Faculty and Graduate Students

Jingxi Liao is a PhD student at University of Central Florida. His major is mathematics with financial math track.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science at University of Connecticut and master’s degree in statistics at Columbia University. His research interest is in actuarial mathematics.

Matthew Kyle is a fourth-year student in the Mathematics PhD program. Although working with EXCEL for the first time, he has been a graduate teaching assistant in calculus and differential equations for years. His main research interests are graph theory, number theory, and bioinformatics.

Alexa achieved a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida in 2023 and is now in her first year of graduate school pursuing a M.S. in Mathematical Science on the Financial Mathematics track. During her undergraduate studies, she worked in the Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab as a learning assistant where her passion for helping…

Earned Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Minor in Computer Science at UCF, now First-year graduate student majoring in Mathematics.

Elijah Cadenhead obtained a B.S. in Mathematics at UF and M.S. at UCF. This will be his third year as a Ph.D. student and his first year in the EXCEL program. His research interests are deep learning and analysis. He was born and raised in Saint Augustine, Florida.

I got my Bachelor’s in Physics / Applied Mathematics (double major) in 2019 from Florida Institute of Technology, and I’m currently a PhD student in mathematics at UCF.

Xuyan earned her M.S in Financial Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. She is in the Mathematical Ph.D. program ( Financial Math Track) of UCF. Her research interest lies in  Stochastic Control and Mathematical Finance problems.

Killian had received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry from Nova Southeastern University in 2021. He is currently a first year Ph.D. student in the university’s Mathematics Department. While pursuant in the field of applied mathematics, he expresses interest and active training in physical sciences. His research interests lie…

Hanna Reed is an Instructor of Mathematics. After receiving her BS in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida, Hanna became a mathematics teacher for Volusia County. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida in 2021 and shortly thereafter became a Mathematics Instructor for Bethune-Cookman University, where she…

Dr. Sohn is an UCF Pegasus Professor and Lockheed Martin Professor of Engineering in Department of Materials Science and Engineering at University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL). He also serves as an Associate Director for Materials Characterization Facility, a FL-state user facility for academics and industry with over $20M in analytical instrumentation and 3 full-time…

Bill Self is an Associate Professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and also serves as the Associate Director of undergraduate education. Bill received his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with high honors from the University of Florida in 1993, followed by his Ph.D. in 1998 in which he studied the role of molybdenum…

Dr. Zaurin is a lecturer in the department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at UCF.  His research interests include Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of fixed and movable bridges, damage detection and identification, condition assessment, numerical simulations, and non-destructive evaluation of existing structures, design and implementation of smart structures, engineering education,  active learning, and high impact…

Dr. Qipeng Phil Zheng is an Associate Professor and the graduate coordinator in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, and the director or Applied Operations Research Lab at University of Central Florida. He is also the Editor-In-Chief of Energy Systems, a Spring Nature journal. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering…

I have a diverse research background that started with training in soil and ecosystem ecology. I spent many years researching the effects of earthworms on nutrient cycling in a variety of ecosystems. Earthworms provided an excellent model organism for examining the effects of animals on ecosystem processes.  I used this model to examine the effects…

Research Interests: Bioremediation – combining geochemical, biological, hydrogeological, and engineering solutions to soil, sediments, groundwater, and surface water remediation Aqueous biogeochemistry (freshwater and marine) Fate and transport of metals and organic/inorganic chemical species in aqueous and sediment environments Microbial ecology of aqueous and sediment environments My research interests center on the fate and transport of…

My research targets coupled biological and physical variables in river and estuarine systems. I am particularly interested in flow and sediment interaction and their influence to aquatic organisms at multiple scales. I study both natural hydrologic phenomena as well as waterways that are modified for human benefit; for instance by, dams, dredging, levies and hardened…

Dr. Kate Mansfield is a marine scientist and sea turtle biologist. Her research focuses on sea turtle biology, ecology, behavior, management, and conservation. Using various census and telemetry methods, Dr. Mansfield’s research interests include sea turtle and other marine vertebrate movements, migration, and habitat utilization. Dr. Mansfield’s recent projects include testing and deploying small-scale, solar-powered satellite…