UMBC Online Master’s in Information Systems

Michael Brown, Ph.D.
michaelb@umbc.edu

Professor of Practice – Online IS

Dr. Brown is an internationally published researcher in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Software Engineering. He has applied advanced AI methods to solve problems in biology, finance, software testing, military purposes and others. He has assisted more than 20 students in conducting and publishing research. He has published over 30 research papers. In 2019 he was awarded a Fulbright grant to do research abroad at General Tadeusz Kosciuszko Land Forces Military University in Wroclaw Poland.

C. Augusto Casas, Ph.D.
acasas@umbc.edu

Senior Lecturer

Dr. Casas is a senior lecturer in the online MS program. He brings over 20 years of experience developing and teaching online courses for higher education institutions. His current focus is on teaching cybersecurity, where he applies active learning techniques to help students achieve their learning goals. Before becoming a professor, Dr. Casas spent 15 years working in the industry, developing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for some of the world’s largest oil and utility companies across the Americas, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He brings this rich industry experience into the classroom, blending theory with real-world applications. Dr. Casas holds several cybersecurity certifications, is a Fulbright grant recipient, and earned his PhD from Nova Southeastern University and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Zhiyuan Chen, Ph.D.
zhchen@umbc.edu

Professor and Chair, Department of Information Systems

My research covers following areas: Privacy preserving data mining and data management. I am interested in algorithms for preserving privacy of data and at the same time allows accurate analysis of the data. Data Exploration and Navigation. Database users often find it difficult to find useful information from databases. Their queries often return too many irrelevant answers. I am interested in using data mining, navigation, and information retrieval techniques to help user narrow down their scope of search and quickly locate relevant answers. Semantic-based Search and Data Integration Using Semantic Networks. My research develops a technique that uses semantic network to capture relationships between data objects and helps users find related information. The semantic network can also be used in data integration to find relevant data sets to integrate.

James Foulds, Ph.D.
jfoulds@umbc.edu

Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director

Dr. James Foulds (Jimmy) is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director of the Online MS program for the Department of Information Systems at UMBC. His research aims to improve the role of artificial intelligence in society regarding fairness and privacy, and to promote the practice of computational social science. Supporting this work, he earned the NSF CAREER Award (2021). He earned his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of California, Irvine, and he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Santa Cruz, followed by the University of California, San Diego. His master’s and bachelor’s degrees were earned with first-class honours at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, where he also contributed to the Weka data mining system. He is currently writing the upcoming 5th edition of the popular Witten et al. Data Mining textbook.

Aryya Gangopadhyay, Ph.D.
gangopad@umbc.edu

Professor

Aryya Gangopadhyay is a professor and the chair of UMBC’s Information Systems Department. He has been a faculty member at UMBC since 1997. His recent courses include Computational Methods in Information Systems Research, Introduction to Data Mining, and Database Management Systems.

Dr. Gangopadhyay’s research interests are in the areas of databases and data mining. Currently, he is focused on privacy preserving data mining, spatio-temporal data mining, and data mining for health informatics. His research has been funded by grants from NSF, NIST, US Department of Education, Maryland Department of Transportation, and other agencies. Dr. Gangopadhyay has published five books and nearly 100 research articles. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from Rutgers University.

Vandana Janeja, Ph.D.
vjaneja@umbc.edu

Professor & Chair

My area of interest is Data mining specifically anomaly detection and spatio-temporal data mining. Overall, my work has focused on advancing theoretical research motivated by practical applications. As a result, I have had the opportunity to participate in the various aspects of high impact and national interest projects with various government agencies and private organizations. My research has always resulted in strong proof of concepts in real world applications with underlying strong theoretical foundations. Most of this work has been possible due to the diligent work of my students. Some of my current students and their ongoing research projects are highlighted in the following. View the publications list for more details.

George Karabatis, Ph.D.
georgek@umbc.edu

Professor & Liaison for Programmatic Innovations

George Karabatis is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He holds degrees in Computer Science (Ph.D. and M.S.) and Mathematics (B.S.). His research interests are on various aspects of database systems, including semantic information integration, and applications for mobile handheld devices. Before joining UMBC he was a Research Scientist at Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bellcore) working on database related research for the telecom industry. His research work has been published in journals (such as Journal of Database Management, Decision Support Systems, Information Systems Frontier, Distributed and Parallel Databases, IEEE Computer), conference proceedings and book chapters.

Anita Komlodi, Ph.D.
komlodi@umbc.edu

Associate Professor

Dr. Komlodi’s research interests fall in the area of Human-Centered Computing. The first area of concentration is at the intersection of Human-Centered Computing and Information Retrieval/Information Behavior and focuses on the study of Human Information Behavior and the design of user interfaces for information systems. Dr. Komlodi is also interested in the needs of diverse user groups go technology: age, gender, and cultural differences in technology interactions. Dr. Komlodi’s teaching reflects these interests in courses on Human-Centered Computing, Web Design, and User Interfaces for Information Retrieval and Visualization.

Ant Ozok, Ph.D.
ozok@umbc.edu

Associate Professor

My areas of research interest include usability testing, user preferences and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) applications in the domains of World-Wide-Web, mobile computing, electronic and mobile commerce, online communities, and health care. My recent publications appeared in Behaviour and Information Technology, International Journal of Human Computer Interaction, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, and the Human Computer Interaction Handbook Second Edition. I am currently on the Editorial Board of International Journal of Human Computer Interaction, and Associate Editor of International Journal of Electronic Financeand Electronic Government: An International Journal. My recently funded research is focused on the topics including technology perceptions among middle school students with a gender emphasis supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and investigation of technology-supported medication adherence among the elderly population supported by Erickson Retirement Communities, among others.