The School of Applied Computational Sciences opened the Fall 2024 semester with five new faculty members and a new department chair.
“Our new faculty bring valuable leadership skills, broaden our research applications in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and add a global perspective to the school,” says Dean Fortune S. Mhlanga, School of Applied Computational Sciences. “I look forward to watching them enrich both our research efforts and the student learning experience.”
Sajid Hussain, Ph.D., is chair and professor, computer science and data science. He was most recently associate provost of research at Fisk University, where he increased grant funding by more than 250 percent, reaching $10 million in 2023. His research interests focus on applying machine learning techniques to interdisciplinary projects in cybersecurity, health care and social justice.
Pushpita Chatterjee, Ph.D., is assistant professor, computer science and data science. She has gained postdoctoral experience at Howard University, Tennessee State University, and Old Dominion University. She is dedicated to advancing research in secure, trusted, and resilient distributed computing through cutting-edge and intelligent technologies for cyber-physical systems, with a focus on fintech and smart health care.
Lei Qian, Ph.D., is associate professor, computer science and data science. He pursues research on machine learning and its application in bioinformatics and other areas. He previously was an associate professor and the discipline coordinator of computer science at Fisk University.
Graham West, Ph.D., is assistant professor, computer science and data science with a research focus on applying machine learning methods in the digital humanities. He was most recently a lecturer at Middle Tennessee State University.
Judith Leo, Ph.D., joins Meharry SACS biomedical data science department as a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. She will spend the 2024 – 2025 academic year teaching data science courses and collaborating with Meharry faculty. Her appointment is made possible through an award from The Fulbright Program.
