Here is a list of faculty at ODU who have interest in climate change and sea level rise research and
education.
[faculty – please provide corrections and additions]
Vinod Agarwal
Professor of Economics, Department of Economics
http://bpa.odu.edu/bpa/faculty/agarwal.shtml 757-683-3526vagarwal@odu.edu
Dr. Vinod Agarwal, earned his doctoral degree from the University of California at Santa
Barbara. He currently serves as a member of the Virginia College Building Authority. From
2006 through September 2010 he also served on the Governor’s Advisory Board of Economists.
Professor Agarwal was the Chairman of the Old Dominion University economics department
from 2001 to 2006.
His research interests are in the area of applied economics. His articles have appeared in
various journals such as Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Quarterly, Journal of Travel Research,
Economic Development and Cultural Change, Eastern Economic Journal, Economics of
Education Review, Growth and Change, Journal of the American Real Estate and Urban
Economic Association, Social Science Quarterly and Southern Economic Journal. He is author or
co-author of more than 60 professional journal publications and research monographs. In
addition to citations in professional publications, Professor Agarwal's work has also been cited in
more than 130 newspapers, magazine and wire reports throughout the U.S., including the Dow
Jones newswire, Associated Press and USA Today and Voice of America.
Osman Akan
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering oakan@odu.edu http://eng.odu.edu/akan/
Osman Akan’s research interests include mathematical modeling of rural and urban watersheds,
environmental hydrology and hydraulics, open channel flow, best management practices (BMPs)
for urban stormwater management, groundwater aquifers, and surface-subsurface flow
interactions. He has authored or co-authored 4 textbooks, 5 book chapters, 35 journal articles,
and numerous conference papers covering these topics. He is currently interested in conducting
research on the effects of climate changes on urban stormwater management infrastructure.
Jenifer Alonzo
Assistant Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts, College of Arts and Letters,
jalonzo@odu.edu 757 683 3391
Jenifer Alonzo uses applied theatre techniques to help scientists work better in collaborative
teams. She develops communication technique laboratories for scientists working across
disciplinary intersections, scientists who wish to better communicate with public audiences, and
scientists working with social scientists and community groups. Her research examines how the
rehearsal and rapport-building techniques of the theatre can support scientists as they engage
“big problems” like climate change and also how applied theatre programs might help
underrepresented groups persist in STEM careers. Alonzo also develops educational theatre
pieces which help scientist communicate findings in informal science education situations.
Julian Ashford
Associate Research Professor, Center for Quantitative Fisheries Ecology, Dept. of Ocean, Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences, 757-683-4804 jashford@odu.edu
Dispersal in many oceanic fish species occurs during early life when active movement is
not developed and large-scale circulation strongly influences the direction and extent of
movement. The resulting connectivity between populations is often important to persistence by
subsidizing local self-recruitment when immigrants subsequently breed successfully. However,
changes in transport pathways as a result of climate change may alter the connections between
populations, and hence immigration, leading to the extinction of these subsidized populations.
My laboratory is currently testing potential transport pathways between areas on the shelves of
the Ross Sea, Antarctic Peninsula, South America, and islands along the Antarctic Circumpolar
Current (ACC), using otolith chemistry from several notothenioid species that are characterized
by pelagic life stages, including a long pelagic larval phase. In Patagonian toothfish
(Dissostichus eleginoides), we found mixing on ocean basin scales between islands that support
important fisheries, and evidence that advection along the ACC from two spawning areas near
Cape Horn structures distributions of juveniles north and south of the Falkland Islands. In Scotia
Sea icefish (Chaenocephalus aceratus), we compared otolith chemistry with simulated particle
transport using a circulation model, and found evidence that the timing and position of release of
early life stages into the water column controls the direction and extent of connectivity. Current
work with Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) so far suggests connectivity along
the southern Antarctic Peninsula associated with the Antarctic Coastal Current, and advection
from the northern Antarctic Peninsula associated with the Antarctic Slope Front and Weddell
Front. Moreover, intrusions of oceanic water linked to climate change may have resulted in a
population collapse along the central Antarctic Peninsula, as a result of the displacement of
inshore pelagic habitat.
Larry P Atkinson
Slover Professor of Oceanography, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, latkinso@odu.edu 757 683 4926
Atkinson research has focused on various aspects of the coastal ocean including
descriptive physical oceanography, nutrient fluxes, gas exchange and more recently wind energy
and climate change including sea level rise. He currently is funded by DOE via U Del. to look at
extreme events at the University of Delaware coastal turbine at Lewes, Del, by NOAA to operate
5 high frequency radars to measure coastal currents, by the Navy via CIT to study vessel tracking
technology, and by DOE via Fugro Atlantic to study sand scouring. His interest is using our
knowledge of the coastal ocean to safely and efficiently facilitate an offshore wind energy
industry. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and
member of several professional organizations. He was editor of the Journal of Geophysical
Research (Oceans) and Oceanography (journal of the Oceanography Society). He was just
appointed the chair of the NSF Ocean Observing Science Committee.
David Basco
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
dbasco@odu.edu 757 683 3223 http://eng.odu.edu/cee/directory/basco.shtml
PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS: Coastal engineering as practiced by civil engineers.
Coastal hydrodynamics and water wave mechanics; the physical and numerical modeling of
wave breaking phenomena. The stochastic design of coastal structures. Factual understanding of
how seawalls and beaches interact. Alternatives for increasing the effective fill life of
renourished beaches. Dredging engineering and siltation of harbors and marinas. Computational
fluid dynamics: the numerical simulation of free surface, long and short wave phenomena in
rivers, estuaries and near shore coastal regions.
CURRENT PROJECTS: Process-based models of barrier island breaching. Development of
a Coastal Storm Impulse scale (COSI) for the combined effects of storm surge, waves, and storm
duration. The Relative Trough Froude Number (RTFN) to quantify wave breaking
initiation, duration and termination in phase-resolving numerical models. The numerical
modeling of three dimensional water flows around large, submerged objects in tidal estuaries.
The development of ADCP technology to distinguish breaking and broken water waves in an
irregular wave train.
Joshua Behr
Research Professor, Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center - VMASC
jbehr@odu.edu (757) 638-6564 http://www.vmasc.odu.edu/STAFF/behr.htm
Joshua G. Behr, PhD. Trained at the University of New Orleans specializing in urban
and minority politics. He has taught a variety of public policy, state government, statistical
methods, and GIS in public health courses at the University of New Orleans, Southwestern
Oklahoma State University, Old Dominion University, and Eastern Virginia Medical School. He
has published a wide variety of articles and a university press book. Currently, he is a
research professor at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) where
he is applying a system science approach to the study of the non-recursive relationships among
the structural environment, policy interventions, and environment health, especially relative
the disparate impact among population silos.
David J Burdige
Professor and Eminent Scholar, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (757)
683-4930 dburdige@odu.edu
Dr. Burdige is a chemical oceanographer in the Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences, where he has been a faculty member since 1985. He received a B.A. (with Honors) in
chemistry from Swarthmore College in 1978, and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego in 1983. His research
interests are broadly in marine biogeochemistry, and he has spent much of his career studying
biogeochemical processes in marine and estuarine sediments and their resulting effects on the
cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and trace metals such as iron, manganese and copper. He is an
Associate Editor for the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and a former Associate
Editor for the journal Marine Chemistry. In 2006 he authored the bookGeochemistry of Marine
Sediments (Princeton Univ. Press). In addition to his research efforts, he developed and teaches
a class entitled Global Environmental Change (OEAS 412/512). This course examines the
evolution of the Earth as a habitable planet, and human impact on the major biogeochemical
cycles on land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere.
Greg Cutter
Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences Old Dominion University
683-4929 gcutter@odu.edu http://sci.odu.edu/oceanography/directory/faculty/cutter/index.shtml
Dr. Cutter is a chemical oceanographer who studies biological-chemical interactions in
the world's oceans ("biogeochemistry"). One of these studies involves the production of trace
sulfur gases in the surface ocean that affect the earth's radiation balance. One of these gases is
carbonyl sulfide which emitted from the ocean to lower atmosphere (troposphere) and then into
the stratosphere where it oxidizes to sulfuric acid and forms radiation absorbing
particles (stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer). Another study is the International GEOTRACES
Program (www.geotraces.org) that is examining the cycling of trace elements and isotopes in the
world's oceans. Some of these elements are essential micronutrients while others are toxic to
marine plants/phytoplankton, and therefore affect photosynthesis, carbon dioxide uptake, and
climate.
Dennis A. Darby
Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
(757) 683-4701, ddarby@odu.edu
Darby has worked on Arctic paleoclimate and sea ice for more than 25 years publishing
more than 50 peer reviewed papers on the topic and obtaining 16 NSF grants for climate
research. His pioneering research in developing the Fe grain chemical fingerprinting technique
that can trace ice-rafted sediment grains to their precise sources has lead to the following
discoveries: 1) Massive surges of glacial icebergs into the Arctic Ocean occurred several times
in the past corresponding to and perhaps matching in ice volume the well-documented Heinrich
Events in the North Atlantic that shut-down the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. 2)
Based on the cyclical appearance of Fe grains from the Kara Sea in cores near Alaska under the
influence of the positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) on ice drift, we can both infer that
this oscillation has century-scale and millennial-scale cyclicity that are coincident with both solar
cycles and Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles of temperature change in Greenland ice cores. The
AO has a strong influence on Northern Hemisphere weather and climate. 3) The perennial ice
cover in the Arctic has been a stable feature for at least the last 14 million years, except for
short intervals when it disappeared and reformed.
Frank Day
Professor and Eminent Scholar, Department of Biological Sciences
My primary research interests relate to ecosystem processes and vegetation dynamics in
forested wetlands and coastal barrier island ecosystems. There are three areas of my current work
that relate to the ODU sea level rise initiative. 1) I have worked for many years on the effects of
varying hydrologies on wetland ecosystems; this work began in the Great Dismal Swamp and is
currently focused on the Virginia barrier islands. Rising sea level impacts the fresh water systems
in coastal environments. The highlight of my involvement in the field of wetland
ecology was my election as President of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) (20022003). 2) I have been a P.I. on the University of Virginia’s NSF Long Term Ecological Research
(LTER) site at the Virginia Coast Reserve almost since its inception in the late 1980's.
The LTER sites are internationally recognized for their emphasis on long-term ecological
processes; the VCR site focuses primarily on the long-term effects of storms and sea level rise on
coastal ecosystems. I suggest that the ODU initiative reach out to the UVA group in a
collaborative spirit because the two groups could complement each other well. 3) My students
and I participated on an international team that conducted a 12-year experiment on the effects of
high levels of atmospheric CO2 on coastal scrub ecosystems at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The experiment has been completed but analyses of the long-term data continue.
Declan De Paor
Department of Physics
ddepaor@odu.edu 757 683 4619
Dr. Declan G. De Paor uses Google Earth, Keyhole Markup Language, and COLLADA models
to create visualizations of global change across a range of timescales. In 1990, when he was an
associate professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland, Dr. De Paor developed a
first-of-its-kind undergraduate course entitled Global Warming Theory. At ODU he teaches
climate change as part of the introductory astronomy curriculum, for which he received an ODU
Shining Star Award. He is leading the current effort to acquire an ODU OmniGlobe spherical
display which will present global change data to the campus community and visiting public in a
museum display setting.
Daniel Dickerson
Associate Professor of Science Education, Dept of STEM Education and Professional Studies
ddickers@odu.edu http://www.odu.edu/~ddickers/
My research interests focus on teaching and learning regarding environmental science
content and socioscientific issues (e.g. climate change). This work involves interdisciplinary
efforts which extend my work into areas of rhetoric, science communication, environmental
education, environmental justice, and an ever-growing number of science fields. I have served as
PI, Co-PI, or Evaluator on NSF, NOAA, Dept of Education, and other federal, state, and
foundation funded projects.
Mike Dinniman
Research Scientist, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Department of Ocean, Earth and
Atmospheric Science.
msd@ccpo.odu.edu
Mike Dinniman's research interests are in the area of using computer models to study different
bodies of water ranging from the Pacific Ocean to regional seas around Antarctica to educational
models of the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Superior. His current research includes studying the
mechanisms involved in the exchange of relatively warm oceanic water onto Antarctic
continental shelves and the hypothesis that changes in this exchange are a possible cause in some
areas for changes in the basal melt rate of the floating ice shelves at the edges of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Fred Dobbs
Professor and Graduate Program Director, (757)-683-5329 fax: (757)-6835303email:fdobbs@odu.edu www.sci.odu.edu/oceanography/directory/faculty/dobbs/index.shtml
Dr. Fred C. Dobbs, a marine microbial ecologist, is Professor and Graduate Program Director in
the Department of Ocean, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk,
Virginia. He received his A.B. (Biology, Honors) from Franklin and Marshall College, his M.S.
(Zoology) from University of Connecticut, and his Ph.D. (Oceanography) from Florida State
University. Subsequently, he held institutional post-doctoral positions at State University of
New York at Stony Brook and University of Hawaii. In 1993, Dobbs joined the faculty at Old
Dominion University, where his recent and ongoing research addresses several areas in aquatic
microbial ecology, with particular focus on 1) a community-level approach to studies of
infectious diseases; 2) the microbial ecology of ships’ ballast tanks; 3) the interface of invasion
biology and microbiology.
He sits on state, national, and international advisory panels and boards, and in 2010-2011, is
serving on a National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council committee and an EPA
Science Advisory Board. In the past decade, he has secured more than $3M in funding from the
National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
National Sea Grant College Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Coast
Guard, and the Great Lakes Protection Fund. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed
scientific publications.
His interests in climate change include 1) range shifts in pathogens and their vectors and 2) the
potential for rising water tables to increase the risk of disease expose to communities using septic
tanks.
Tal Ezer
Professor, Ocean, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences (OEAS) and Affiliated Faculty, VA Modeling
Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC)
tezer@odu.edu (757)683-5631 http://www.ccpo.odu.edu/Facstaff/faculty/tezer/ezer.html
His research and teaching interests include physical oceanography and numerical
ocean circulation modeling. Climate-related research projects he has been involved in include
climate modeling research in the Atlantic Ocean, the Bering Sea, Cook Inlet, Alaska, the
Caribbean Sea and the NSF supported “Climate Process Team” project aimed to improve global
coupled climate models. Ezer has been an editor for Ocean Dynamics since 2001, organizer of
the annual International Workshop on Modeling the Ocean and a manager of the Princeton
Ocean Model users group of some 4000 users from 70 countries.
Katherine (KC) Filippino
Self Supporting Research Professional kcfilipp@odu.edu 757-683-5654
Dr. Katherine (KC) Filippino’s research interests include nitrogen compounds in wastewater
effluent and stormwater run-off and their fate in receiving waters, nutrient removal in
wastewater, the effects of run-off from increasing rainfall events and climate change, peptide
hydrolysis in natural waters, nutrient cycling and biogeochemistry. She has led field programs
dealing with nitrogen cycling in the coastal plume of the Chesapeake Bay, studied the
bioavailability of effluent derived organic N in natural waters, and published this research in
peer-reviewed journals. She has worked in Dr. Mulholland’s lab as a student (4.5 years) and as a
post-doctoral researcher (2+ years) and is an expert in all of the biological and chemical
techniques used in the lab.
Michael H. Finewood
Visiting Instructor, Department of Political Science and Geography mfinewoo@odu.edu
I conduct research and teach courses in the fields of political ecology, economic geography,
and critical human geography. My research agenda centers on the intersection of people, their
environments, and the institutions that link them in order to draw attention to a range of
issues, the most important of which are illuminating environmental justice issues and seeking out
solutions for social and ecological problems that arise from environmental change. My
current research project is in the rapidly developing coastal region of Beaufort, South Carolina,
where I have engaged qualitative methods to study planning, environmental health, and
development, and how these discourses normalize the squeezing out of long-term poor and
minority residents.
Holly Gaff
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and
VMASC, http://sci.odu.edu/biology/directory/hgaff.shtml hgaff@odu.edu
Mathematical modeling and simulation of infectious diseases; spatial heterogeneity; GIS; tickborne diseases; nosocomial infections; ecology of infectious diseases
David Gauthier
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences dgauthie@odu.edu (757) 683-3822
Dr. David Gauthier performs research on diseases of aquatic animals, emphasizing
Mycobacterium spp. in Chesapeake Bay striped bass. Mycobacteriosis in these commercially
and ecologically important finfish is currently present at very high levels, creating concerns
about the continuing health of the stock. One hypothesis for high levels of disease seen in
Chesapeake Bay striped bass is the "thermal-oxygen squeeze," in which eutrophication-driven
hypoxia exacerbates effects of higher water temperature by forcing fish out of cool-water
refugia. Dr. Gauthier's areas of research include molecular biology, disease ecology, pathology,
and wildlife epidemiology.
Adrian Gheorghe
Batten Chair of Systems Engineering, Professor of Engineering Management and Systems
Engineering, and the Batten Endowed Chair on System of Systems Engineering, Department of
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering.
(757) 683-6801 agheorgh@odu.edu
He is also the Director of the Energy Research Cluster at the Batten College Engineering and
Technology, Old Dominion University. Recently, he has been appointed as Guest Professor with
the Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China for the period 2010 – 2015 (approved by the
Ministry of Science and Technology, China).He also is or has been Scientific Secretary, UNInter-Agency Project on Risk Assessment and Management for Electricity Generation and Other
Complex Industrial Systems (UNEP / WHO / IAEA / UNIDO); international activities in
developed countries (e.g. The Netherlands, France, Israel) developing countries (South Africa,
China) countries with economies in transition (Russia, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia etc.),
international organizations (UN and other international institutions e.g. IIASA, World Bank,
WMO, WHO, UNIDO, OECD, OPEC). He was co-coordinating the National Case Studies for
industrial (technical) development, and health and environmental risk assessment and safety
management due to electricity generation (including the whole fuel cycle of nuclear power) in
Croatia, Egypt, Russia, Romania, Latvia, etc. As an IAEA First Officer, he organized, and he
was responsible for a very large number of technical meetings and finalizing the appropriate
technical documents on issues related to energy infrastructures and their environmental,
economical and societal impacts. He was Executive Editor: International Journal Sustainable
Development, UK, 1998, International Journal Critical Infrastructures, UK, 2004, International
Journal System of Systems Engineering, UK, 2008 (see www.inderscience.com).His scientific
concerns: energy systems and management, system of systems engineering, critical
infrastructures protection, environmental and health impact and risk assessment of
different energy and industrial systems, global climate change, comparative economic, health /
environment risk assessment, complex infrastructures design and management,
sustainable development and policy formation, technology assessment, emergency planning and
preparedness, multi-criteria decision analysis, stakeholders interactions, smart grids,
the emerging field of serious gaming and energy infrastructures policy.
Dr. Gheorghe was coordinator of the AGS (MIT, ETH, and University of Tokyo, Japan)
project on “Strategic Electric Sector Assessment Methodology under Sustainability Conditions.
Knowledge-Based Decision Support Framework: an Enhanced Methodology (SESAMS)”,
see www.sesams.ethz.ch - Member of the research project on China Energy Technology
Programme (CETP) – see www.cetp.ch - and making research in the European Commission
project on nuclear safety, STEPS (Source Term Estimation Based on Plant Status). He was a
Member of an international team conducting research on electricity and environment /
sustainability for Shandong Province (China) - project named CETP (China Energy Technology
Programme), currently being sponsored by AGS – ETHZ and the ABB-International, and fully
documented in a book published in Kluwer Academic in 2003.
Maura Hametz
Professor, Department of History 757/683-3949 mhametz@odu.edu
Maura Hametz is currently Associate Professor of History. Her research related to
maritime history and climate change/sea level rise deals with the historical aspects of the impact
of environmental and political change in port communities. She has explored the evolution of
port cultures in Italy --- particularly in Trieste, and Venice --- in the nineteenth and twentieth
century’s. Her book Making Trieste Italian, 1918-1954 and several articles have looked
at aspects of civic identity related to port city life as well as the impact of
infrastructure development in a port and maritime urban setting.
Ingo Heidbrink
Professor of History, Department of History
iheidbri@odu.edu
Dr. Heidbrink is a senior maritime historian, dealing with a variety of topics related to
Climate Change / Sea Level Rise. While his own research is mainly focused on the effects of
historical climate change on commercial fisheries in the North Atlantic and North Sea areas and
the influence of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise on the history of Arctic societies with a
special emphasis on Greenland, he is also a specialist for integrating historical research methods
in interdisciplinary research related to CC/SLR. His main research in this context is focused on
the use of historical research methods and historical source materials for natural science research
in the respective area. As he has demonstrated historical method is an important tool to close the
data gap between modern scientific data (normally only available for the last century)
and geological time series data. He is board member of a variety of the leading international
research associations in the context of maritime history and more important PI and member of
the board of the Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences – Global Change in
the Marine Realm (GLOMAR) a newly established interdisciplinary and international graduate
school for Climate Change related research in Europe. He is also Carson Fellow at the Rachel
Carson Center for Social Sciences and the Environment, a newly established think-tank at the
University of Munich.
Dr. Heidbrink is a senior maritime historian, dealing with a variety of topics related to
Climate Change / Sea Level Rise. While his own research is mainly focused on the effects of
historical climate change on commercial fisheries in the North Atlantic and North Sea areas and
the influence of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise on the history of Arctic societies with a
special emphasis on Greenland, he is also a specialist for integrating historical research methods
in interdisciplinary research related to CC/SLR. His main research in this context is focused on
the use of historical research methods and historical source materials for natural science research
in the respective area. As he has demonstrated historical method is an important tool to close the
data gap between modern scientific data (normally only available for the last century) and
geological time series data. He is board member of a variety of the leading international research
associations in the context of maritime history and more important PI and member of the board
of the Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences – Global Change in the Marine
Realm (GLOMAR) a newly established interdisciplinary and international graduate school for
Climate Change related research in Europe. He is also Carson Fellow at the Rachel Carson
Center for Social Sciences and the Environment, a newly established think-tank at the University
of Munich.
Victoria Hill
Polar oceanography, the effects of CDOM on Arctic heating budgets, phytoplankton,
photophysiology, mapping of seagrass and kelp standing mass from multi and hyper-spectral
sensors both airborne and spaceborne, application of active LIDAR sensors to determine water
column particulate distribution, development of algorithms for water column productivity from
remote sensing, bio-optics.
Effects of Arctic ice melt on primary production. CDOM cycling and the Arctic heating budget.
The effects of increased CO2 on seagrass populations.
Eileen E. Hofmann
Professor of Oceanography, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Department of Ocean,
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
hofmann@ccpo.odu.edu 757 683 5334
After graduate work at North Carolina State University and a postdoctoral position at
Florida State University, Dr. Hofmann spent time as an Assistant Research Scientist and an
Assistant Professor in the Oceanography Department at Texas A&M University. In 1989, she left
Texas A&M University to join the faculty at Old Dominion University as an Associate Professor.
In 1995, she was promoted to Professor in the Department of Oceanography. In April 1996,
Dr. Hofmann was the 12th recipient of the University Annual Research Award, which is given
by Old Dominion University. Dr. Hofmann is a member of the U.S. GLOBEC Science Steering
Committee, the GLOBEC International Science Steering Committee, and the Ocean Studies
Board of the National Research Council. Research Interests Dr. Hofmann is recognized for her
work on coupled physical-biological models. Her research interests cover a variety of topics,
which range from mathematical modeling of marine ecosystems to descriptive physical
oceanography. Currently she is working in two areas that are directly related to the goals of the
Center. The first is the development of coupled circulation-population models that can be used to
investigate the factors controlling the larvae and adults of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea
virginica. These models have been applied to a variety of estuarine systems to study the role of
environmental conditions on structuring oyster populations. The second area of research involves
the development of data assimilative models for investigating circulation and biological
processes in coastal marine systems. The overall goal of this research is to develop a predictive
capability for biological distributions in marine environments.
Ruben Igloria
HPC Systems Engineer, Research Computing, OCCS rigloria@odu.edu
My primary interest is to assist ODU researchers and students leverage OCCS High Performance
Computing (HPC) resources for both research and education.
Petros J. Katsioloudis
Assistant Professor, Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies
pkatsiol@odu.edu (757) 683-4305
I conduct research and teach courses in the fields of industrial technology, technology
education, and engineering technology. My research agenda revolves around alternative types of
learning with the use of nontraditional visual-based learning which can promote towards the
simplicity of complex data found in ecological problems that arise from environmental change. I
also conduct = research related to materials science and testing with a major focus on metals. My
current research project focuses towards the understanding of complex data found in port
logistics. Also I am working towards the creation of curriculum that promotes STEM related
careers for K-12 students.
John M. Klinck
Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Center for Coastal Physical
Oceanography,
klinck@ccpo.odu.edu 757-683-6005
Dr. Klinck's research focuses on two broad areas: ocean circulation and bivalve physiology
and genetics. The work in ocean dynamics is mainly through the use of numerical circulation
models which have been applied to fjords, estuaries, estuary-shelf exchange and Antarctic
continental shelves. The high latitude studies include sea ice and ice shelf interaction with the
ocean. Dr. Klinck also analyzes observations from various parts of the ocean and has even
participated in a few data gathering cruises. His research on bivalves has mainly involved
construction of numerical models representing the physiological processes in oysters and clams
and how these animals respond to environmental variations of temperature, salinity and food. Of
particular interest is the response of these animals to a variety of diseases. Part of this modeling
effort includes physiology and transport of larval stages. A recent effort developed an individual
based model of oyster genetics to look at the changes in genetic structure of populations based on
fitness changes and movement of individuals. The focus of several of these studies is the
response of these animals to climate change. Dr. Klinck is the Director of CCPO. He was a past
editor and editor-in-chief of Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans.
Cynthia M. Jones
A.D. and Annye L. Morgan Professor of Sciences, Professor and Eminent Scholar, Department
of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Director, Center for
Quantitative Fisheries Ecology cjones@odu.edu 757-683-4497
Jones’ research focuses on the population dynamics and ecology of estuarine and marine
fishes, with long-term research on commercial fishes of the US East Coast. Her recent research,
funded by NSF, addresses the effects of habitat change on the persistence and population
structure of commercially-exploited fish (habitat change such as caused by climate warming and
sea-level rise). She has published extensively on the use of natural tags to trace fish movements,
on recreational angling, and on age and growth of fishes worldwide. Her research
includes application and development of new statistics for population assessment. She is a
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Outstanding Professor
2005, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, 2004 Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching Virginia Professor of the Year, and Outstanding Virginia Scientist,
2003. She has been a contributing editor and editorial board member for several scientific
journals.
Asad J. Khattak
Frank Batten Endowed Chair Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
(757) 683-6701 akhattak@odu.edu
Dr. Asad J. Khattak is Frank Batten endowed chair Professor of Civil Engineering at
Old Dominion University, where he teaches and conducts research in transportation. Since Fall
2006, he has developed and directed ODU’s Transportation Research Institute and
educational programs. The Institute currently has nearly $0.8 Million in sponsored research
projects. Dr. Khattak’s own research focuses on various types of innovations related to (a)
intelligent transportation systems (their planning/operation and behavioral impacts), (b)
transportation safety, and (c) sustainable transportation. Before joining Old Dominion
University, Dr. Khattak was Professor of Transportation at University of North Carolina-Chapel
Hill, where he developed the Carolina Transportation Program (1995-2006) to the tune of $1.5
Million in sponsored research projects. Prior to that (during 1991-1995), he actively participated
in developing and implementing research on advanced transportation management and
information systems at the California PATH Program, University of California at Berkeley. Dr.
Khattak received his Masters and Ph.D.degrees in Civil Engineering from
Northwestern University in 1988 and 1991, respectively. He has also worked internationally at
University of Oxford in England, the French National Institute for Transport and Safety
Research, known as INRETS, and Ajou University in South Korea.
Dr. Khattak has a little more than 16 years of research experience and 13 years of
teaching experience in the transportation field, after completing his Ph.D. He is recipient of the
“Shining Star Award” from Old Dominion University for helping students succeed
academically, professionally, and personally inside and outside the classroom setting. As an
indication of national recognition, a national survey of 84 US planning schools ranked him 4thin
terms of faculty with the greatest number of publications (Stiftel B., et al. Faculty Quality at U.S.
Graduate Planning Schools. A National Research Council-Style Study, Journal of Planning
Education & Research, JPER, 24:1, 2004.) He has authored 76 scholarly journal articles and
46technical reports to research sponsors. He has presented his research work at
numerous international conferences. As a principal- or co-investigator, he has successfully
completed 32 sponsored research and educational projects totaling $5 million. Dr. Khattak is
Editor for the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, Taylor and Francis Publishers. The
journal is listed in the Science Citation Index, with an impact factor of 0.727 for 2009. Since
2004, as editor-in-chief he has managed publication of 28 issues of the journal. Each issue
typically contains 4 to 5 peer-reviewed articles and occasionally book reviews or comments on
past papers. He is also Associate Editor of SCI-indexed International Journal of
Sustainable Transportation, Taylor and Francis Publishers, with an impact factor of 0.750 for
2009. His service to professional organizations is further reflected in active participation in the
Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) and as a member of the Committee on
Intelligent Transportation Systems, Transportation Research Board, and National Academies. He
co-chairs the TRB Advanced Traveler Information Systems sub-committee.
Poornima Madhavan
757-683-6424 pmadhava@odu.edu http://www.odu.edu/~pmadhava
Dr. Madhavan is interested in studying human decision making processes in
complex environments that embody risk, stress, time pressure, and, uncertainty. Her research
focuses on three interrelated questions: (1) How do humans acquire skills, retrieve knowledge
from memory, and develop expertise in complex tasks over time? (2) How can deficiencies in
decision making be circumvented through the design and implementation of automated decision
support systems? (3) What factors influence human trust in and utilization of automation? She
currently uses simulated environments such as military, aviation, and, defense/homeland security
to investigate answers to the above questions.
Harold G. Marshall
Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences
hmarshal@odu.edu 1-757-683-4204
His interest in rising sea level and related issues comes from the impact associated
with these events to the microscopic flora in our regional estuaries and Chesapeake Bay. These
plants are algae that represent a major food and oxygen source in these waters. His research over
the past four decades has been the study of these populations (phytoplankton) in local lakes,
estuaries, and the Atlantic coastal waters of the United States. He has published 165 journal
articles regarding their composition, distribution, long term trends, the presence of toxin
producing species in local waters; plus recently the utilization of local algae in biodiesel fuel
production. He has made 149 past presentations on these topics at professional meetings and
conferences. He has been the recipient of the Alan R. Tonelson Distinguished Faculty Award, the
Old Dominion University Faculty Research Award, and is a past President of the
Virginia Academy of Science.
Erika Marsillac
Green supply chains, sustainable manufacturing, international implications on sustainable
manufacturing.
John McConaugha
Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences jmcconau@odu.edu 757 683-4698
Main research topics include the impact of environmental change and population dynamics on
reproduction, development and larval ecology of marine invertebrates. Temperature and salinity
are key factors in the timing of reproduction in the sea. Coupled with population dynamics
reproductive patterns can be altered both on short terms, phenotypic, and long term,
evolutionary, scales. A major impact of climate change is ocean acidification. How organisms
especially developmental and larval stages respond to incremental change in acidification as well
as maximum changes are fundamental concerns for future biodiversity in the oceans.
George McLeod
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Engineer, OCCS
Adjunct Instructor of GIS, Department of Geography
GEOIDS Laboratory, Oceanography & Physics Building, Room 331
757-683-6752, gmcleod@odu.edu
My areas of expertise include the planning and management of geospatial projects, geospatial
education, coastal remote sensing (RS), and hazards modeling. I manage all of ODU’s
administrative GIS and Remote Sensing projects and serve as the University’s representative to
external agencies regarding matters pertaining to GIS/RS. I provide expert assistance to faculty,
staff, researchers, and students seeking to understand how they might apply geospatial
technologies such as GIS, RS, and GPS to their own efforts. I also regularly provide external
consulting services to private industry in the areas of coastal environmental analysis and
petroleum GIS/RS.
Michael McShane
Assistant Professor in Finance, mmcshane@odu.edu, 757-683-3602

Teaching and research interests - Insurance and risk management, especially enterprise
risk management
Event planner: organizes multiple risk management and insurance events each year involving
academics, industry professionals, and student
Co‐Founder of the Emerging Risk Initiative @ Old Dominion University (ERI@ODU)
(http://sites.google.com/site/emergentrisk/)
·
Goals of ERI@ODU:
o Foment and participate in cross‐disciplinary risk management research. Risk and
risk management are subjects that transcend disciplines. Time to break down the
academic silos.
o Create the next generation body of knowledge in risk management for current and
future systems and organizations characterized by uncertainty, emergence,
complexity, and interdependence.
Reason for interest in the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise (CC/SLR) Initiative
o Within the business community, large insurers are thought leaders related to
Climate Change and Sea Level Rise from multiple perspectives
o CC/SLR is an emerging risk that demands collaboration across disciplines.
Tim Motley
Margaret R. Mulholland
Associate Professor, OEAS, (757)683-3972 mmulholl@odu.edu
Dr. Mulholland works on various aspects of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in aquatic
systems. Microbes, including phytoplankton and bacteria, mediate the biogeochemical cycling
of these important elements thereby influencing ecosystem structure in marine and estuarine
systems. Particular aspects of these cycles being investigated in her laboratory include the
uptake and regeneration of specific N and C compounds by a variety of pathways involving
phytoplankton and bacteria. Current projects include an examination of various aspects of
marine N2 fixation and the trophic transfer of recently fixed N2; inorganic and organic nutrient
cycling in estuarine systems; nutrient, physical, and climatic controls on harmful algal blooms;
nutrient competition among planktonic mixotrophs in estuaries; and the impacts of climate
change variables (increased temperature and CO2 and decreased pH) on primary productivity,
primary producers, and microbially-mediated C and N cycling.
Duc T. Nguye
dnguyen@odu.edu 757-683-3761; http://eng.odu.edu/cee/directory/dnguyen.shtml
Prof. Duc T. Nguyen has been a Civil Engineering faculty at Old Dominion University (ODU)
since 1985. His teaching activities (including his 4 textbooks, published in 1999, 2002, 2006 &
2010, respectively), and research works with over 150 published articles (in referred journals,
conference proceedings, and technical reports) & funded projects (approximately $3.5 million
funded projects, from various government research laboratories, industrial sectors, and
universities) in Numerical Methods, Large-scale Parallel Algorithms & Software developments,
Finite Element Analysis & Optimal Design, Linear/Nonlinear Equation & Eigen-Solutions
... have led to several international (1989 Cray Research, Inc. GigaFlops award), national (
NASA Langley Research Center Tech Brief Award, in 1993; Recipient of NASA-ASEE Summer
Faculty Fellowship Awards [11 summers] and regional awards (A. Rufus Tonelson
Distinguished Faculty Award, in 2001; ODU Shining Star Award, in 2010; ASCE Faculty of the
Year Award, in 1990).
As a "senior investigator" of the (already completed) NSF "educational grant" (August 2004 –
August 2007) and 2 on-going “STEM educational grants”, as a PI (February 2009 – July 2011)
and Co-PI (June 2008 – December 2011), respectively, Dr. Nguyen's team has developed the
Stiffness Matrix Method (SMM) modules on the internet for teaching purposes, which includes
theoretical, computer simulation & computer self-assessment test (with automated grading test
scores, delivered to students by Emails). More details can be found
at http://www.lions.odu.edu/~amoha006. Preliminary results for Game-Based Learning (GBL)
for reordering, and symbolic factorization phases of Simultaneous Linear Equations (SLE) can
be viewed/played at http://www.lions.odu.edu/~amoha006/Fillinterms/FILLINTERMS.html, and
also at http://www.lions.odu.edu/~skadi002 (then SELECT/click CEE-305, and view the
YOUTUBE Lectures #23, #25).
Practical/large-scale applications of parallel-sparse matrix computation in computational biology,
finite element numerical modeling of oceans etc. have also been considered as areas of
interests by Dr. Nguyen’s Multidisciplinary Parallel-Vector Computation Institute’s research
activities in the past recent years.
Nora Noffke
http://sci.odu.edu/oceanography/directory/faculty/noffke/index.shtml
Dr. Noffke works on benthic microbial communities that colonize the modern and
ancient seafloor. The microbes affect physical and chemical sedimentary processes and form
characteristic structures in the marine deposits. The structures do not only reflect the presence
of benthic microorganisms, but they also allow insight into the local climatological conditions.
Studies in modern marine settings showed that microbial structures from different climate
zones vary in shapes and morphologies significantly. Dr. Noffke's research documented
microbial structures from the polar, moderate, subtropical and tropical climate zone of modern
Earth. Based on these results, Dr. Noffke reconstructed ancient paleoclimates for various Earth
ages including the Archean Eon.
Renée Olander
Renée Olander, Assistant Vice President for Regional Higher Education Centers, is a poet and
writer whose work has appeared widely in journals and anthologies including VERSE AND
UNIVERSE - POEMS ABOUT SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS, THE WRITER'S
CHRONICLE, and many others; she has served as Master Teacher at The Frost Place
(Franconia, New Hampshire) and led pedagogy seminars for K-12 teachers on writing across the
curriculum for the Tidewater Writing Project annually since 2000. Olander serves on the City of
Virginia Beach's "Quality of Education and Lifelong Learning Strategic Issues Team," which
reports to the city manager, and in that role has participated in the city's development of
"Environmental Literacy" programming for citizens; she also works to facilitate university
collaboration with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.
Iordanka Panayotova
Ariel Pinto
Associate Professor, Engineering Management and Systems
Engineering, cpinto@odu.edu 757.683.4218
My research interests are in the areas of risk management in engineered systems,
including project risk management, risk valuation, risk communication, analysis of extreme-andrare events, and decision-making under uncertainty. My particular specialization is on how
several seemingly independent entities are actually dependent and whose dependency
relationship emerges through time. My approach in looking at such phenomena is through crossdisciplinary, team-based analysis stemming from engineering, finance, business, etc.. More about
this on http://sites.google.com/site/emergentrisk/home
Jesse Richman
Assistant Professor of Political Science and Geography. jrichman@odu.edu 757-6833853http://www.odu.edu/~jrichman/
Dr. Jesse Richman is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Geography at at Old Dominion
University. He holds a PHD in Political Science from Carnegie Mellon University, and came to
ODU in 2006 after teaching at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Richman teaches courses in American
Politics and research methods for the Department of Political Science and Geography, and also
teaches Game Theory for the Graduate Programs in International Studies.
Dr. Richman has authored and co-authored refereed articles on American politics which have
appeared in several scholarly journals including Legislative Studies Quarterly, State Politics and
Policy Quarterly, and White House Studies. He is also coauthor of the book Trading Away Our
Future.
Dr. Richman is interested in the interaction between environmental and geographical conditions
and political attitudes towards climate change.
Mike Robinson
Research Assistant Professor, VMASC, (757) 638-7010 RMRobins@odu.edu
Dr. Mike Robinson is a Research Assistant Professor at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and
Simulation Center (VMASC) where he leads the transportation focus area. He received his PhD
in Modeling and Simulation at ODU. He holds a Masters Degree in Physics. Recent research
projects have included studies of hurricane evacuations from Hampton Roads, transportation
system forecasts and infrastructure operational performance assessments, and modeling of driver
decision making during emergency conditions. Current research interests include transportation
(operations and intelligent transportation systems) and decision making and support simulations.
He is a member of the Simulation and Emergency Evacuation Transportation Research Board
Subcommittees.
Alan Savitzky
Professor of BIological Sciences, University Professor, Department of Biological Sciences (757)
683-3595 Fax: (757) 683-5283 asavitzk@odu.edu http://sci.odu.edu/biology/directory/alan.shtml
In broad terms, my research interests concern the evolutionary biology and conservation of
amphibians and reptiles, with an emphasis on the biology of snakes. I have pursued a number of
studies concerning the evolution of complex anatomical features in an attempt to elucidate the
processes underlying the adaptive radiation of snakes. My interest has been in the patterns of
morphological diversification, the functional basis for specialized structures, and the processes
by which such specializations actually arise over both ontogenic and phylogenetic time. Much of
my research has involved the evolution of complex feeding specializations, including the origin
of venom delivery systems and the evolution of durophagic adaptations-those features that
permit snakes to handle hard-bodied prey such as snails and arthropods. I have extended my
interest in complex character suites to defensive mechanisms as well, examining the morphology
of the vibratory musculature of the tail in rattlesnakes and the extreme modification of vertebrae
in two ophidian genera presumably for defensive purposes. My interest in the evolutionary origin
of complex anatomical novelties led me to initiate studies of embryonic development in snakes,
including infrared receptors (pit organs), cranial bones, and integumentary characteristics (scales
and rattles). As a consequence of those studies, my students and I have built a research collection
of approximately 7,000 catalogued embryos of squamate reptiles. Recently I have been engaged
in collaborative studies of the chemical defenses of snakes that consume toxic prey. Specifically,
we are interested in the role that sequestered dietary toxins play in the defensive behavior or
toad-eating and mollusk-eating snakes. Finally, I am engaged in a collaborative field study of the
canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus, a state-endangered taxon that is threatened primarily
by loss of habitat to suburban development. Our work involves radiotelemetry of free-ranging
individuals and currently is directed toward understanding the impact of habitat alteration on the
movements of individual snakes following catastrophic damage to their forest habitat by
Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
Burton St. John, III
bsaintjo@odu.edu 757-683-3834 http://www.odu.edu/al/comm/facstaff_stjohn.html
Burton St. John III holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Saint Louis University (2005) and an
M.A. in Communications (1993) and B.A. in English (1988), both from Wichita State
University. He also completed journalism and public affairs studies at the Department of
Defense’s Information School in Indianapolis in 1979.
St. John’s background features 15 years of public relations experience for the U.S. Postal
Service. During that time, he served as a regional communications manager for an eight-state
area where he oversaw strategy and tactics for media relations, special events, retail and
marketing communications, speechwriting, employee communications, crisis communications
and congressional relations. He provided crisis communications counsel for the Postal Service in
the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax mailings and the re-opening of the contaminated Trenton, New
Jersey mail facility.
St. John's research centers on how both the journalism and public relations industries frame
messages that influence public knowledge, predispositions and behaviors. Most recently, he has
published on the disjoints between news reporting and family conversations concerning the
mandatory HPV vaccine in Virginia. Ongoing research includes ethical communications in the
midst of public heath crisis situations and the development of post-objectivity in news gathering
and reporting.
He is author of the book Press Professionalization and Propaganda: The Rise of Journalistic
Double-Mindedness, 1917-1941 (Cambria Press, 2010). He co-edited the book Public Journalism
2.0: The Promise and Reality of a Citizen-Engaged Press (Routledge, 201). His academic work
has appeared in Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Journalism History, Public Relations
Review, The Communication Review, American Journalism and the Journal of Mass Media
Ethics. He is a 2006 Page Legacy Scholar, receiving funding through the Arthur W. Page Center
at Penn State University to study newsroom policies and ethics regarding the use of VNRs.
Additionally, St. John has been published in numerous newspapers across the country and his
work has appeared in such trade publications as The Quill, PR Week, Editor and Publisher,
PRSA’s The Strategist and Tactics, PR Reporter and Public Relations Quarterly.
Malcom Scully
Assistant Professor, OEAS and Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, (757)6835335 mscully@ccpo.odu.edu
My research has focused both on circulation and mixing in the estuarine environment and
cohesive sediment transport on highly energetic continental shelves. A common theme in this
research has been the interactions between turbulent mixing and vertical density stratification.
The input of freshwater, thermal heating and the presence of suspended sediment all result in
vertical density gradients in the coastal ocean. This stratification significantly alters the
characteristics of turbulent mixing with significant implications for coastal circulation, sediment
transport, and the distribution of a suite of important biological and chemical constituents. The
goal of my research is to identify the processes that govern vertical density stratification,
understand the implications that stratification has on circulation and transport, and to quantify
vertical mixing in the coastal and estuarine environment. My research primarily utilizes field
observations, but includes the use of three-dimensional numerical models of coastal and
estuarine flows as well. Much of my recent research has focused on making detailed observations
of stratified turbulence in estuaries. Estuaries are ideal natural laboratories for studying stratified
turbulence, and understanding estuarine turbulence is essential to managing water quality in
these important coastal ecosystems.
Charles I. Sukenik
Associate Professor of Physics and Undergraduate Program Director, Department of Physics,
csukenik@odu.edu 757-683-3471.
Charles I. Sukenik received a B.A. in Physics from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in
Physics from Yale University. His primary research interest is ultracold atomic/molecular
physics and laser science. He also has an interest in applications of optical science and laser
spectroscopy to problems in engineering and environmental science. His current research
activities include investigation of ultracold molecule production and ultracold plasma dynamics,
laser diagnostics of supersonic flow, and characterization of the vertical structure of the ocean
through remote laser sensing.
Glen Sussman
University Professor of Political Science
(757) 683-3857/3841, www.odu.edu/~gsussman
Glen Sussman is University Professor of Political Science at ODU. His research focuses
on political institutions and the political actors working within them and how they have
responded to environmental policy in general and global climate change in particular. A related
interest concerns the relationship between science, politics, and policy as it relates to global
climate change. Sussman's primary focus over the last decade has been on the role of the
American presidency and environmental politics and policy. His latest book, White House
Politics and the Environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush (Texas A&M
University Press, 2010) uses an analytical matrix in order to assess the environmental legacy of
the last twelve occupants of the White House. He has presented research findings at conferences
in the US as well as Berlin (2001), Athens (2004), and most recently at the 1st International
Summit on Climate Change and Hurricanes on the island of Crete (2007). Sussman is a member
of the American Political Science Association and is on the editorial board of the journal White
House Studies.
Donald J.P. Swift
Slover professor of Oceanography, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences dswift@odu.edu
Dr. Swift’s research is oriented towards continental margin and coastal geological oceanography,
and has largely involved the Middle Atlantic Coast, as well as the coastal oceans of Northern
California, Argentina, and Mediterranean Spain. His studies have been particularly concerned
with coastal responses to sea level rise, and the corresponding evolution of estuarine, wetland,
and barrier island systems. He has been designated Eminent Scholar by the university, and has
received the Francis P. Shepard medal for excellence in marine geology, and the Francis J.
Pettijohn medal for excellence in sedimentology.
Cynthia L. Tomovic
Ph.D., Professor, STEM Education and Professional Studies, Darden College of Education,
(757) 683-5228ctomovic@odu.edu
Cynthia Tomovic, Ph.D., joined the department of STEM Education and Professional Studies,
Old Dominion University, in the fall of 2008 where she teaches courses in personnel supervision,
technology and society, organizational development and global leadership. Before joining
ODU, she served as Professor and Department Head in the Department of Organizational
Leadership and Supervision, and as a Research Associate in the Center for Product Lifecycle
Management, and in the Center for Research of Climate Change, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, Indiana. She earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, and M.S. in
Organizational Behavior at the University of Michigan; M.Ed. in Educational Program
Evaluation and Research Design, and B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Illinois. She
later earned her ISO 9000 Lead Auditor in Training Certificate from the European Institute of
Quality Assurance.
Dr. Tomovic teaches courses, conducts research, publishes, and consults with organizations in
the areas of organizational development and leadership, globalization, communications,
quality and organizational performance. As a faculty fellow she has worked with Motorola
Corporation, TRW, IBM, Kettering Foundation, and served as one of the founding members on a
joint National Institute Standards of Technology, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
and American Education Research Association Committee for Assessment in Higher Education.
She has participated as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation, and has served as a
special auditor on leadership for college and university accrediting boards. In 2006, she founded
and served as president of Main Academy America, a nonprofit organization that seeks to
inspire systems thinking through leadership and team development for a creative, inclusive, and
sustainable world.
Robert E. Tuleya
Senior Scientist, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Department of Ocean, Earth and
Atmospheric Science.
tuleya@ccpo.odu.edu
Bob Tuleya retired in 2002 from NOAA's GFDL Laboratory after 31 years of federal
service. While at GFDL, he worked in various positions in the Hurricane Dynamics Group
initially as a Research Associate and eventually became Group Head. He is presently working
under contract for NOAA at CCPO in developing and upgrading the next generation Hurricane
Weather and Research Forecast system (HWRF) which was implemented in 2007. He continues
to study the effect of global climate change on hurricane intensity and frequency with his
colleagues at GFDL. While at GFDL, he served on various internal committees including the
AMS Committee on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology and the USWRP research committee
on Hurricane Landfall.
Research Interests - Bob Tuleya's primary interests are in the areas of 3-D numerical simulations
of tropical cyclones including their application to real data forecasting as well as to the impact of
climate change on tropical cyclones. He has been involved with testing the sensitivity of model
results to more elaborate physicals improvements including the coupling of the hurricane model
to both land surface and ocean models. He has authored/coauthored publications on the impact of
climate change on tropical cyclones, hurricane genesis and decay mechanisms, on data impact on
tropical cyclone forecasting, and on the design and programming of regional and
nested numerical models.
Tancy Vandecar-Burdin
Associate Director, The Social Science Research Center 683-3802 tvandeca@odu.edu
Dr. Vandecar-Burdin earned her Master of Arts in Applied Sociology with a certificate in
Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University as well as a PhD in Public Administration and
Urban Policy. Dr. Vandecar-Burdin has served as the Associate Director of the Social Science
Research Center since its inception. The SSRC has staff expertise in various forms of research
methods and data collection including mail surveys, telephone surveys, household interviews,
and focus groups; and most conventional forms of data analysis. SSRC staff can assist in all
stages of survey research including instrument design, project management, data collection, data
auditing, data management, data analysis, technical report writing, and the development of multimedia report presentations.
Dr. Vandecar-Burdin’s management responsibilities have included supervision of research and
support staff, hiring and training data collectors, planning projects, developing surveys and
interview protocols and administration procedures, managing telephone and mail surveys, and
supervising data collection activities. She has managed most of the regional and statewide
projects conducted by the SSRC, and these have included: multi-site data collection efforts;
statewide and community surveys; political polls; and other large-scale telephone, mail, and
electronic survey projects under contract to government, civic, and social service agencies in and
around Virginia and the Tidewater area.
Linda Vahala
Computational modeling in plasma physics and atomic physics using high performance
computing. Climate change computational modeling.
Alok K Verma
Ray Ferrari Professor and, Director of the Lean Institute, (757) 683 3766 averma@odu.edu
http://www.lions.odu.edu/~averma
Dr. Alok K. Verma is Ray Ferrari Professor and, Director of the Lean Institute at Old Dominion
University. He also serves as the President of the International Society of Agile Manufacturing
and as the chief editor of the International Journal of Agile Manufacturing. Alok received his
B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, MS in Engineering Mechanics and PhD in
Mechanical Engineering from ODU. Prof. Verma is a licensed professional engineer in the state
of Virginia, a certified manufacturing engineer and has certifications in Lean Manufacturing and
Six Sigma. He has organized several international conferences as General Chair, including
ICAM-2006 and ICAM-1999 and also serves as associate editor for two International Journals.
His scholarly publications include 27 journal papers and 49 papers in conference proceedings.
Dr. Verma has developed and delivered training program in Lean Enterprise & Design for
Manufacturing for Northrop Grumman Newport News, STIHL and several other companies in
U.S. He has developed simulation based training programs for shipbuilding and repair industry
under a grant from the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP). He is well known
internationally and has been invited to deliver keynote addresses at several national and
international conferences on Lean/Agile manufacturing. Dr. Verma has received the Regional
Alumni Award for Excellence for contribution to Lean Manufacturing research, the International
Education Award at ODU and Ben Sparks Medal by ASME. He is active in ASME, ASEE,
SME, IIE and SNAME. Dr. Verma continues to serve the Hampton Roads community in various
leadership positions.
Jin Wang
Department of Mathematics, j3wang@odu.edu 757-683-3916
Dr. Wang is currently an assistant professor of applied and computational mathematics at
ODU. One of his primary research interests is fluid dynamics involving free surfaces, where he
combines mathematical analysis and numerical simulation to gain insight into the
fundamental physics. He has been conducting research on wind-water interaction and ocean
wave generation and propagation, with application to energy transfer, weather forecasting, etc.
Another major research area of Dr. Wang is mathematical biology. He has conducted simulation
and analysis on infectious diseases, tumor growth, marine bio-aggregates, etc.
Rich Whittecar
Ocean Earth and Atmos Science rwhittec@odu.edu
My principal funded research deals with wetland hydrogeology, particularly with
the construction of replacement wetlands and the influence of climate and landuse changes on
the surface water and groundwater hydrology of natural wetlands. My greatest love, however, is
the study of Quaternary landscape evolution in southeastern U.S. Most of my work has been in
Virginia and North Carolina looking at the interaction of rivers, estuaries,
shorelines, groundwater, and sand dunes with fluctuating sea levels, warm interglacial climates,
and colder periglacial climates. Recently this work lead to the recognition of the substantial
effects in Virginia, both past and future, caused by depression of the crust by continental ice
(farther north) and the uplift of a forebulge (in front of the glacier) that extended from Virginia
to Iowa to Montana. The relaxation of that uplift continues and should continue to cause more 25
meters of subsidence in the mid-Atlantic area over the next 10,000 years or more.
Guoqing Zhou
Hongwei (Harry) Zhu
Assistant Professor of Information Technology, Department of Information Technology and
Decision Sciences. 757-683-5175, hzhu@odu.edu
Dr. Zhu’s research interests include data integration, information quality, and economic and
strategic issues related to information technology. Ongoing projects include techniques for
assessing data quality and quality of large-scale data standards, serious games for various
training and educational purposes, mobile computing, and strategies of using Web aggregators.
Within the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Framework, he is interested in developing crossplatform simulation games and applications to evaluate impacts of sea level rise. He is also
interested in developing techniques to integrate related data and to assess and improve the quality
of the data. He holds a Ph.D. in Technology, Management and Policy from MIT and was a
Research Scientist at MIT Information Quality Program before joining ODU.
Dick Zimmerman
Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Science
rzimmerm@odu.edu 757-6835991: http://sci.odu.edu/oceanography/directory/faculty/zimmerman/index.shtml
Dr. Richard Zimmerman’s research focuses on the environmental controls of
marine photosynthesis. His is currently working on the response of marine phototrophs to ocean
acidification, climate warming and water quality through the use of laboratory experiments
to develop a mechanistic understanding of environmental response surfaces. The resulting
numerical models are then used to predict the impacts of climate change on the distribution
of organisms across the submarine landscape, and remote sensing/GIS technology to validate the
model predictions.
Mohammad Zubair
M. Zubair has more than twenty years of research experience in the area of experimental
computer science and engineering both at the university as well as at the Industry. His primary
area of interest is in the area of high performance computing and management of large
information. His major industrial assignment was at IBM T.J. Watson Research center for three
years, where his research focus was in high performance computing and some of his work was
integrated into IBM products: Engineering Scientific Subroutine Library (ESSL), and Parallel
ESSL. His current interests are in developing high performance algorithms for multicore
architectures such as GPU, IBM Cell Engine, and Intel Multicore Systems. He is also looking at
how heterogeneous resources within a cloud can be exploited for large data intensive
applications. He has been successful in obtaining funds to support his research work from
NASA, NSF, DTIC, ARPA, Jefferson Laboratory, Los Alamos, AFRL, NRL, JTASC, Sun
Microsystems, and IBM Corporation. He has actively published his research results in various
refereed conferences and Journals. He has over 120 publications..
I have not worked explicitly in climate change research, but my research interests are in looking
at high performance implementation of climate models that are computation intensive.