» Math, Physics and Computation Faculty

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photo of Yakir Aharonov, Ph.D.

Yakir Aharonov, Ph.D.

Professor, James J. Farley Professorship in Natural Philosophy
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Yakir Aharonov, Ph.D., is professor of theoretical physics at Chapman University, where he holds the James J. Farley Professorship in Natural Philosophy. Considered one of the most highly regarded scientists in the world, Dr. Aharonov received the prestigious Wolf Prize in 1998 for his co-discovery of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect, one of the cornerstones of modern physics.
Dr. Aharonov's current research with Chapman University team members Menas Kafatos, Ph.D., Jeff Tollaksen, Ph.D. and participants from other universities includes a grant awarded from the Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series (STAR) for a project titled "Subjective Experience as a Window on Foundational Physics." The aim of the project is to investigate the areas of tension between objective scientific description and human conscious experience.
photo of Amir Ahsan, Ph.D.

Amir Ahsan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Physics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Physics education; Modeling the mechanics of biopolymers under mechanical and electrical forces through statistical mechanical methods; Modeling the evolutionary dynamics of viruses under various selection pressures.
photo of Mohamed Allali, Ph.D.

Mohamed Allali, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Math and Computer Science
photo of Daniel Alpay

Daniel Alpay

Professor, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Alpay’s research interests are along five main directions, namely Schur analysis in the setting of slice-hyperholomorphic functions, infinite dimensional analysis and white noise space theory, linear systems and applications to wavelet filters and signal processing, functions of a bicomplex variable, and function theory on a compact Riemann surface. A number of the underlying projects are at the interface between mathematics, signal processing, and models for linear systems appearing in electrical engineering. The notions of positive definite function and of the associated reproducing kernel Hilbert space play an important role in these various directions of research.
photo of LouAnne Boyd, Ph.D.

LouAnne Boyd, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Computer Sciences
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Boyd’s research interests center around the design, development, and evaluation of novel technologies to support neurodiverse populations. Current projects are investigating the efficacy of a new interaction design framework drawn from neuroscience theories to accommodation sensory impairments. Specific projects under investigation include the development of technologies to increase the accessibility of information for people with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and/or dyslexia.
photo of Roman Buniy, Ph.D.

Roman Buniy, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Physics
photo of Justin Dressel, Ph.D.

Justin Dressel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Physics
Director, Physics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Dressel researches the foundations of quantum physics, which is a natural intersection point between physics, mathematics, and computer science. His recent research has focused on algebraic approaches to generalized quantum measurements, quantum computation with superconducting transmon quantum bits using circuit quantum electrodynamics, and Clifford algebraic approaches to relativistic field theory. Though the bulk of his work is theoretical in nature, he works closely with experimental teams at U Rochester, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara.
photo of Jill Dunham, Ph.D.

Jill B. Dunham, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Associate Director, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Dunham’s research interests include topological graph theory, computational problems in discrete mathematics, and recreational mathematics. Specific projects include finding the maximum touching number for coin graphs, enumerating solutions to paper-folding problems, and applying graph theory to structures in commutative algebra. Another area of research is pedagogy, including tactile learning and assessment of course effectiveness.
photo of Hesham El-Askary, Ph.D.

Hesham El-Askary, Ph.D.

Professor, Remote Sensing and Earth System Sciences
Director, Computational and Data Sciences Program
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. El-Askary’s research interests center studying the interactions and ongoing processes between the Earth’s various spheres, namely atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and cryosphere. Specific projects under investigation include the impact of natural and anthropogenic aerosols on: cloud microphysics, hurricanes, human health, local climate as well as change detection analysis of different marine habitats stressed by local climate variability, studying global impacts on a local scale spatially and temporally with emphasis on using dimension reductions algorithms to asses handling big data.
photo of Michael Fahy, Ph.D.

Michael Fahy, Ph.D.

Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science
Associate Dean, Operations, Facilities and Finance
Chief Technology Officer
photo of Rene German

Rene I. German

Instructor, Software Engineering
photo of Halina Goetz, M.S.

Halina Goetz, M.S.

Instructor, Mathematics and Computer Science
TEACHING INTERESTS
Working with gifted students, working with students who need remediation, the art of Socratic tutoring, creating and using algorithms in elementary and intermediate algebra, teaching how to study mathematics with understanding, andragogy versus pedagogy (teaching students as if they were children and dependent personalities in the classroom, versus teaching students as if they were adults).
photo of Peter  Jipsen, Ph.D.

Peter Jipsen, Ph.D.

Professor, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Jipsen’s research is about the interplay between abstract algebra, logic and proof theory, concentrating mostly on ordered algebraic structures. He is particularly interested in residuated lattices, including basic logic algebras, MV-algebras, Heyting algebras, lattice-ordered groups and relation algebras, as well as (semi)lattices with operators and Boolean algebras with operators. He develops algorithms for enumerating finite models and uses automated theorem provers and model checkers for his research. His investigations include the design of concurrent algorithms for large-scale computational mathematics.
photo of Joby John, Ph.D.

Joby John, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Instructional Faculty
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. John is a mathematically inclined engineer who builds mathematical models to understand problems, like variability in human movement and how it affects the performance in skilled tasks, how disease affects symmetry of locomotion, modeling the nonlinear bending behavior of corrugated plates, and how geometry and mechanics interact to produce structures with high compressive strengths. He is also interested in Machine learning, specifically Deep Neural Networks; its application to various time-series data is being explored.
photo of Alexander Kurz, Ph.D.

Alexander Kurz, Ph.D.

Professor, Computer Science
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr Kurz studies various models of computation using techniques from logic, algebra, topology, category theory and other areas of mathematics. He is known for his work on modal logic and coalgebras. More recently he pursues novel foundations of quantitative logics for the specification and verification of heterogeneous systems as well as relational and compositional techniques supporting scalable solutions for blockchain-based technologies. He is also interested in applications of these mathematical techniques outside of computer science, in particular in economics and the political and social sciences.
photo of Matthew Leifer, Ph.D.

Matthew S. Leifer, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Physics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Leifer is interested in the quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum theory, and especially in topics at the intersection of the two areas. He is an academic who straddles the line somewhere between mathematics, philosophy, and theoretical physics. His main interests are in Quantum Information Theory and the Foundations of Quantum Theory.
photo of Erik  Linstead, Ph.D.

Erik Linstead, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Software Engineering
Director, Undergraduate Computing Programs
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Erik Linstead is the principle investigator of the Machine Learning and Assistive Technology (MLAT) Lab. His research interests span the areas of data mining, information retrieval, and software engineering. In the past he has worked in the areas of automated program comprehension and chemical informatics. More recently he has been exploring algorithms and technologies for improving the way Autism Spectrum Disorder is diagnosed, treated, and managed. Projects in his group make use of deep learning, high-performance computing, virtual reality, and mobile devices.
photo of Sandy Oliver Lopez Najera, Ph.D.

Sandy Oliver Lopez Najera, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Mathematics
photo of Michael Andrew Moshier, Ph.D.

Michael Andrew Moshier, Ph.D.

Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science
Director, Center of Excellence in Computation, Algebra and Topology
photo of Ali Nayeri, Ph.D.

Ali Nayeri, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Physics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Nayeri’s main research interests focus on cosmology and gravity. From bre-big bang cosmology and string cosmology to structure formation in the late time universe. From universe with extra dimensions and (mem)brane cosmology to quantum field theory in curved spacetime; From statistical mechanics of strings in the very early universe to thermodynamics of gravitating systems. In short his interests spans any thing smaller than nuclei of atoms to larger than galaxies.
photo of Atanas Radenski, Ph.D.

Atanas Radenski, Ph.D.

Professor, Computer Science
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Radenski’s research interests are in the areas of scientific computing; big data and cloud computing; parallel and distributed computing; programming languages; object-oriented computing; e-learning. Specific projects under investigation target (i) map-reduce parallel algorithms for data-intensive grid models and (ii) shared-memory and message-passing divide-and-conquer algorithms.
photo of Cyril Rakovski, Ph.D.

Cyril Rakovski, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Rakovski’s research interests are primarily focused in the field of statistical genetics and in particular in the design of novel statistical methods for genome-wide association studies for both family and case-control data. He is also interested in developing and applying advanced methods for analysis of complexly sampled case-control, time series, longitudinal, and survey data. He has a multifaceted research collaborations with faculty from nursing, biology, chemistry, food science, health communications, psychology, earth science, and others.
photo of Ahmed Sebbar, Ph.D.

Ahmed Sebbar, Ph.D.

Professor, Mathematics
Presidential Fellow in Mathematics
photo of Ramesh Singh, Ph.D.

Ramesh Singh, Ph.D.

Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Singh has carried out extensive studies related to the dynamics of atmospheric pollution in the northern parts of India and Northeastern parts of China and their impacts on the Hydrological cycle, Monsoon, Himalayan Glaciers, and Natural Resources. He found emissions from the Coal based power plants, dust transports from Arabia peninsula and Crop residue burning impact regional climate systems in India and Asia. Detailed analysis of satellite data carried out by one of the Undergraduate students, observed a declining trend in emissions from US coal power plants.
He has used Indian, European and NASA satellite and ground data to understand the Earthquake processes and coupling between Land, Ocean, Atmosphere and Meteorological parameters associated with the Natural Hazards (Cyclones/Hurricanes/Typhoons), Earthquakes, Droughts, Floods and Dust events in India and China. His recent efforts to study Hydrological response on seismicity observed in China, Mid and Eastern parts of US.
photo of Elizabeth Stevens

Elizabeth Stevens

Instructor, Computer Science and software Engineering
Associate Director, Undergraduate Computing Programs
photo of Daniele Struppa, Ph.D.

Daniele Struppa, Ph.D.

President, Chapman University
Professor, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Struppa’s research are in Fourier Analysis, with applications to a variety of both pure and applied areas, as well as Complex and Hypercomplex Analysis. Dr. Struppa has published extensively on the theory of convolution and infinite order differential equations, and has applied these tools to a variety of problems in quantum physics, with special attention for the theory of superoscillations. Dr. Struppa has made significant contributions to the theory of Cauchy-Fueter regular functions on quaternions, and he introduced (jointly with G. Gentili) the notion of slice regularity, which has now become a very active field of research in hypercomplex analysis.
photo of Jeff Tollaksen, Ph.D.

Jeff Tollaksen, Ph.D.

Professor, Physics, Computational Science and Engineering
Director, Institute of Quantum Studies
photo of Criselda Toto, Ph.D.

Criselda Toto, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Statistics
photo of Adrian  Vajiac, Ph.D.

Adrian Vajiac, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Mathematics
Director, Mathematics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Complex and Hypercomplex Analysis; Algebraic Computational Methods in Geometric and Physics PDEs; Equivariant Localization Techniques in Topological Quantum Field Theory; Foundations of Geometry; Mathematics and Physics Education
photo of Mihaela Vajiac, Ph.D.

Mihaela Vajiac, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Mathematics
Director, Center of Excellence in Complex and Hypercomplex Analysis
photo of Gennady  Verkhivker, Ph.D.

Gennady Verkhivker, Ph.D.

Professor, Computational Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Verkhivker’s research activities are in the areas of computational cancer biology, translational bioinformatics, and computational pharmacology. He has established a dynamic research group engaged in translational research that attracted a large cohort of undergraduate and graduate students.
photo of Peyi Zhao, Ph.D.

Peyi Zhao, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Computer Science
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Zhao's research interests center around the low power consumption of Digital Integrated Circuits in chip design. Special projects under investigation include flip-flop design, clock gating design, leakage reduction design, ultra-low power design.