Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Dr. Archie Ammons
Temporary Assistant Professor of Biology

Archie Ammons received a BS in marine biology from Texas &M University in 1995 and a PhD in zoology from Texas A&M University in 2007. His dissertation work examined deep-sea invertebrate communities in the Gulf of Mexico. Past and current research interests focus on marine ecology within the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and western Atlantic. He has a longstanding interest in study abroad and “eco-volunteer” programs, and has led numerous marine biology trips throughout the Bahamas, Florida Keys, and Texas.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

Dr. Erin E. Battin
Temporary Instructor of Chemistry

Erin Battin received her BS in chemistry from Westminster College in 2003 and a Ph.D. from Clemson University in 2008. The primary focus of her graduate work focused on the role of metal coordination in the inhibition of metal-mediated DNA damage by organosulfur and organoselenium compounds.

Dr. Tanesha Osborne
Temporary Instructor of Chemistry

Tanesha Osborne, who received a B.S. in Chemistry from Georgia Southern University (2003) and then went on the University of South Carolina to pursue a PhD in Chemistry, is specialized in bio-organic chemistry.  Although Dr. Osborne is not currently conducting research, she is particularly interested in target-based drug design.  Given the effects that diseases such as a variety of forms of cancer, diabetes, HIV and AIDS have on human life makes it an interesting area of research.  In particular, various enzymes have been shown to be dysregulated in a range of disease states, therefore indicating the development of potent and selective inhibitors for these enzymes will not only lead to the development of probes that can be used to give further details about cell signaling pathways, but will potentially result in the development of novel therapies for common human diseases.

Mr. Nathan Stibrich
Temporary Instructor of Chemistry

Nathan Stibrich graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2006 from the University of Georgia.  There he also received his master’s in physical chemistry in 2008.  He studied under Professor Henry F. Schaefer, focusing on ab initio computational chemistry.  He comes to Georgia Southern to focus on his passion for teaching chemistry.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Dr. George Fu
Assistant Professor of Construction Management

George Fu received his PhD in Environmental System Engineering from the University of Regina, Canada in 2002 and Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Environmental Engineering from Tianjin University in China in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Dr. George Fu was the Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada in the last three years while he taught at the Okanagan University College/Okanagan College for the last six years. Dr. George Fu received his individual discovery grant of $15,000 per year with a total of $75,000 for the five years (2004-2009) from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, which is the same as NSF in USA. Dr. George Fu's PhD research is "Removal of dyes from aqueous solutions by the fungus Aspergillus niger". Meanwhile, Dr. George Fu has eleven years work experience in SNC-Lavalin INC., Canada as Lead On-Site QC/QA Coordinator and UMA Engineering Ltd., Canada, currently a part of AECOM, USA as Project Engineer and North China Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute, China as Environmental Engineer as well. Dr. Fu enjoys teaching both undergraduate and graduate students as well as conducting research. In general, Dr. George Fu has a wide range of research interests in water and environment such as Color Removal from Pulp Mill Effluent by Biosorption of Fungal Biomass and Endocrine Disruptors and Water Quality and Removal of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) Precursors from Water Sources as well.

GEOLOGY & GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

Brian Bossak has been working with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and Master of Public Health Program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  He obtained his Ph.D. from the Florida State University in 2003.  He earned his M.A. in Geography from the University of Georgia in 1998 and his B. S. in Geography from the University of Georgia in 1996. 

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Dr. Yi Lin
Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Yi Lin earned the Ph.D. in Mathematics from Cornell University in 2004. He has held a one-year visiting position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto (since Fall 2005). His research interests are differential geometry and their connection to mathematical physics.

Dr. Anna Oganyan
Assistant Professor of Statistics

Anna Oganyan received her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Polytechnic University of Catalonia in 2003. She comes to us from Duke University where she was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate at the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). Her research interests include the application of statistics to data confidentiality and data quality.

Dr. Hua Wang
Assistant Professor of Mathematics

TEMPORARY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Dr. Solomon Osifodunrin

Solomon Osifodunrin received his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2008 from Central Michigan University where he studied algebra and combinatorics. While at Central Michigan, he served as a graduate assistant and temporary faculty member. Before moving to the U.S., he held serveral academic appointments in Nigeria at the University of Lagos and at Lagos State University.

TEMPORARY INSTRUCTORS

Ms. Wei-Jen Hsieh

Wei-Jen earned her MS in Management Science and her MS in Applied Mathematics at Lehigh University in 2008 and 2005, respectively. She has served as a teaching assistant at Lehigh University and has worked as an instructor at a Learning Center in Taiwan where she worked with high school students.

Ms. Jackie Varnell

Jackie completed her bachelors degree in mathematics education from Georgia Southern College and later earned the Masters of Education at West Georgia College and the Education Specialist at Valdosta State College. She spent many years teaching high school mathematics across the state of Georgia where she won many teaching awards. More recently, she taught at Middle Georgia College whe she gained experience in distance education.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Dr. Danny F. Averette
Assistant Department Chair
Coordinator of Engineering Studies

Danny Averette earned a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982 and has a B.Sc. degree in Physics from Augusta State University.  He has been an administrator and lecturer in colleges for 20 years.  In addition, he has worked 5 years as the manager of an Electron Optics Laboratory for Rockwell International at DOE’s Rocky Flats Facility.  Research interests are in material science and electrical storage devices.

Dr. Rocio Alba-Flores
Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Technology

Rocio Alba-Flores is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology , Georgia Southern University. She received her B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico City, and her  M.S. and  Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana in 1997 and 2000 respectively. She was a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2000-2006. She was the coordinator of the  electromechanical program in the Electrical Engineering Technology Department at SUNY Alfred, NY from 2006-2008. Dr. Alba-Flores research and teaching interests include robotics, signal and image processing, control systems, embedded systems and their applications, digital and analog circuit design.

Dr. Valentin A. Soloiu
Associate Professor
Endowed Chair of Renewable Energy

Valentin Soloiu has been a faculty and doing research for 23 years, teaching Mechanical Engineering, IC Engines & Renewable Energy and he comes from Japan where he taught in the last 10 years. He worked his PhD in unsteady fluid dynamics and LDV in Ritsumeikan University, Japan and Polytechnic University of Bucharest where he received his PhD in 1997. He got his MSc. from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest in 1985 in Mechanical Engineering/Thermal machines. His research interests and specialization are: Internal Combustion Engines, Fuels & Renewable bio-fuels, Sprays, Combustion, Flow, Emissions, NVH, Tribology. He is the author/co-author of 3 textbooks and about 60 papers and studies in Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Mahbub Ahmed
Temporary Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Technology

Mahbub Ahmed earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2008 from the University of Texas at El Paso. He earned his M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lamar University in Beaumont Texas in 2001. He earned his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 1997 from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. His areas of research and interest include Micro and Meso Combustion, Heat Transfer, and Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Dr. David Eromon
Temporary Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Technology

David Eromon received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1999), and a Master of Science degree (1990) from University of Benin, Nigeria; a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree (1987) from University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. His current research interest includes Real Time Electric Grid Computing, Rotating machines optimum design with dynamic controls and drive, Open Communication Architecture WAMS for Electric DER, Power Electronics, BACnet-based Lighting Control Systems, High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) coil applicable to generators, motors, transformers, aerospace craft electric propulsion, Energy systems and controls. He is a Senior Member (SME) of IEEE, and also a member of ASEE, CIGRE, NSE, ASME.

Dr. Adbullah Zaman
Temporary Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Technology

Abdullah Al Zaman joined the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology after defending his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN in 2007. He received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH in 2000, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University, Athens, OH in 1997. His areas of research interest are digital communication, signal processing and bio instrumentation. His papers have been presented extensively in many conferences, and published in conference proceedings and journals.

Dr. Sirajus Salekeen
Temporary Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Technology

Dr. Salekeen earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Georgia Washington University, Washington DC in 1999; his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL in 1991; and his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1986.  Dr. Salekeen’s research interests includes Mechanical Design and Analysis, Finite Element Analysis; Composites and Nanocomposites; Synthesis, Testing and Evaluation of Advanced Materials; Multi-functional Materials and MEMS; Probabilistic Modeling of Experimental Data.