2015-2016 SIF Program
Leadership
- Brennan Collins – Center for Instructional Effectiveness
- Joe Hurley – CURVE
- Justin Lonsbury – Center for Instructional Innovation
Funded by Student Tech Fee, the Student Innovation Fellowship Program is a collaborative effort among the Center for Instructional Innovation (CII), CURVE, the Center for Instructional Effectiveness (CIE), and Georgia State faculty. Students in the program develop expertise and share ideas around emerging technologies and instructional innovations, with particular attention to enhancing learning and research at Georgia State through the innovative use of technology.
Student Innovation Fellows (SIFs)
- Andrew Berens: Andrew is currently working on his Master’s degree in Geosciences at Georgia State. He recieved his Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Arizona State in 2013. His main interests are GIS and digital mapping. To this end he volunteered for the Scottsdale Police Department’s Crime Analysis Unit, where he did crime mapping and police database management. Andrew is also coordinating a large volunteer research project collecting gamma emission data from soils in DeKalb County for his thesis. In addition to his work with the SIF program, Andrew is also the current president of the geographic honors society, Gamma Theta Upsilon, at Georgia State.
- Thomas Breideband: Thomas is a dual degree PhD student in the Department of English at Georgia State and the American Studies Department at Mainz University, Germany. His research interests lie at the intersection of New Media Studies, Rhetoric, and Social Capital Theory. When he is not working –which rarely happens–he plays and records a variety of music with his beloved Fender American Telecaster.
- Ryan D. Cagle: Ryan brings over 4 years of graphic design and small business marketing experience to the SIF team. Though his roots are firmly planted in the down and dirty DIY aspect of live music event promotion Ryan now has his sights set much higher, on applying high-tech marketing tactics to key issues facing urban cities. The owner and founder of Streets of Atlanta Promotions, small business marketing services and streets blog, Ryan is also the Transportation and Sustainability Outreach Coordinator at Central Atlanta Progress and is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in Marketing with a Minor in Planning and Economic Development. In his free time he can be found doing homework, creating awesome marketing strategies for awesome clients or digging for funk records.
- Venkatesh Chintapandu: Venkatesh is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Computer Science at GSU. He has a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Vasavi College of Engineering, in Hyderabad, India. He has four years of work experience in the software development industry. He has worked with Infosys Ltd for one and half years and Oracle Corporation for two and half years. He was part of Fusion Applications Development team in Oracle. His areas of interest are data mining and big data.
- Monica K. Cook: Monica is a Ph.D. student in Physics at Georgia State University, researching condensed matter physics. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Georgia. She is interested in the implementation of active learning strategies in physics classrooms and the use of technology to enhance classroom instruction.
- Ness Creighton: Ness is a multi-degree GSU alumna and Atlanta native. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of History, where she works on the history of the early modern silk trade, using material culture methodologies, history of technology, and statistical and economic data analysis in her research. She wrote the electronic teaching aids for both national editions of Rainbolt and Dwyer’s Critical Thinking: The Art of Argument. As well, she has been a web designer, human database front-end, co-host of several popular podcasts, video game QA tester, electronics enthusiast, and generally poked the universe with a stick too much for her own good.
- Nagi Gatla: Nagi has a Bachelor’s degree from SASTRA University-Tanjore, India with Information Technology as major. He is currently pursuing Masters in Computer Science at GSU. He has worked for TCS as a Data Analyst for about 3 years. He aspires to become a Data Scientist.
- Siva Charan Kondeti: Siva is currently pursuing my Master’s in Computer Science at GSU and has a Bachelor’s of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from SASTRA University, Tanjore, India. He has worked for Tata Consultancy Services for a little over 33 months. He also worked as a SAP MM Consultant and QA Tester for an Australian Client named Woolworths at TCS.
- Rushitha Mettu: Rushitha has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from India. She worked as an intern at dotcom soul private limited company on web development and then decided to pursue her Master’s in Computer Science at GSU. Apart from her technical background, she is an adventurous person, loves trekking, camping and hiking.
- Ameer Muhammad: Ameer is a documentary filmmaker whose work has been nominated for several global awards. He specializes in both domestic and international documentaries. “Hibana,” his first feature film, was released in 2012. Ameer has two BA degrees, in Film & Video and in Psychology. He is now seeking an MA in Non-Profit through the Religious Studies Department at GSU. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.
- Valerie Robin: Valerie is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Composition, working on her dissertation which focuses on labor and time use in information and knowledge work. She has a background in visual studies and even sometimes makes visual artwork. She enjoys running, cooking, and pleasant people.
- Dylan Ruediger: Dylan is a Ph.D. candidate in the history department at Georgia State, writing a dissertation exploring tributary relations between Algonquian Indians and English colonists in the seventeenth and eighteenth century Chesapeake. As an intellectual and cultural historian, he is deeply interested in early modern manuscript and print culture, and the circulation of knowledge within societies. Of late, he has become engaged with a number of digital humanities projects designed to make early modern archival materials, including both print and manuscript items, legible in the digital age. His has held fellowships at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Rare Books and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois.
- Nathan Sharratt: Nathan is working toward an M.F.A. degree in sculpture, and received a B.F.A. from Savannah College of Art & Design, also in sculpture (it has the most dimensions). Before turning to fine art, Nathan worked in the art departments of several technology magazines, and uses his multi-disciplinary experience to help lower the barriers to tech adoption and enhance user experience (and occasionally make things look pretty). His artwork is highly innovative and explores new technologies (like 3D printing) and materials as a way to talk about stuff that matters in the world. He was selected for the prestigious Studio Artist Program at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, is collected by and has exhibited at the High Museum of Art, and is represented by Baang + Burne Contemporary in New York City.
- Megan Smith: is a graduate student at Georgia State University getting her Masters in Computer Science. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from Georgia State University and was an intern at Travelport as a SharePoint developer. Megan’s special interests include database management, web development and working with her Arduino. She is also a volunteer instructor for the Girls Who Code club at GSU. When Megan is not working, she enjoys biking and playing with her cats.
- Ramsundar Sundarkumar: Ram has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. He has worked for Microsoft for a little over a year and was part of the team to build the UNO Rush game for XBOX. Ram is currently working on a masters in Computer Science at GSU.
- Priyanka Tayi: Priyanka is a current graduate student of computer sciences at GSU. Hailing from India, she has an undergraduate degree in computer sciences and has also worked as a Systems Engineer with Tata Consultancy Services, India, for two years. She then decided to expand her horizons and pursue further studies in the US. Apart from systems engineering, graphics, and information systems, she loves adventure and travel and plans to tour the world one day.
- Sruthi Vuppala: Sruthi is pursuing her Master’s in Computer Science at GSU. She developed a website for Management Information System department at Advanced Systems Laboratory. She worked as an intern at CMC Ltd., on Medical Image Fusion using OpenCL.
Honors Undergraduates
- Shakib Ahmed: Shakib is a junior at Georgia State University studying Computer Science. When he’s not at school, you’ll probably find him playing either basketball or with his cat. He’s not completely sure how he wants to spend the rest of his life, but he’s always open to try new things.
- Will DeLuca: Will is a Freshman at GSU majoring in economics. In his free time, Will loves collecting music, learning how to use photoshop, and playing the banjo. Will can’t wait to see whats ahead, and has a generally positive outlook on life.
- Sydney Mathis Adams: Sydney is a freshman undergraduate student who is majoring in Computer Science at GSU and is looking forward to working and learning about all new kinds of technologies and how they can be applied to better the lives of others. She loves to read, play video games, and to do volunteer work around her community.
- Wasfi Momen: Wasfi is a sophomore studying Computer Science at GSU dreaming about the different technologies he could invent instead of just reading and watching media about them. Due to his name, he is often called “Wi-fi” by his companions as well as 20 other nicknames. Yes, he has a list and is taking recommendations. He specializes in computer programming and knows Java, HTML, and CSS. He hopes to learn more while at GSU and continue searching for the answers that confound him so much in the world around him.
- Alexandra Orrego: Alexandra is a sophomore undergraduate student who is majoring in Computer Science at GSU looking to innovate technologies in order to better our lives! As a music fanatic, she loves attending concerts, playing guitar, singing, and writing songs. On the other side of the spectrum, she loves all sports and greatly enjoys the outdoors!
- Krisna Patel: Most describe Krisna as a bubbly, outgoing, fun-loving gal. She’s a British-born Indian studying marketing at GSU with dreams of traveling the world and helping build homes with charities such as Habitat for Humanity. She hopes to learn more of how technology is advancing and more ways of how it can help us on a daily basis, especially at GSU.
CII Instructional Designers and Multimedia Specialists
- Taylor Burch
- Will Kerr
- Mat Munson
2014-2015 SIF Program
Leadership
- Brennan Collins – Center for Instructional Effectiveness
- Joe Hurley – CURVE
- Justin Lonsbury – Center for Instructional Innovation
Student Innovation Fellows (SIFs)
- Amber Boll
- Thomas Breideband
- Robert Bryant
- Ryan D. Cagle
- Jon Ciliberto
- Siva Charan Kondeti
- Monique McGee
- Rushitha Mettu
- Ameer Muhammad
- Babacar Ndiaye
- Valerie Robin
- Dylan Ruediger
- Nicole Ryerson
- Nathan Sharratt
- Ramsundar Sundarkumar
- Andrew Vaughan
- Sruthi Vuppala
Honors Undergraduates
- Shakib Ahmed
- Wasfi Momen
- Alexandra Orrego
- Krisna Patel
- Anand Shah
CII Instructional Designers and Multimedia Specialists
- Heidi Beezley
- Will Kerr
- Mat Munson
- Zoe Salloom