The Coordinating Committee advises ICDS leadership on prioritization of activities such as co-hiring, seed funding, internal development of centers, and training and education. This group includes faculty and IT professionals from across the university.
Meet the ICDS Team
Coordinating Committee
Kofi Adu
- Associate Professor of Physics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Physics
Office: 103C Sheetz Family Health Center, Penn State Altoona
Email: cxa269@psu.edu
Phone: 814-940-3335
Research Focuses: Computation and simulation at nanoscale of interfacial effects on properties of composites; using nanoscale interfacial engineering to enhance properties of ultraconductors
Guido Cervone
- Professor of Geography and Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Associate Director, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Geography
Office: 205 Walker Building, University Park
Email: cervone@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0179
Research Focuses: Remote sensing, environmental hazards, geoinformatics, social media
Pinlei Chen
- Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office: 215C Sackett Building
Email: pzc216@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-4026
Research Focuses: Structural Engineering and Mechanics Computational mechanics Stabilized method Multiphysics problems
Doug Cowen
- Professor of Physics
- Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Office: 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park
Email: cowen@phys.psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-5943
Research Focuses: Particle astrophysics, neutrinos, neutrino detection
Ismaila Dabo
- Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Office: N-241 Millennium Science Complex, University Park
Email: dabo@matse.psu.edu
Phone: 814-867-4886
Research Focuses: Energy conversion and storage, computational materials science, quantum and multiscale simulations, novel computational methods, materials for electrochemistry, materials for photochemistry, spectroscopy of materials
Seth Erickson
- Software Curation Librarian
- ICDS Associate
Department: University Libraries
Office: Research Informatics and Publishing
Email: sre53@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-1580
Research Focuses: Open Science, Scientific Computing, Science and Technology Studies
Jenni Evans
- Professor of Meteorology
- Director, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
- ICDS Associate
Department: Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
Office: 509 Walker Building, University Park
Email: Jenni.Evans@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-3240
Research Focuses: Climate, numerical weather prediction, tropical meteorology, tropical cyclones, statistical meteorology, convection studies
Stephen Fast
- Cyber Innovation Strategy Lead
- ICDS Associate
Department: Applied Research Laboratory
Office: 5300A ARL Building, University ParkElectromagnetic Propagation, Radio Meteorology, RF Modeling and Simulation, EM Computational Techniques, Numerical Modeling, Software Engineering
Email: saf8@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-2425
Research Focuses: Electromagnetic propagation, radio meteorology, RF modeling and simulation, EM computational techniques, numerical modeling, software engineering
Wayne Figurelle
- Assistant Director
Office: 224D Computer Building
Email: wfigure@psu.edu
Phone: 814-777-2965
Karen Fisher-Vanden
- Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Agricultural Economics
Office: 113 Armsby Building, University Park
Email: kaf26@psu.edu
Phone: 814-867-2752
Research Focuses: Economic and integrated assessment modeling for climate change policy analysis; economic instruments for pollution control; technology development in developing countries and implications for energy use and carbon emissions
Ryan Gilmore
- Technical Director
Office: 224F Computer Building
Email: reg159@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-1134
Rick Gilmore
- Professor of Psychology
- ICDS Associate
Department: Psychology
Office: 622 Moore Building, University Park
Email: rogilmore@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-3664
Research Focuses: Computational neuroscience, computer vision, data visualization
Michael Hillman
- Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office: 224A Sackett Buliding, University Park
Email: mzh226@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0623
Research Focuses: Computational mechanics; extreme events modeling
Vasant Honavar
- Professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology
- Associate Director, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Information Sciences and Technology
Office: 301A Westgate Building, University Park
Email: vuh14@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-3141
Research Focuses: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, big data analytics, bioinformatics and computational molecular and systems biology, discovery informatics, knowledge representation and semantic web, applied information integration and informatics
Margaret Hu
- Associate Dean for Non-JD Programs
- Professor of Law
- Professor of International Affairs
- Faculty of the Institute for Network and Security Research, College of Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Penn State Law
Email: mkh6004@psu.edu
Research Focuses: Her research interests include the intersection of immigration policy, national security, cybersurveillance, and civil rights.
Yifei Huang
- Assistant Professor of Biology
- ICDS Associate
Department: Biology
Office: 514A Wartik
Email: yuh371@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-6829
Research Focuses: Millions of genetic variants have been identified in human genomes and the catalog of genetic variation is still expanding rapidly due to the continual drop of sequencing costs. Understanding the functional, clinical, and evolutionary significance of genetic variants has become a central question in biology and precision medicine. However, it is very challenging to distinguish important variants from neutral ones. Therefore, many genetic variants in patients’ genomes are marked as “variant of uncertain significance”, forming a major hurdle for both basic research and medical practice. I am interested in addressing the problem of “variant of uncertain significance” by unifying evolutionary biology and machine learning. My research is motivated by the insight that evolution operates like a high-throughput mutagenesis experiments: deleterious mutations are quickly purged from populations due to natural selection, which in turn leaves detectable marks on human genomic sequences. I have developed multiple machine learning and statistical frameworks to identify the signatures of deleterious variants from population and functional genomic data. Not only have these computational methods provided useful insights into human evolution but also have been applied to prioritize causal variants associated with human genetic disorders.
Sharon Huang
- Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
- ICDS Associate
Office: E317 Westgate Building
Email: suh972@ist.psu.edu
Phone: (814) 863-7235
Research Focuses: Her research interests are in the areas of biomedical image analysis, computer vision, and machine learning, focusing on methods for object recognition, image segmentation, image synthesis, registration/matching, tracking, skeletonization, computer-assisted diagnosis and intervention. Her broader interests include computer graphics, artificial intelligence, data mining, biomedical informatics, HCI, and visualization.
Maurie Kelly
- Senior Research Associate, Penn State Institutes of the Environment
- Director of Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access and Informatics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Institute for Energy and the Environment
Office: 0117 Land and Water Research, University Park
Email: mck4@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0104
Research Focuses: Managing and providing public access to data, supporting public access to government information, the intersection of big data and citizen science
Alexander Klippel
- Professor of Geography
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Geography
Office: 204 Walker Building, University Park
Email: klippel@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-2324
Research Focuses: visualizing climate change; immersive analytics; designing environmental decision support systems; immersive learning; storytelling in 360 degrees; digital humanities; place; spatial cognition; wayfinding; embodiment
Abdullah Konak
- Professor of Information Science and Technology
- ICDS Associate
Department: Information Sciences and Technology
Office: 212 Gaige Building, Penn State Berks
Email: konak@psu.edu
Phone: 610-396-6310
Research Focuses: Modeling, analysis, and optimization of complex systems using computational intelligence combined with techniques from statistics, operations research, and machine learning
Soundar Kumara
- Allen E. Pearce and Allen M. Pearce Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering
Office: 222 Leonard Building, University Park
Email: skumara@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-2359
Research Focuses: Intelligent systems, sensor data representation and fusion, process data monitoring and diagnostics; smart manufacturing; graph analytics; big data analytics
John Liechty
- Professor of Marketing
- Professor of Statistics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Statistics, Marketing
Office: 409 Business Building
Email: jcl12@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-0621
Research Focuses: Large scale Bayesian computation with application in marketing and finance
Xiao Liu
- Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Office: 315 Hallowell Building, University Park
Email: xxl213@engr.psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-4419
Research Focuses: Multi-modal neuroimaging techniques, computational neuroscience, brain activity and consciousness, network dynamics of the brain, neural basis of resting-state fMRI connectivity
Fenglong Ma
- Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: College of Information Sciences and Technology
Email: ffm5105@psu.edu
Research Focuses: Data mining and machine learning, including healthcare data mining, deep learning, truth discovery, and probabilistic graphical models.
Kamesh Madduri
- Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
- ICDS Affiliate
Department: School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Office: W312 Westgate Building, University Park
Email: madduri@cse.psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-0883
Research Focuses: Combinatorial scientific computing; scalable scientific data analysis and management, parallel graph algorithms, applications to computational biology, social network analysis
Patrick McDaniel
- William L. Weiss Professor of Information and Communications Technology
- Director, Institute for Network and Security Research
- ICDS Associate
Department: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Office: W329 Westgate Building, University Park
Email: pdm12@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-3599
Research Focuses: Systems and network security; security policy; networking; distributed systems; public policy; telecommunications security; network management; applied cryptography; privacy
Zita Oravecz
- Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Human Development and Family Studies
Office: 216 Health and Human Development Building, University Park
Email: zita@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-1546
Research Focuses: Individual differences, process modeling, state-of-the-art statistical approaches, emotion, cognition, Bayesian statistics
Bing Pan
- Associate Professor of Commercial and Recreational Tourism
- ICDS Associate
Department: Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
Office: 704M Ford Building, University Park
Email: bingpan@psu.edu
Phone: 814-867-2900
Research Focuses: The use of big data, in the forms of GPS locations, social media content, search engine queries, to understand, monitor, and forecast behavior of tourists to destinations or visitors to parks
Christian Peco Regales
- Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics
- ICDS Associate
Email: cxp598@psu.edu
Phone: 814-867-0253
Research Focuses: Interdisciplinary research that explores problems in biomechanics and materials science with the long-term objective placed on the active control of soft materials, such as lipid bilayers, to create bioinspired soft nanomachinery.
Susan Sinnott
- Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Office: 221A Steidle Building, University Park
Email: sinnott@matse.psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-3117
Research Focuses: Computational materials design; chemical modification of polymer and composite surfaces; the influence of grain boundaries, point defects, and heterogeneous interfaces on materials properties
Adri van Duin
- Professor of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
- ICDS Associate
Department: Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Office: 240 Research East Building, University Park
Email: acv13@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-6277
Research Focuses: Reactive force fields; computational methods in materials; hydrocarbons; all-carbon materials; nitramines; proteins; semiconductors; transition metals
Christelle Wauthier
- Associate Professor of Geosciences
- ICDS Co-Hire
Department: Geosciences
Office: 311 Deike Building, University Park
Email: cuw25@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-6649
Research Focuses: Magma and volcanic processes; natural hazards; magma-tectonic interactions; remote-sensing and InSAR
Don Welch
- Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
- Affiliate Faculty of Information Sciences and Technology
- ICDS Associate
Department: Office of Information Security
Office: 0029 Technology Support Building, University Park
Email: djw66@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-3684
Research Focuses: Information security; cybersecurity
Lingzhou Xue
- Associate Professor of Statistics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Statistics
Office: 318 Thomas Building, University Park
Email: lxx6@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-1290
Research Focuses: Statistical learning and data mining; high dimensional statistical inference; large scale convex/nonconvex optimization algorithms; statistical analysis of big data, high dimensional data and large scale networks; statistical modeling in health science, information engineering, business analytics and finance
John Yen
- University Professor of Information Sciences & Technology
- Director, Strategic Research Initiatives, College of Information Sciences & Technology
- Director, Laboratory for Intelligent Agents
- ICDS Affiliate
Department: Information Sciences and Technology
Office: E359 Westgate Building, University Park
Email: jyen@ist.psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-6179
Research Focuses: Intelligent agents; artificial intelligence; soft computing; bioinformatics
Katherine Zipp
- Associate Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics
- ICDS Associate
Department: Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
Office: 112-F Armsby
Email: kyz1@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-8247
Research Focuses: Environmental and resource economics; land economics; spatial modeling; non-market valuation