UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Six new faculty members recently joined the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). They represent the college's Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics, Department of Informatics and Intelligent Systems and Department of Privacy and Cybersecurity Informatics.
“Welcoming new faculty is an exciting opportunity to build on the strengths of the College of IST while bringing new perspectives to our community,” said Andrea Tapia, dean of the College of IST. “These scholars bring expertise across a range of important and emerging areas, and their research and teaching will help us address complex challenges, inspire our students and expand the impact of our work. We are excited to have them join us.”
Human-centered computing and social informatics
Christopher Dancy joined the Penn State faculty in 2022 as an associate professor in the Colleges of Engineering and the Liberal Arts and now also holds a joint appointment as an associate professor in the College of IST. He is the founder and director of the Human in Computing and Cognition Lab and the Liberatory Tech Project and co-director of the Center for Black Digital Research. His research explores the intersection of human behavior, computational systems and Blackness, drawing on computational cognitive science, Black studies and artificial intelligence (AI). Dancy holds a doctoral degree in AI and cognitive science from Penn State.
Roderick Lee, associate professor at Penn State Harrisburg and affiliate associate professor in the College of Education, now also holds a joint appointment as an associate professor in the College of IST. He focuses on building capacity for artificial intelligence and computing education and advancing human-centered approaches to technology design and governance. His research examines the adoption, diffusion and impact of emerging technologies and pedagogical innovations. He is a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource AI Education Fellow. Lee — who holds five Penn State degrees, including a doctorate in information sciences and technology — joined the Penn State faculty in 2008.
Qingxiao Zheng, assistant professor, develops and evaluates AI systems that support collaboration among professionals, families and intelligent systems. Her research sits at the intersection of human-computer interaction and human-centered AI, where she studies how AI can augment — not replace — human expertise. She holds a doctoral degree in information sciences, human-computer interaction, from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining Penn State, she served as a postdoctoral associate at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Zheng is also a faculty co-hire at the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences at Penn State.
Informatics and intelligent systems
Neil Ashtekar, lecturer, is finishing his doctoral degree in computer science and engineering at Penn State. His research focuses on continual machine learning and causal inference. Ashtekar will be teaching courses on AI, data science and discrete math.
Robert Thomson, teaching professor, is a cognitive scientist and cybersecurity researcher who specializes in cognitive modeling, behavior prediction, AI-enabled decision support and human-machine teaming. He holds a doctoral degree in cognitive science from Carleton University and comes to Penn State from Carnegie Mellon University, where he served as a research scientist in the Department of Psychology. Prior to that, Thomson was an associate professor at the United States Military Academy.
Privacy and cybersecurity informatics
Sherry Barrett, professor of practice, is a senior intelligence analyst, former federal law enforcement office and cybersecurity professional whose career spans three decades at the intersection of law, intelligence and emerging technology. Her expertise spans traditional and digital investigative techniques, blockchain and cryptocurrency forensics, financial crimes analysis, open-source intelligence and the legal and constitutional frameworks governing digital evidence. She holds a juris doctor from DePaul College of Law.