New faces, new places
Strong research interests — along with a
passion to impact and engage students — distinguish two new College of
Information Science & Technology (IS&T) faculty members, as well as a
third taking on a new position this fall.
New to the faculty are Martina E. Greiner, who
received her Ph.D. in management information systems (MIS) from the University
of Georgia this summer, and Robin A. Gandhi, who received his Ph.D. in
information technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in
May. While both have served as teaching assistants, UNO will be their first
full-time teaching assignments.
Dr. William Mahoney, meanwhile, takes on the
title of assistant professor in information assurance at the college. He has
served as an adjunct computer science (CS) faculty member at UNO for 20 years
and as a research fellow since January 2005.
Martina E. Greiner
Greiner, a native of
Ludwigsburg, Germany, worked in the business community after receiving her
master's degree in business administration and economics in 2000 from the
University of Hohenheim in Germany. While studying for her doctorate at the
University of Georgia, she earned the campus-wide Outstanding Teaching
Assistant Award and the Outstanding Ph.D. Student Teacher Award.
The College of IS&T, she says, "was on my
radar as I applied for a research and teaching position. There are a number of
talented scholars here."
When she interviewed for the position of
assistant professor of MIS in February, "I had a look at both the college and
the city, and I sensed a very dynamic, open culture. There are many good research
projects going on at the college, and many projects that actively involve the
business community."
Her research interests include applying
organizational theories to information systems issues, e-commerce, digital
communities and trust-building mechanisms for consumer-to-consumer online
transaction platforms. Greiner says she hopes to use her research to expand
existing and create more university-business partnerships that she says are
unique to Omaha and the Peter Kiewit Institute.
"I look forward to being a part of that," she
says. "I think it's something really special here."
Off campus, Greiner enjoys dance and is
learning to speak Japanese. "I have always been interested in the Asian
culture. Learning the language has become a hobby of mine."
Robin A. Gandhi
Gandhi received his
master's degree in computer science from the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte in 2001. During his Ph.D. study, he received the 2007 Outstanding
Teaching Assistant Award for the College of Computing and Informatics at UNC
Charlotte.
He admits being apprehensive about
experiencing his first Nebraska winter, but says Omaha "has a very familiar
feel compared to Charlotte."
When he interviewed earlier this year at
IS&T, "I saw the college as a place full of opportunities. There is a lot
of research taking place, and it is an active, scholarly community.
"I particularly like the structure of the
college and PKI, and the opportunity within this structure for conducting
multidisciplinary research."
As an assistant professor of Information
Assurance, Gandhi says he is looking forward to working with Nebraska
University Consortium on Information Assurance (NUCIA) Director Blaine Burnham.
"I had heard of his reputation before I came here, and I think it will be
wonderful teaching with him and gaining from his experience."
His interests include reading and hiking, but
not necessarily cooking. "I lived the life of a graduate student for eight
years," he says, chuckling. "I learned the hard way!"
Gandhi says he hopes to develop research that
engages students and other faculty, and to design new courses particularly
relating to software assurance. "I think a synergetic relationship between
research and teaching is essential. I want to actively practice that philosophy
in my career."
He also hopes to apply research to the benefit
of UNO alumni within the business community. "I am very interested in working
with them on research projects or to design courses that cater to their needs
and industries," he says.
"I want to make sure people know they can call
upon me whenever they want or need to accomplish something along my interests
and within my capabilities."
William Mahoney
Information
assurance (IA) is an emerging, rapidly expanding science that addresses
problems in the fundamental understanding of the design, development,
implementation and life cycle support of secure information systems. Mahoney's
research interests focus on intrusion detection, specifically finding new
methods to detect when someone is trying to break into, or hack, a computer.
Rather than the common method of checking logs
documenting past computer operations to detect an intruder, Mahoney is
researching and developing ways to monitor computer applications as they
execute to determine immediately if anything out of the ordinary, such as an
intrusion attempt, is taking place. Although Mahoney has a CS background, "I
think a lot of IA problems really are CS problems, but nobody is really
addressing them yet."
He says he plans to tap into the "pool of
talented students" at IS&T and involve them in his research, which has the
potential to provide immediate benefits for business, academic and government
computer systems.
"The greatest emphasis in the past decade in
software development has been to make the Web page look nice, and make sure the
customer can place an order and track their shipment," he says. "One of the big
issues today is that they are still thinking about computer security after the
fact. They can't wait until they are done and say, 'Oh, by the way, we need to
add some security.'
"They should be thinking about the look and
the feel and knowing the data is correct and having the security in place from
the very beginning."
Innovative teacher earns
University's
Instructional Creativity Award
Donna Dufner says she can't take all the
credit. Dufner, an associate professor in the Department of Information Systems
and Quantitative Analysis at the College of Information Science &
Technology, was one of only two faculty members in the University of Nebraska
system to receive the University of Nebraska's Outstanding Teaching and
Instructional Creativity Award for 2008.
"I believe the students make the teacher," she says. "I think
teaching them is an honor and a blessing. I walk into the classroom and feel
grateful to be there. I'm proud of my students, and if anything, they deserve
the award as much as I do."
Dufner is widely recognized for integrating
community engagement through service-learning into valuable educational
experiences.
"This award is a major accomplishment and a
tremendous recognition for Dr. Dufner and the college," says IS&T Dean
Hesham Ali.
Dufner is a veteran of the corporate world,
having worked 15 years in the information technology industry for AT&T,
Chemical Bank Corp., ARDIS (a joint venture of IBM and Motorola), Bell Atlantic
Nynex, the City of Omaha, and Douglas County, Neb.
A native of Greensburg, Pa., she holds an MS
in computer and information science from the New Jersey Institute of
Technology, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate in computer
and information science management from Rutgers.
Before joining UNO in 2000, Dufner taught for
three years at the University of Illinois, where she was named a University
Scholar, the highest honor given by the university for excellence in teaching
and research.
She is a certified Project Management
Professional, and in 2007 was elevated to Senior Member in the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for professional maturity and
significant professional accomplishment — becoming the first woman in Omaha to
be so named.
She also is a recipient of the UNO Alumni
Outstanding Teaching Award and the UNO Chancellor's Excellence in Teaching
Award.
Dufner created a course that brought UNO
students together with small business entrepreneurs in south Omaha to improve
information management and marketing skills. She also developed a course where
students teach basic computer literacy skills to inmates at the Douglas County
Department of Corrections.
Dufner inspires her students to become better
scholars and more responsible citizens, Ali says. "We all know the commitment
Donna has for her students and the innovation she brought to her
service-learning classes, and it is fulfilling to see that her accomplishments
are recognized in such a grand fashion at the university level."
Pictured: Donna Dufner with NU
President James B. Milliken
Discussing
the design for the Public Health Data Information Portal are, from left: Greg
Hoff, IS&T STATPack software engineer; Dr. Ann Fruhling; Michael
Shambaugh-Miller, College of Public Health assistant professor and medical
geographer; and Dhundy Kiran Bastola, IS&T assistant professor,
bioinformatics.
Collaborating for public health
A collaborative effort to create a Center for
Public Health Informatics led by Ann Fruhling, Ph.D., associate professor of
information systems at the College of Information Science & Technology,
could result in improved response to public health issues, increased research
synergy, a link to centralized data and the development of a unique, innovative
curriculum.
A grant from the University of Nebraska
Foundation for $136,000 will enable those involved in the project to take the
first steps toward establishing the center.
"We'll begin with a needs assessment to
examine where we are and coordinate our efforts going forward," says Fruhling.
"We'd also like to schedule a summit meeting later this year to bring together
officials from Nebraska Health and Human Services, researchers, health agency
representatives and health practitioners."
Laying the groundwork
These
interdisciplinary activities will help lay the groundwork for integrating
existing and emerging health-related databases into an easily accessible
resource for teaching, research, service, decision-making and policy
development.
The project involves representatives of UNO's
College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T), the College of
Public Affairs and Community Service, the College of Arts & Sciences, the
UNO Center for Public Affairs Research, the University of Nebraska Medical
Center's College of Public Health and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory.
Goals for the Center for Public Health
Informatics (CPHI) include creating a Nebraska-focused Public Health Data
Information Portal; conducting an information analysis and data availability
assessment; providing access to a "think tank" of medical professionals,
researchers, faculty and experts; and the pursuit of additional national
research grants.
Access needed
Fruhling says one of
the most pressing needs in public health is the ability to access, aggregate,
analyze, translate and disseminate public health information. Access to this
information is especially critical when responding to disasters or other
emergency events.
By addressing this need, she says, the CPHI
could:
• Improve public health by helping identify
public health issues more clearly and quickly, resulting in an improved
response during emergencies and an increased awareness of important public
health issues.
• Increase public health research synergy by
tapping into the many National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science
Foundation (NSF) programs aimed at developing and maintaining complex data
collection, processing and analysis repositories.
• Enhance the linkage between public policy
and academic research by providing a centralized means to promote involvement
in public health issues and making data and research available for
community-based health organizations, health professionals and others.
• Foster the development of a unique and
innovative curriculum by offering study and research opportunities for public
health informatics students, giving them access to material managed by the
proposed CPHI that had not previously been readily available.
Discipline collaboration
Shireen Rajaram,
Ph.D., professor of sociology at UNO, is a medical sociologist and part of the
team working to establish the CPHI.
"I believe the center will help create
collaborative research opportunities, drawing on expertise from many different
academic disciplines," she says. "Ultimately, this will improve the public
health for everyone in the state."
The center complements the work Fruhling, her
students and other IS&T faculty are doing with UNMC and the Nebraska Public
Health Laboratory (NPHL) to develop and deploy the Secure Telecommunications
Application Terminal Package (STATPack), a computerized emergency response
system for public health laboratories.
Three-state presence
STATPack systems
have been deployed throughout Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Fruhling says the new CPHI, like the STATPack
system, exemplifies the mission of the College of IS&T to provide
innovative technology solutions, knowledge and community service to all of
Nebraska and beyond.
"Public health informatics is a growing field
that is rich with research opportunities but without a centralized,
coordinating effort," she says. "We believe the Center for Public Health
Informatics will remedy that, as well as be a valuable resource for public
health practitioners and policymakers across the state."
UNO colleges
receive $2.4 million
in funding for BattleSpace project
A project proposed and requested by three UNO
colleges received a $2.4 million earmark last year, secured by Senator Ben
Nelson in the Defense Appropriations bill. This year, Nelson is supporting the
final $1.6 million earmark request to complete the project's development.
The earmark will launch the first phase of the BattleSpace project
for researchers at the Institute for Collaboration Science (ICS) at UNO, which
is lead by Robert O. Briggs. The project seeks to create a new class of
software that could reduce military decision cycles by 50 percent or more at
the operational level.
The Institute for Collaboration Science was
formed in 2006 with a founding donation from Steve Wild of Omaha.
A 2006 survey of USSTRATCOM's Future
Capabilities Office performed by UNO - funded by $250,000 from STRATCOM -
identified several priority tasks BattleSpace will address, including
development of courses of action, deliberative planning and information
integration for network defense.
Proposed by researchers from the College of
Information Science & Technology (IS&T), the College of Business
Administration and the College of Arts and Sciences, the project will allow
military leaders to make quick and effective decisions for mission-critical
collaborative tasks such as course-of-action development and operational
planning.
Collaboration was key to developing the
project, says G.J. de Vreede, director of the Institute and the project's
co-investigator from IS&T. "We are excited about the possibilities of
the BattleSpace project and are grateful to Senator Nelson for his efforts at
making BattleSpace a reality," he says.
Nelson said he pushed for the earmark in order
to further the potential of high profile projects such as BattleSpace in
Nebraska.
"There is no reason for projects like
this to go to Silicon Valley or other large urban areas when they can be done
right here in Nebraska, which has a growing reputation as the 'Silicon Prairie'
because of the number of high tech projects being conducted here," Nelson says.
Pictured: Nebraska Senator Ben
Nelson was on campus in August to announce the launch of the BattleSpace
project and joined UNO researchers in demonstrating how the software works.
With Nelson, center, are G.J. de Vreede, left, and Cheryl Wild.
