AFN-WISS Awardees

Katelyn Cooper, Assistant Professor, Biology, UCF, visiting FIU
Host: Sarah Eddy, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences

Katelyn Cooper is an Assistant Professor in Biology at UCF. She and her host are finishing a joint manuscript and will use the visit to develop further collaborative projects. UCF is considering the development of a center-like group of STEM discipline-based education and research faculty, and the visit will allow her the time to meet with the STEM Transformation Institute at FIU to discuss challenges and benefits.

Nancy Diaz-Elsayed, Postdoctoral Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering, USF, visiting FIU
Host: Ibrahim Tansel, Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering

Nancy Diaz-Elsayed is a Postdoctoral Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. Her visit is an opportunity to identify areas of collaboration regarding the optimization of process conditions for manufacturing equipment, diagnostics and health management of machien tools, and tool wear modeling. Her host, Professor Tansel, is an ASME fellow, and Diaz-Elsayed hopes to expand her ASME network.

Sarah Eddy, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences / STEM Transformation Institute, FIU, visiting UCF
Host: Katelyn Cooper, Assistant Professor, Biology

Sarah Eddy is an Assisant Professor in the Biological Sciences and STEM Transformation Institute departments at FIU. She and host Katelyn Cooper are both biology education researchers and hope to use the visit to build a collaborative project.

Ellen Kang, Assistant Professor, Physics & NanoScience Technology Center, UCF, visiting USF
Host: Martin Muschol, Associate Professor, Physics

Ellen Kang is an Assistant Professor in the Physics & NanoScience Technology Center at UCF. She will give a seminar on her research group's progress, addressing molecular mechanisms by which cytoskeletal protein assembly and mechanics are regulated in complex cellular environments. She will also meet with women scientists at USF to build networks and discuss potential collaborations for future funding.

Suzanne Koptur, Professor, Biological Sciences, FIU, visiting UCF
Host: Barbara Sharanowski, Associate Professor, Biology

Suzanne Koptur is a Professor of Biological Sciences at FIU. As a plant ecologist, she has worked in several systems of plants bearing extrafloral nectaries that support plant protectors, ants and wasps, and she is looking forward to collaboration with Dr. Sharanowski, a well-established expert in the systematics of parasitic Hymenoptera (wasps).

Mahshid Naeini, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, USF, visiting FIU
Host: Ashiqur Rahman, Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Mahshid Naeini is an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering at USF. Her visit is an opportunity to expand collaborations in Florida, as FIU has several faculty members with common or overlapping research areas, such as network science, data analytics, machine learning, and system modeling. National agencies such as NSF highly encourage multi-institutional projects. She is also hoping to recruit students for her research group, especially minority students.

Daniela Radu, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering FIU, visiting USF
Host: Venkat Bhethanabotla, Professor, Chemical & Biomedical Engineering

Daniela Radu is an Associate Professor in Mechanicals & Materials Engineering at FIU. She was recently awarded a $3 million dollar grant from NASA to from CRE2DO, whose primary goal is to develop cutting-edge technologies that integrate 2D materials in space-resilient infrastructure materials, communication devices, and small satellite technology.

Linda Walters, Professor, Biology, UCF, visiting USF
Host: Susan Bell, Professor, Biology

Linda Walters is a Pegasus Professor & Director-Center for Success of Women Faculty. This visit will allow her to solidify a formal collaboration and seek potential fundiing opportunities with Professor Bell, as their research areas have recently converged on the interactions between mangroves and oysters in Florida's estuaries. Collaboration will enable them to design and commence experiments along Florida's coats that will involve junior researchers of different levels, and most of them women.

Many of this year's Scholars were unable to travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Their visits have been rescheduled for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Heidi Cian, Postdoctoral Associate, STEM Transformation Institute, FIU, visiting UCF
Host: Sarah Bush, Associate Professor, School of Teacher Education

Talk Title: Assessing and Responding to Student Background in a Transdisciplinary Classroom

Heidi Cian is a Postdoctoral Associate in the STEM Transformation Institute at FIU. Her research area is in how real-world, transdisciplinary learning experiences can create discourse opportunities that invite students from groups traditionally marginalized from participation in STEM to engage in and enjoy science and recognize the role science plays in their lives and their communities. This visit will open doors for collaborations in research and outreach to classrooms. Additionally, Cian will use the visit to meet with other female science education faculty to understand more about the field and establish support networks.

Kaitlyn Crawford, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, UCF, visiting USF
Host: Anna Pyayt, Professor, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Talk Title: Holistic Advancement of Health Monitoring Technologies: A Look at Wearables on Skin and Strategies for Electro Optic Polymers in Telecom

Kaitlyn Crawford is an Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at UCF. Her visit will allow her to engage in communication with faculty members from adjacent fields and engage in mentor-mentee collabrations with both junior female faculty and postdocs and senior faculty members.

Theresa Evans-Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, USF, visiting UCF
Host: Candice Bridge, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

Theresa Evans-Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at USF. Her visit to UCF will foster connections in the areas of forensic science and space science, which are highly specialized fields cultivated at her home institution but are not widespread at USF. The closeness of the universities allows ample opportunity for follow-up meetings and proposal collaborations.

Santana Thomas, Postdoctoral Associate, Chemistry, UCF, visiting FIU
Host: DeEtta Mills, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences / International Forensic Research Institute

Talk Title: Implementing Raman Spectroscopy as a Tool to Characterize Sexual Assault Lubricants

Santana Thomas is a Postdoctoral Associate in Chemistry at UCF. During her visit, she will present experiental design and statistical data analysis of ways to approach issues in forensic crime labs. She hopes to build her network. Black women are still a minority in the forensics field, and this visit will serve as a way to encourage other women in science.

Candice Bridge, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and NCFS, University of Central Florida, visiting USF

Host: Erin Kimmerle, Associate Professor, Anthropology

Candice Bridge, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at UCF. Bridge’s visit to USF will initiate the development of two of the three major academic forensic research centers in the state of Florida. In addition, it grants her the opportunity to conduct novel research in the areas of forensic chemistry and anthropology that will benefit forensic disciplines as well as share with the students, how women research faculty are making a difference in science and criminal investigations.

Deepa Chari, Postdoctoral Associate, STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Talat Rahman, Pegasus and Distinguished Professor, Physics

Deepa Chari is a Postdoctoral Associate currently residing in the STEM Transformation Institute at FIU. Her postdoctoral research at FIU focuses on the outlooks, efforts and challenges towards diversifying Physics departments nationwide. Chari’s visit to UCF provides the chance to showcase her work on graduate diversity and departmental colloquium. Moreover, her presentations will inform student and faculty about decision making for admission and mentoring practices.

Amal Elawady, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: F. Necati Catbas, Lockheed Martin St. Laurent Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering

Amal Elawady, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at FIU. Elawady is currently a lead scientist for FIU’s International Hurricane Research Center’s Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research and the Wall of Wind (WOW) Research Group. Her visit to UCF will allow her to connect with peers in UCF not only for potential collaborations but to also introduce the capabilities of WOW and how it may improve research.  

Hilary Emerson, Postdoctoral Associate, Applied Research Center, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Debra Reinhart, Pegasus Professor and Associate VP for Research and Scholarship, Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering

Hilary Emerson is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Applied Research Center at FIU. Emerson’s visit is an ideal opportunity to establish future collaborations with faculty at UCF for future proposal development in the areas of environmental chemistry, remediation of radionuclides and waste management. 

Theresa Evans-Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, University of South Florida, visiting FIU.

Host: Francisco Alberto Fernandez Lima, Associate Professor; Program Director for the Advanced Spectrometry Facility, Southeast Environmental Research Center/Chemistry and Biochemistry

Theresa Evans-Nguyen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at USF. Her visit to FIU fosters her ties in the branches of spectrometry and forensic communities, providing visibility of women in academia. By visiting the lab of her host Dr. Fernandez-Lima, Dr. Evans-Nguyen will learn about Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry and will be giving an informal lecture on her research in the space and defense sectors. 

Hilary Flower, Research Associate, Geosciences, University of South Florida, visiting FIU.

Host: Sparkle Malone, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences

Hilary Flower is a Research Associate in Geosciences at USF. Flower will use the opportunity of a visit to FIU as a launch pad for her career. Furthermore, as a Research Associate the visitation will develop the grant Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research Program- created by her host Dr. Malone and herself. By presenting the grant as a collaboration between two universities it provides the means to network and gain critical connections for their mutual research going forward.

Rashmi Gupta, Postdoctoral Associate, Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, visiting FIU.

Host(s): Yesim Darici, Professor, Physics; Assistant Provost, STEM; Director, Center for Women's and Gender Studies

             Yuk-Ching Tse-Dinh, Director of the Biomolecular Sciences Institute; Distinguished University  Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Rashmi Gupta is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Biomedical Sciences at UCF. In her lab, Gupta routinely screens various drug libraries for biological activity against intracellular bacterial pathogens. The goal of her visit to FIU is to learn and gain hands-on experiences that analyze the inhibition of bacterial compounds. Her hope is to bring that knowledge back to the Rohde lab and apply those techniques with the pathogens that her department studies.

Hong Liu, Associate Professor, Earth and Environment, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Pedro Quintana-Ascencio, Professor, Biology

Hong Liu, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at FIU. By collaborating with the skillset of her host in sophisticated population models and coding, Liu strengthens her publications and grant proposals. Moreover, by visiting UCF she rebuilds her collaboration and would also be helping her female Postdoctoral students in their research.

Melissa McCartney, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Nichole Lighthall, Assistant Professor, Psychology

Melissa McCartney, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at FIU. By visiting UCF she forms collaborative efforts that will impact the cognitive and socio-emotional predicators of science literacy in older populations. In addition, McCarthy believes that these efforts in collaboration and research may lead to new avenues for more effective science communication and translation.

Mary Nyaema, Postdoctoral Associate, STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Jacqueline Chini, Assistant Professor, Physics

Mary Nyaema is a Postdoctoral Associate currently residing in the STEM Transformation Institute at FIU. The purpose of her visit to UCF is to meet with faculty working in the STEM education field. Nyaema’s visit allows her to explore interactions between the campus’ faculty members to view their different career paths and look for possible research connections.

Anna Pyayt, Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, University of South Florida, visiting FIU

Host: Shekhar Bhansali, Professor and Chair, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Anna Pyayt, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at USF. Her visit to FIU grants her the opportunity to establish collaborations with the female faculty and Postdoctoral fellows. Pyayt aims to encounter new research insights on the instruments that are meant to detect pregnancy complications and hopes that her meetings with her new colleagues will be especially beneficial.

Monique Ross, School of Computing and Information Sciences, Florida International University, visiting UCF

Host: Gary Leavens, Professor and Chair, Computer Science

Monique Ross, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Computing and Information Sciences at FIU. The travel grant provides Ross the chance to travel to UCF and meet the computer science administration and faculty in order to establish a computer science community. She seeks to assess their concerns with regards to computer science education, and share with them some of her current research efforts and preliminary findings in the Computer Science Education field.

Erin Scanlon, Postdoctoral Associate, Physics, University of Central Florida, visiting FIU

Host: Geoff Potvin, Associate Professor, Physics/STEM Transformation Institute

Erin Scanlon is a Postdoctoral Associate of Physics at UCF. Scanlon’s visit to FIU grants her the chance to form collaborations to further her career and solidify her ground within the community. Furthermore, in her visit to FIU’s Physics and STEM Transformation Institute, she will meet with various, students, faculty and staff to acquire critical professional development for herself and her research connections.

Zixia Song, Associate Professor, Mathematics, University of Central Florida, visiting USF

Host: Brendan Nagle, Professor, Mathematics & Statistics

Zixia Song is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCF. Song’s visit to USF provides for future collaboration on the research problems in her field of study. Moreover, with funding and lectures as a resource, the visit provides the options of additional visits and two year collaboration plans. Song’s visit will also promote diversity through encouraging women and students from underrepresented groups to pursue the field of mathematics with the activities presented.

Shalini Srinivasan, Postdoctoral Associate, Chemistry, University of South Florida, visiting UCF

Host: Erin Saitta, Lecturer, Chemistry

Shalini Srinivasan is a Postdoctoral Associate in Chemistry at USF. Her visit to UCF gives her the chance for networking opportunities and collaborations with faculty in Chemistry Education. As a Postdoctoral researcher, one of her goals is to evaluate the factors that dictate the instructional practices of faculty and with her visit she is able to share her past and current work with her UCF peers.

Hannah Torres, Postdoctoral Associate, Sociology, University of Central Florida, visiting FIU

Host: Tiffany Troxler, Research Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Science, Sea Level Solutions Center

Hannah Torres is a Postdoctoral Associate in Sociology at UCF. Her visit to FIU strengthens her professional networks and supplies the opportunity for interaction and learning from her host Dr. Tiffany Troxler. By visiting her host, Torres will learn more about the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network Project, the process of its development and the communications oriented work the center does.

Tingting Zhao, Postdoctoral Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, visiting FIU

Host: Priyanka Alluri, Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Tingting Zhao is a Postdoctoral Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. Her visit to FIU is a wonderful chance to present her recent research results on Critical Infrastructure System Resilience Analysis and Optimization with a concentration in transportation systems. Her work and visit benefits faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students as many interesting research collaborations may be created.

Priyanka Alluri, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, visiting USF
Host: Yu Zhang, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Priyanka Alluri, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at FIU. Alluri has worked on several research projects in areas of transportation safety. Her visit to USF opens avenues towards discussions about ongoing research projects, student recruitment and collaborations that provide an opportunity to address the transportation problems pertaining to traffic congestion and safety.

Jacquelyn Chini, Assistant Professor, Physics, University of Central Florida, visiting FIU
Host: Sonia Underwood, Assistant Professor, chemistry and Biochemistry/STEM Transformation Institute

Jacquelyn Chini, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Physics at UCF. She has led several research projects at UCF that specifically focus on learning of students with disabilities in active learning courses and preparing STEM graduate teaching assistants to lead student-centered instruction. Chini is active in several groups at UCF such as the STEM Education Reading Group and iSTEM Faculty Fellows program. A visit to FIU gives her the opportunity for future collaborations and to learn about changes in the FIU STEM education research groups over the past several years.

Kelly Kibler, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, visiting USF
Host: Mauricio Arias, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Kelly Kibler, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Water Resources Engineering at UCF. Her research concentrates on biological and physical variables in river and estuarine systems, including development pathways and infrastructures that minimize ecosystem disruption and promote preservation. Kibler’s visit to USF increases her professional visibility within Florida and showcase’s her research. 

Pamela Wisniewski, Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida, visiting USF
Host: Rangachar Kasturi, Professor Emeritus, Computer Science and Engineering]

Pamela Wisniewski, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at UCF. She conducts research in Human-computer interaction and has done considerable work in the area of adolescent online safety. Wisniewski is currently in the process of designing intervention-based solutions to detect risk behaviors and reduce them. Her visit to USF aims to build collaborations with faculty in computer vision, pattern recognition, and artificial intelligence in order to discover technologies that meet the needs of teens and parents.

Lu Zhang, Assistant Professor, Florida International University, visiting UCF
Host: Omer Tatari, Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering

Lu Zhang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Construction Management at FIU. Her research presently deals with the value assessment of buildings. While at UCF, Dr. Zhang met with Ph.D. students and received helpful information about how to supervise and motivate a Ph.D. research team. She also conducted a seminar for UCF students.