdue Global 2020 Organization Builders Award for Contract Tracing Course Development Team

Memberships: Member, GoDaddy Customer Council; Member, National Restaurant Association

Research Interests: Software development, artificial intelligence, accessibility, curriculum development, instructional design, and instructional tools that enhance teaching and learning

Joseph Kovacic joined Purdue Global as an adjunct faculty member in 2019 and attained a full-time faculty position in 2021. Kovacic instructs various courses in database concepts using Microsoft Access , Software Development Concepts, software design and development, database concepts, Python Programming, advanced database concepts, artificial intelligence - deep learning and machine learning, modeling and predictive Analysis, database design and data modeling, and SQL query design. Kovacic has developed graduate-level courses and he currently serves as the course lead for various courses.

Kovacic has instructed undergraduate and graduate courses for over 20 years covering computer science, cybersecurity, information technology, and software engineering topics. Before joining Purdue Global, Kovacic spent 30 years working in the engineering and information technology fields specializing in databases, software engineering, and cybersecurity within the public and private sectors.         

Education: PhD, Business Administration - Applied Computer Science, Northcentral University; MS, Software Engineering, Loyola University Maryland; MES, Computer Science, Loyola University Maryland; MS, Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico; ME, Mechanical Engineering, Manhattan College; BS, Mechanical Engineering, Manhattan College.            

Publications: T.A. Culp and J. Kovacic, “A Methodology for Estimating an Annual Release from a Diffuse Transuranic Source,” Radioactivity & Radiochemistry, Volume 6, No. 3, 1995.

T.A. Culp, J. Kovacic, and R. Deola, “Determination of Releases from a Fugitive or Diffuse Source Using Downwind Air Monitoring and Site-Specific Meteorological Data,” Radioactivity & Radiochemistry, Volume 7, No. 4, 1996."               Dr. Kovacic maintains the following professional certifications/licenses: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP); Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH); Project Management Professional (PMP); Professional Engineer in Maryland; CompTIA Security+; CompTIA Network+; CompTIA Cloud+; and Oracle Certified Professional (Database Administration).               "

Memberships: Member, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).              

Research Interests: Cybersecurity, databases, software engineering, programming, analytics, robotic process automation (RPA), and DevSecOps.

Deanne Larson is an active data science practitioner and academic. Her research has focused on enterprise data strategy, agile analytics, and data science best practices. Larson holds certifications in Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP), and Six Sigma. She attended AT&T Executive Training at the Harvard Business School focusing on IT leadership, Stanford University focusing on data science, and New York University focusing on business analytics. Larson has presented at multiple conferences including TDWI, TDWI Europe, IRM UK, PMI, and other academic conferences. She has consulted for several Fortune 500 companies, and has authored multiple research articles on data science methodology and best practices.               

Education:  PhD, International School of Management; DCS, Colorado Technical University; DM, University of Phoenix

Publications: Multiple scholarly articles on data analytics, project management, data strategy, and text mining               

Certifications: PMP; PMI-ACP; CBIP; Certified Scrum Master; Six Sigma Black Belt

Memberships: TDWI; PMI           

Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence

Jason Litz began his academic career in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue Global in 2002. He currently serves as a full-time faculty member and course lead for programming concentrations. Litz teaches undergraduate courses in IT with a special emphasis on programming and has worked on a variety of course development projects, including competency-based curriculum development. Prior to Purdue Global, Litz was employed as a software developer working on banking transaction and health care processing applications, as well as large-scale projects such as Y2K and HIPAA conversions.

Education: MS, BS, AAS, Columbus State University

Stefanie Litz has been teaching IT courses in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue Global since 2002. She serves as a full-time faculty member in the web and programming department. Litz began her career working at a major transaction processing company in various roles, from software development and maintenance to database administration, before moving to IT education.

Education: MS, BS, Columbus State University

Honors and Achievements: 2017 Full-Time Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award (Kaplan University)

Donald McCracken began his career at Purdue Global in 2004 as an IT professor. He teaches various undergraduate courses in IT and cybersecurity, with a special emphasis on operating systems, routers, and switches. McCracken oversees numerous innovations in assessment curriculum, including modularized curriculum, customized programs, and competency based programs. Most recently, he has been collaborating with colleagues and instructional designers to improve the course curriculum in Brightspace and working with vendors to improve student interaction and learning. Prior to Purdue Global, McCracken was in active duty service in the U.S. Navy and worked in IT positions at Wachovia Bank and Lowe's Companies, Inc., until 2013.

Education: PhD, Northcentral University; MS, Capella University; BS, Appalachian State University

Certifications: Industry certifications from Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Novell, CompTIA

Research Interests: Cloud computing, cybersecurity with artificial intelligence

Scott Mensch’s areas of expertise are in network security and business/project management. Shortly after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree and obtaining a position with an engineering firm, he completed his MBA in 1998 and obtained two additional Associate Degrees in Computer Applications and Networking, and he began working in education. In 2007 he completed his PhD in Organizational Management with a Specialization in IT along with post-doctoral studies in advanced telecommunications. Mensch has served in multiple management roles over the past two decades both in the educational and corporate arenas.
               
Education:  PhD, Capella University; MBA, Point Park University

Publications:  Over 32 publications since 2007 in various IT and Business related fields.   

Certifications: Lean Green Belt, CCNA, MCSE NT4.0, MCSA 2000, A+, Server+, AWS, DevOps

Nelly Mulleneaux is a faculty member at Purdue Global with a career focus on project management for cybersecurity and information technology projects. Her background includes significant leadership roles supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs, managing cross-functional teams, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives, and driving large-scale modernization projects. As a faculty member, she teaches computer science and project management while leading research on quantum and AI integration in education. Mulleneaux combines academic insight with real-world application, specializing in aligning technology with organizational goals to enhance resilience, performance, and innovation. She brings deep expertise in governance, risk, compliance, Agile, and DevSecOps methodologies.

Education: Doctorate in Leadership and Innovation (EdD)

Publications: Mulleneaux, N. (2025). Quantum information science (QIS) for computing degrees. Purdue Global. Available at https://library.purdueglobal.edu/library       

Certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP) – PMI; Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) – ISACA; ITIL certification holder; Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) – PeopleCert; Security+ - CompTIA

Honors and Achievements: Yellow Rose of Texas (2018) the U.S. Military and Veteran community granted her a Rose of Texas commission by Governor Greg Abbott     

Memberships: The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C®), led by SRI International and backed by NIST, supports a strong U.S. quantum industry and supply chain

Research Interests: Advancing women’s success in IT, promoting progress in quantum computing through education to build a diverse and future-ready workforce

Shaila Rana is a full-time faculty member at Purdue Global, specializing in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI). In collaboration with Rhonda Chicone, Rana developed quality assurance courses tailored for Eli Lilly. She has been recognized through features in the Persistent Pursuit, discussing how students can leverage AI to their advantage, and in an article at Purdue Global highlighting the balance between academia and motherhood. Rana has co-authored three books with Rhonda Chicone, exploring the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. Together, they also developed the cybersecurity awareness courses, and contributed to module 4 of the ACC courses, which delves into the multifaceted applications of AI across various industries, as well as the creation of two micromodules for the Clark Center after being awarded a grant that addresses Ransomware and Cybersecurity & AI.

Rana is also an author at Pluralsight where she creates courses on cybersecurity, security governance, and generative AI in relation to cybersecurity. She is also an instructor at O'Reilly with live courses and recorded courses on Generative AI Security. Rana also regularly publishes her research at annual conferences. In addition to academic and authorial pursuits, she serves as the Chair for an IEEE Standards Association focusing on Zero Trust Cybersecurity for Health Technology, Tools, Services, and Devices and is an IEEE Senior Member.

Education: PhD in Information Technology, University of the Cumberlands; MS in Computer Information Systems - Cybersecurity, Boston University; BA in International Relations, UC Davis

Publications: Rana, S. Fortifying the Future: Harnessing AI for Transformative Cybersecurity Training. Springer Nature.

Rana, S., & Chicone, R. (2024, November). Revolutionizing Cybersecurity Training: An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Traditional Methods and Interest in Virtual Reality Modules. In 2024 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Metaverse Technologies & Applications (iMETA) (pp. 222-237). IEEE.

Rana, S., & Chicone, R. (2024). Trusting AI in cybersecurity: an empirical study of perceptions on ethical decision-making. Issues in Information Systems, 25(2).

Rana, S., & Chicone, R. (2024). Navigating the paradox of AI in cybersecurity: unpacking societal optimism and ethical skepticism. Issues in Information Systems, 25(1).

Chicone, R., & Rana, S. (2023). The influence of traditional cybersecurity training on user attitudes towards VR cybersecurity training. Issues in Information Systems, 24(1).

Certifications: Security+ce, professional certificate from Cornell University

Memberships: IEEE Senior Member

Research Interests: Cybersecurity, Virtual Reality (VR) cybersecurity training, effective cybersecurity training methods, and the intersection of AI and cybersecurity

Stephen “Steve” Savage is a full-time professor and course lead at Purdue Global. He teaches undergraduate courses in technology with an emphasis on databases, computer architectures, systems, and communications infrastructure. Savage oversees numerous innovations in curriculum, including modularized curriculum and customized and competency-based programs. He enjoys developing software solutions related to online learning with an emphasis on project-based and collaborative learning.

Savage began his academic career at the American Intercontinental University (AIU) and has been an IT professor for 19 years. Prior to AIU, he worked as an IT professional for 15 years, implementing a major distributed logistics system for the Hostess Frito Lay Company and spending 3 years as a customer relationship management (CRM) software consultant. Savage has continued to consult part-time on IT application development projects since beginning his teaching career.

Education: MITE, BA, Dalhousie University

Art Sedighi is an esteemed academic professor at Purdue Global, possessing extensive expertise in advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0, data science, AI, cloud, and security. He teaches courses in Industrial Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Cloud, Cloud Security, and Systems Engineering. Sedighi is deeply committed to teaching, seamlessly integrating his industry connections into his classroom.

In addition to his academic role, Sedighi is a seasoned Wall Street Technology Executive with over 25 years of experience. He has expertly planned, designed, developed, and taken end-to-end ownership of large enterprise-wide solutions for the financial services industry worldwide. His work primarily focuses on security, high-performance computing, and cloud-native architecture.

Education: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University; PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas Tech University; MS in Bioinformatics, Johns Hopkins University; MS in Computer Science; BS in Electrical Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute      

Publications:  Sedighi, A., Daniels, T., & Jacobson, D. (2022). On the Feasibility of T-PKI as an Anonymization Protocol for TPMs in Trusted Computing Environments. Paper presented at the IEEE 8th International Conference on Intelligent Data and Security (IEEE IDS 2022), Jinan, China.

Sedighi, A., Jacobson, D., & Daniels, T. (2021). T-PKI for Anonymous Attestation in TPM. Paper presented at the 2021 IEEE 6th International Conference on Smart Cloud (SmartCloud), Newark, NJ, USA.

A. Sedighi, S. D'Mello, G. Isaacs, and D. Jacobson, “BitemporalDB: A Bitemporal Database in the Cloud for Financial Services Data,” in 2020 IEEE International Conference on Smart Cloud (SmartCloud), 2020, pp. 68-73: IEEE.

A. Sedighi and D. Jacobson, “Computational Challenges and Opportunities in Financial Services,” in International Conference on Smart Computing and Communication, 2019, pp. 310-319: Springer.

A. Sedighi and M. Smith, Fair Scheduling in High Performance Computing Environments. Springer, 2019.

Certifications: AWS, Azure and ISC2        

Memberships: IEEE, ISC2              

Research Interests: Cloud, Quantum Computing, Industry 4.0 and Advanced Manufacturing

Randy Stauber teaches in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue Global. Before joining the University, he was the senior security engineer for a company that performed risk assessments throughout the United States. In addition to his professional experience, Stauber has over 10 years of teaching and curriculum design experience in a variety of content areas and across several colleges and universities. Stauber is an active member of ISSA and ISC^2 where he regularly presents on topics related to cybersecurity and global threats.

Education: PhD, Capella University (in process); MS, Capitol College (now Capitol Technology University):

Certifications: CISSP, MCSE

Memberships: International System Security Association, International Information System Security Certification Consortium, Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA), Adam Smith Institute, Mensa

Chenyao Zhang recently joined Purdue Global as full-time faculty and teaches undergraduate courses in programming, databases, and data analytics. He has taught IT classes for five years covering many different areas in the field. Prior to joining Purdue Global, Zhang spent 20 years in the IT field specializing in business intelligence, data warehouse, and big data analytics. In the last few years, he has spent time integrating new big data technologies into existing business intelligence and data warehouse platforms to transform the traditional data analytical practices into modern practices.

Education: MS in Accounting, Kennesaw State University; MS Computer Science, Georgia Southwestern State University; MS Quality Assurance, Kennesaw State University; BBA in Accounting, University of Georgia; B. Sc. In Mathematics, University of Georgia; B. Sc. in Computer Science, University of Georgia

Research Interests: Data warehouse, business intelligence, data engineering, big data analytics, machine learning