Our Faculty.
Our Faculty
Sarah Abramowitz, Chair, Educational Statistics
John H. Evans Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and Chair of the Department
Email: sabramow@drew.edu
Office: HS 312
Phone: 973-408-3346
Sarah Abramowitz earned a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Cornell University, an M.S. degree in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from New York University. Dr. Abramowitz has been a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew University since 1998. She specializes in Educational Statistics. She is the co-author with Sharon Weinberg of “Statistics Using IBM SPSS: An Integrative Approach,” “Statistics Using Stata: An Integrative Approach,” “Statistics Using R: An Integrative Approach,” and serves as an Associate Editor and Social Media Editor of the Journal of Statistics Education.
Chris Apelian, Probability
Professor of Mathematics
Email: capelian@drew.edu
Office: HS 301
Phone: 973-408-3467
Website: http://capelian.wixsite.com/mysite
Chris Apelian earned his B.S. in mathematics and chemistry at Rutgers University in 1988. In 1993 he completed a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU, and joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew. He has published papers in applied mathematics, specifically applications of probability and stochastic processes in the modeling of turbulent transport, and he and a colleague (Dr. Surace) have written an undergraduate text on real and complex analysis. He is currently interested in agent-based modeling and the role of simulation in science. Other interests include oil painting, playing the drums, and annoying his coauthor.
Barry Burd, Computability Theory and Logic
Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: bburd@drew.edu
Office: HS 310
Phone: 973-408-3620
Barry Burd received an M.S. degree in Computer Science at Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Illinois. As a teaching assistant in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, he was elected five times to the university-wide List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students. He has lectured at conferences in America, Europe, Australia and Asia. He is the author of several articles and books, including Java For Dummies, Android Application Development All-in-One For Dummies. In his spare time, he enjoys being a workaholic.
(Andy) Siyuan Feng, Information Assurance
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: sfeng@drew.edu
Office: HS 309
Andy Siyuan Feng has earned multiple degrees from The George Washington University, including a Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2022, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, an M.S. in Computer Science, and a B.A. in Computer Science & Mathematics. Andy has experience in teaching various topics in Theories, Algorithms, and Cryptography. Dr. Feng’s general research area is in Information Assurance, including developing algorithms for communication and crypto/secure systems and beyond. Andy also has a broad interest in art and music.
Seth Harris, Logic
Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics
Email: sharris2@drew.edu
Office: HS 302
Phone: 973-408-3401
Webpage: https://users.drew.edu/sharris2/index.php
Seth Harris recently earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Dartmouth College. Before joining Drew in 2015, he taught courses at Dartmouth (where he also earned an M.A.), at Case Western Reserve University (where he earned a M.S. and a B.S.), and at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Dr. Harris’s research interests are in mathematical logic and computability theory, particularly the Reverse Mathematics program, in which we ask the question: “Which axioms are necessary to prove a given theorem?” Dr. Harris enjoys hiking on the Appalachian Trail, choral singing, and anything related to his home state of Vermont.
Prasad Kothapalli, Business Analytics and Databases
Adjunct Professor of Data Analytics
Email: pkothapalli@drew.edu
Prasad Kothapalli earned a M.S. in Applied Data Analytics from Boston University and a M.S. in Computer Science from University of Hyderabad, India. Prasad Specializes in Machine Learning, Digital Transformation, and Database Programming and worked on several projects in the industry for the last 30 years. In 2021, he joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew University as an adjunct faculty. He teaches DATA 602/DATA 220 Business Analytics in Python and DATA 552 SQL and Relational Databases.
Steve Kass, Dynamical Systems
Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: skass@drew.edu
Office: HS 311
Phone: 973-408-3614
Steve Kass attended Pomona College (B.A., Mathematics) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison (M.A. and Ph.D., Mathematics), and he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montreal and Los Alamos National Laboratory before coming to Drew in 1988. Dr. Kass’s recent publications and conference talks are in his research area of Dynamical Systems. Earlier publications include a book and several articles about Lie Algebras, as well as articles and book chapters on database programming, and he has served as a faculty reader for the Advanced Placement exam in Computer Science.
In pursuits outside of mathematics and computer science, Dr. Kass is the tenor section leader of New York City’s Dessoff Choirs, where he has sung since 1997, and he co-edited and co-authored a 1998 review of HIV-related opportunistic infections and their treatments. His interests include language, light bulbs, weather, and things that can be taken apart, such as cars. Dr. Kass is sometimes referred to within the department as “the other Steve.” He lives in Madison and can often be seen around campus walking his Dogo Argentino mix, Keeper.
Diane Liporace, Software Engineering
Assistant Teaching Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: dliporace@drew.edu
Diane Liporace earned a M.S. in Computer Science from Montclair State University, and received a B.S. in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from Mercy College. She is co-author of a research paper, Urban Legislation Assessment by Data Analytics with Smart City Characteristics. In 2017, she joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew University as an adjunct instructor.
Yi Lu, Curves and Images
Norma Gilbert Junior Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: ylu1@drew.edu
Office: HS 309
Phone: 973-408-3769
Yi Lu received a Ph.D. in Statistics from the Ohio State University in 2017. She has taught a few undergraduate classes at Ohio State and worked as a statistical consultant on various research projects with graduate students from other disciplines. She studied both History and Mathematics as an undergraduate (Mars Hill University, North Carolina) and enjoys using statistics in very diverse applications. Her current research interests include Bayesian methods, functional data, and curves and images. She recently moved to New Jersey and loves running in her spare time.
Ziyuan Meng, Cybersecurity
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Email: zmeng@drew.edu
Office: HS 337
Phone: 973-408-3373
Ziyuan Meng received Ph.D. in Computer Science at Florida International University. Before joining Drew in 2018, he taught at University of Central Missouri and Boston College. Dr. Meng’s research interests include information security, secure program analysis and digital humanity. During his free time, Dr. Meng enjoys traveling and collecting local legendary stories.
Alex Rudniy, Computer Science
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Email: arudniy@drew.edu
Office: HS 311
Alex Rudniy earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2012. Before joining Drew, he taught courses at University of Scranton and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He earned his M.S. and B.S. in Applied Mathematics at National University of Radio Electronics, Ukraine. Dr. Rudniy’s research interests are in artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, time series forecasting, cybersecurity and the amalgamation of the above. Dr. Rudniy enjoys spending time outdoors doing hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, or fishing.
Ellie Small, Data Science
Norma Gilbert Junior Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Email: esmall1@drew.edu
Office: HS 304
Phone: 973-408-3406
Website: elliesmall.org
Ellie Small received a BSc degree in Mathematics with Statistics and Computer Science from the University of London, Birkbeck College. She earned her PhD in Statistics from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in 2019, and joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew University that same year. Dr. Small has taught statistics and mathematics at Centenary University in Hackettstown for 6 years. She specializes in data science and has completed research papers in networks and text mining. In her spare time she enjoys any type of dance, and she goes ballroom dancing with her husband whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Steve Surace, Analysis
Professor of Mathematics, Associate Director NJ Governor’s School in the Sciences
Email: ssurace@drew.edu
Office: HS 300
Phone: 973-408-3726
Steve Surace earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from New York University’s Courant Institute. His mathematical interests include analysis, mathematical physics and cosmology. Dr. Surace is the Associate Director of the New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences. In his spare time he enjoys cars, ping-pong, and hanging out, most notably at Firehouse Pizza, John’s and Starbucks. Dr. Surace is sometimes referred to within the department as “the other Steve.”