Cal State Fullerton’s newest instructional faculty members, reporting for work this year, 2011, include 43 assistant and associate professors (42 hired this summer and one in the spring) and nine full-time lecturers. Also counted as faculty members are two new librarians. (Click on individual photos below to download high-resolution images.)
Assistant and Associate Professors on the Tenure Track
Joel K. Abraham
Assistant professor of biological science
Ph.D. integrative biology, UC Berkeley; B.Sc. biology, Howard University
Research interests: student confusions about biology concepts and the underlying difficulties with complex systems understanding and the use and assessment of computer-based approaches for instruction and testing
Hobbies: sports and outdoor activities, travel and dancing
Fun fact: participated in a dragon boat race on the Yangtze River
Favorite book: “The Life of God (as Told by Himself)” by Franco Ferrucci
Jason K. Baker
Assistant professor of child and adolescent studies
Ph.D. child clinical psychology, Penn State University; B.A. psychology, UCLA
Research interests: parent-child interaction, developmental psychopathology, emotion socialization, autism and developmental disabilities, family systems and coparenting, observational measurement
Hobbies: amateur surfer, musician and home brewer
John E. Barbuto, Jr.
Associate professor of management
Director of the Leadership Center
Ph.D. business administration, University of Rhode Island; MBA, Bentley University; B.S. business administration, University of Maine
Research interests: work motivation, servant leadership, antecedents of leadership, global mindset, organization stigma, positive behavior, transformational leadership, change management, international/cross-cultural management, personality, transformational advising, dramaturgical teaching, power, leader-member-exchange, political skills, influence, conflict management, pedagogical theory, emotional intelligence, personality and strategic processes
photo courtesy Mihaylo College of Business and Economics
John D. Breskey
Assistant professor of health science
Ph.D. and M.S. public health, University of Illinois at Chicago; B.A. biology, Oberlin College
Research interests: environmental and occupational exposure assessment, health risk assessment, development of exposure measurement methods/techniques, multi-media exposure analysis and modeling, aerosol science and technology, validation of size selective particle samplers, nanotechnology health risks, nanoparticle exposures
Michael D. Bridges
Assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Ph.D. physical chemistry, UCLA; M.Sc. nuclear chemistry, University of British Columbia; B.Sc. chemistry, University of British Columbia
Research interests: biophysical chemistry; site-directed spin labeling and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of recombinant proteins to elucidate the functional roles of structure and dynamics with focus on intrinsically unstructured proteins essential to cytoskeletal maintenance and their binding partners
Hobbies: writing music, playing and watching ice hockey.
Favorite book: “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson
Fun fact: has enough musical instruments and recording equipment to start a small record label
Kate M. Burlingham
Assistant professor of history
Ph.D. and M.A. history, Rutgers University; A.B. history, Barnard College, Columbia University
Research interests: U.S. foreign relations, history of the U.S. in the world, Lusophone Africa (particularly Angola), South African liberation struggles, history of human rights and global public health policy
Fun Fact: avid traveler with a serious case of wanderlust
Languages spoken other than English: Portuguese, Spanish and French
Sumantra Chakravarty
Associate professor of accounting
Ph.D. management-accounting, Purdue University; Ph.D. physics, University of Minnesota; M.S. physics, Ohio University; B.Sc. physics, Presidency College, India
Research interests: Financial accounting, accounting conservatism, credit default swaps
Languages spoken other than English: Bengali, Hindi
Hobbies: reading, hiking and watching college basketball
Favorite book: “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera
Jennifer D. Chandler
Assistant professor of management
Ph.D. management-social networks analysis, UC Irvine; MBA, University of Hawaii at Manoa; B.A. English literature, international studies, UCLA
Research interests: organizational theory, service operations, social networks analysis, managing innovation in cross-cultural teams, media and entertainment
Hobbies: hiking, photography, classical piano
Favorite book: “The Constitution of Society” by Anthony Giddens
Fun fact: recovering adrenaline junkie
Ding-Jo H. Currie
Professor of educational leadership
Ph.D. intercultural and international education, USC; M.S. counseling, Wright State University; B.S. mathematics and psychology, Manchester College
Research interests: leadership, student access and success equity, and international and intercultural education
Hobby: going to the movies
Favorite book: “The Kitab-i-Iqan Book of Certitude” by Baha’u’llah
Fun fact: owns endangered Texas and California desert tortoises named Frank and Daisy
Kenneth J. Faller II
Assistant professor of computer engineering
Ph.D. electrical engineering, Florida International University; M.S. and B.S. computer engineering, Florida International University
Research interests: signal processing techniques for use in spatial audio, digital filters
Hobbies: working out, watching movies and creating and recording music
Fun fact: has an identical twin brother
Rachel M. Fenning
Assistant professor of child and adolescent studies
Ph.D. clinical psychology, UCLA; B.A. psychology, Yale University
Research interests: child and family influences on children’s social-emotional and social-cognitive development, developmental psychopathology, family process, autism and developmental disabilities, observation and diagnostic assessment
Jean Ferrandis
Associate professor of music
D.N.E.S.M. flute, Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon, France
Professional activities: performing throughout Europe, Asia and North America
Language spoken other than English: French
Fun fact: while rehearsing the Mozart flute concerto with Leonard Bernstein, the conductor said of Ferrandis: “It’s Pan himself!”
photo courtesy Jean Ferrandis
Andrew J. Galpin
Assistant professor of kinesiology
Ph.D. human bioenergetics, Ball State University; M.S. human movement, University of Memphis; B.S. exercise science, Linfield College
Research interests: acute responses and chronic adaptations to human skeletal muscle following high-intensity/velocity/power exercise; assessing muscle fiber types, substrate concentrations and cellular signaling protein activity through skeletal muscle biopsies
Hobbies: competing in Olympic weightlifting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reading classic fiction, cooking, growing fruits and vegetables and following Seattle sports teams
Fun fact: won Division III National Championship in football for Linfield College in 2005
Pratanu Ghosh
Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering
Ph.D. civil engineering, University of Utah; MASc. civil engineering, University of Windsor, Canada; B.S. civil engineering, Bengal Engineering College, India
Research interests: durability and sustainability investigation, rehabilitation and retrofit of concrete structures, and service life modeling of bridge decks to evaluate and implement performance-based design for long-life bridges
Hobbies: watching sports and movies
John T. Gleaves
Assistant professor of kinesiology
Ph.D. history and philosophy of sport, Penn State University; B.A. philosophy and theology, Carroll College
Research interests: the ethics and history of performance-enhancing substances and doping in elite sport, gender issues in sport and the scientization of modern sport
Hobbies: cycling, alpine skiing, soccer and snow shoeing
Fun fact: races track bicycles on the velodrome
Jianxin “James” Gong
Associate professor of accounting
Ph.D. business administration-accounting, USC; Bachelor of Engineering - thermal physics and engineering, Zhejiang University
Research interests: capital investment analysis, cost behavior, revenue drivers, executive compensation, international accounting
Language spoken other than English: Chinese
Mark J. Goodrich
Associate professor of music
D.M.A. vocal performance, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; M.M. vocal performance, Yale School of Music; B.M. vocal performance, SUNY Fredonia
Research interests: vocal performance and pedagogy, diction for singers, song literature, prescription drugs and the voice
Hobbies: camping, photography, classic movies, reading, true crime
Fun fact: “I love studying unsolved true crime cases.”
John L. Haan
Assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Ph.D. analytical chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.S. chemistry education, University of Florida; B.S. materials science and engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research interests: development and characterization of catalysts for the direct ethanol fuel cell
Kamal Hamidieh
Assistant professor of mathematics
Ph.D. statistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; B.S. electrical engineering, University of Texas, Austin
Research interests: statistics of extremes with applications to risk management in finance and weather
Hobbies: photography and reading
Favorite book: “Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets” by by Nassim Taleb
Fun fact: avid backgammon player
Brady T. Heiner
Assistant professor of philosophy
Ph.D. and M.A. philosophy, Stony Brook University; B.A. modern culture and media, Brown University
Research interests: ethics, social and political philosophy, critical theory, phenomenology and existential philosophy
Andrew William Howat
Assistant professor of philosophy
Ph.D. philosophy, University of Sheffield; M.A. philosophy, University of Edinburgh
Research interests: American pragmatist philosophy (especially Charles Sanders Peirce), contemporary metaphysics (especially response-dependent concepts), contemporary philosophy of language (especially truth and reference)
Hobbies: avid musician (guitar player, singer and composer), photographer, foodie, cinephile
Favorite book: “Siddartha” by Herman Hesse
Fun fact: descendant of the first king of Scotland, Kenneth I
Julián Jefferies
Assistant professor of reading
Ph.D. education in bilingual/ESL studies, Boston College; M.A. applied linguistics/ESL teaching, University of Massachusetts, Boston; B.A. communications and journalism, Suffolk University
Research interests: sociocultural context of immigrant youth, undocumented students in K-12 education and the role of linguistics in content-area teaching
Favorite book: “USMAÍL,” by Pedro Juan Soto
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Hobby: boxing
Fun fact: collects vinyl records
Walied E. Keshk
Assistant professor of accounting
Ph.D. accounting, University of Illinois
Research interests: judgment and decision making of capital market participants, nonprofessional investors reactions to analyst forecasts and recommendations
Hobbies: jogging, reading history books, watching movies, dinning out, spending time with his wife Aiat and son Adam
Language spoken other than English: Arabic
Eun Kyoo “Ellen” Kim
Assistant professor of management
Ph.D. hospitality management, Penn State University; M.S. hotel administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; bachelor of business administration and bachelor of Japanese Interpretation, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
Research interests: services management and pricing, corporate social responsibility, cross-cultural issues
Languages spoken other than English: Korean, Japanese, French and Spanish
Zhenguo Lin
Associate professor of finance
Ph.D. real estate finance and M.S. finance, University of Wisconsin, Madison; M.S. real estate and urban economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver; B.S. management science, Fudan University, Shanghai
Research interests: pricing of illiquidity risk; illiquidity and portfolio diversification, valuation of thinly traded assets, real estate market dynamics, mortgage finance, local public finance
Languages spoken other than English: Chinese, including Shanghai and Ningbo dialects
Catherine O. Maderazo
Associate professor of reading
Ph.D. curriculum and instruction, Arizona State University: M.A. language and literacy, UC Berkeley; B.A. English, UC Irvine
Research interests: literacy development, literacy pedagogy and self study in teacher education
Fun fact: moved back to California after being away almost 20 years
Hobbies: reading children’s literature
Favorite book: “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick
Maria G. Matza
Assistant professor of nursing
Ph.D. candidate nursing, University of San Diego, Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences, expected in December; MSN, Azusa Pacific University; BSN, Pacific Union College; clinical nurse specialist in parent-child nursing and school health services credential, Loma Linda University
Research Interests: community and school health nursing practice, interventions and policy; and cultural and family issues that influence health and educational outcomes in school-age and adolescent students
Language spoken other than English: Spanish
Hobbies: inventing recipes, interior design
Favorite Book: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot
Fun Fact: exercises at boot camp
Dave Mickey
Assistant professor of theatre and dance
M.F.A. sound design, CalArts; B.A. theatre design, Cal Poly Pomona
Research interests: interactive, video, and sound design in the arts
Hobbies: programming for iOS devices and make/hack objects
Fun fact: "I mixed sound once for President Bill Clinton in 2000."
Sinjini Mitra
Assistant professor of information systems and decision sciences
Ph.D. statistics, Carnegie Mellon University; Master in statistics, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta; B.S. statistics, Presidency College, Calcutta
Research interests: statistical modeling, data analysis, inference methods, pattern recognition and data mining, time series analysis, education and social science research
Jang Ho “Jay” Moon
Assistant professor of communications
Ph.D. candidate advertising, expected in May, University of Texas, Austin; M.A. strategic public relations, USC; B.A. law, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
Research interests: marketing communication via social media; new media effects with a focus on HD and 3D technology; advertising in multiuser virtual environments; consumer-brand relationships
Language spoken other than English: Korean
Fun fact: professional musician
Chean Chin Ngo (hired in Spring 2011)
Assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. mechanical engineering, University of Oklahoma
Research interests: transport phenomena in porous media, heat and mass transfer enhancement using electric field, computer simulation and multimedia technology in engineering education and K-12 STEM education
Languages spoken other than English: Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay
Angela-MinhTu D. Nguyen
Assistant professor of psychology
Ph.D. psychology, UC Riverside
M.A. psychology, Cal State Long Beach
B.A. psychology, University of San Diego
Research interests: interacting cultures (acculturation, biculturalism/multiculturalism) and intersecting identities (intersectionality, multiple identities)
Language spoken other than English: Vietnamese
Hobby: yoga
Thanh Nguyen
Associate professor of finance
Ph.D. finance, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
MBA international management, Thunderbird
B.S low-temperature engineering and cryogenics, Moscow State Academy of Applied Biotechnology
Research interests: corporate finance, executive compensation investment and market microstructure
Languages spoken other than English: Vietnamese and Russian
Kevin E. Nichols
Assistant professor of mathematics
Ph.D. and M.A. statistics, UCLA; B.A. applied mathematics, UC Berkeley
Research interests: spatial statistics with an emphasis on application to
earthquake and wildfire data
Fun fact: co-authored a poker book with my younger brother (not published)
Hobbies: wake boarding, mountain biking and basketball
Favorite book: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling
Brian M. Norton
Assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics
Ph.D. comparative literature, New York University; M.A. liberal studies, New School for Social Research; B.A. writing, literature and the arts, New School for Social Research, Eugene Lang College
Research interests: 18th-century English and comparative literature, the novel, the Enlightenment, literature and ethics and the essay
David M. Obstfeld
Associate professor of management
Ph.D. organizational behavior and human resource management, University of Michigan; A.B. political science, University of Chicago
Research interests: organizational innovation and knowledge processes, entrepreneurship, social networks and brokerage, firm adaptation and competitiveness
Natalie Operstein
Assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics
Ph.D. Indo-European studies, UCLA; M.A. Spanish, University of British Columbia
Research interests: phonology, historical and comparative linguistics, language contact, language documentation
Kathleen S. J. Preston
Assistant professor of psychology
Ph.D. and M.A. psychology, UCLA; M.A. psychology, B.A. psychology and music, Cal State Fullerton
Research interests: quantitative methodology, psychometrics, measurement, item response theory and structural equation modeling
Mark S. Ramont
Associate professor of theatre and dance
M.F.A. drama/directing, University of Texas, Austin; B.A. theatre arts, Cal State Fullerton
Hobby: photography
Fun Fact: Joe Arnold, now dean of the College of the Arts, directed him in his first student production
Patricia E. Schneider-Zioga
Assistant professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics
Ph.D. and M.A. linguistics, USC; B.A. linguistics, University of Minnesota
Research interests: dyslexia; phonological aspects of dyslexia; comparative linguistics; and biolinguistics, the evolution of language in humans
Language spoken other than English: German and modern Greek
Samuel B. Stone
Assistant professor of political science
Ph.D. public affairs, Indiana University; M.P.A., University of North Texas; B.A. government, Skidmore College
Research interests: public finance of state and local government
I-Ling “Sophia” Wang
Assistant professor of accounting
Ph.D. accountacy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MBA and B.B.A. accounting, National Taiwan University
Research interests: voluntary disclosures, capital markets research, accounting choice and economic consequences, intangible assets, corporate governance
Yingdi Wang
Associate professor of finance
Ph.D. finance, Ohio State University at Columbus; M.S. economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; B.S. finance and economics in business, Ohio State University at Columbus
Research interests: private equity, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions
Language spoken other than English: Chinese
Hobbies: figure skating and cooking
Fun facts: classically trained in dance and piano
Also hired this year
Stephen P. D’Arcy
Robitaille Chair in Risk and Insurance
Ph.D. finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; B.A., applied mathematics, Harvard University
Research interests: enterprise risk management, financial modeling, dynamic financial analysis, financial pricing models for property-liability insurers, catastrophic insurance futures, public pension funding and insurance regulation
