Affiliated Faculty and Staff

Since our establishment in 1981, we have had the opportunity to work with a large collection of Ball State faculty and staff on various energy and resource-related endeavors.  

Our current CERES affiliated faculty and staff include:

Sherif Attallah
Assistant Professor of Construction Management
Purdue University, PhD
Heriot Watt University, MBA
The American University in Cairo, BSc
Previous research includes environmental life cycle analysis, evaluation of building performance, and agent-based modeling for decision making related to sustainable development in construction markets. Has taught sustainability in construction projects, renewable energy systems, building diagnostics, and life cycle analysis to undergraduates and graduates. Interested in developing efficient construction materials for energy conservation and evaluation of building performance.

Adam Berland
Associate Professor of Geography
University of Minnesota, MA, PhD
University of St. Thomas, BA
Adam Berland arrived at Ball State in 2015 as an assistant professor
Previous research includes urban forestry, GIS analysis and modeling, and the dynamics of human-environment systems. Teaches courses in geographic information systems (GIS) and urban geography.
Was a postdoctoral research associate at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Joseph Blalock
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
Director, Master of Urban Design
Pratt Institute, MUD
State University New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, BLA
Teaching interests include studios in urban design, community, and housing; landscape architecture engineering; and design communication media. Research interests include urban public open spaces and complete streets/low-energy transit including walkability, cycling, and public transportation.
Member American Society of Landscape Architecture, Hoosier Salon Annual Show, Design Communication Association Annual Show, CERES Fellow

Michael Burayidi
Professor of Urban Planning
University of Louisville, PhD
Research interests include downtown redevelopment and planning with multiple publics. He has Author and editor of eight books in this area. Serves as a site visitor for the Planning Accreditation to review planning schools seeking the accreditation and re-accreditation. Serves as a reviewer of books and journal articles.

Anthony Cancio
Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
University of Illinois, PhD, MA
Columbia University, BA
Teaching and research interests include nanophysics, Condensed Matter Theory, optical properties of semiconductors and nanostructures, computer modeling of electronic structures, and Density Functional Theory.
CERES Fellow

Tom Collins
Assistant Professor of Architecture
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, B.Arch, BS
Teaching areas include environmental systems and architectural design courses. Research focuses on the nexus of energy, building performance, and human behavior, with a particular focus on sustainability at higher education institutions and post-occupancy evaluation. Current research includes an indoor environmental quality study in BSU Interactive Learning Classrooms.

David Concepcion
Professor of Philosophy
Chairperson of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD
Bates College, BA
Research interests include ethics, especially responsibility and blame, teaching and learning; environmental philosophy; and feminism. Teaching interests include immersive learning, feminist ethics, and environmental ethics.
Past-President of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers. Lenssen Prize for Research in Philosophy regarding Teaching; the American Philosophical Association Prize for Excellence and Innovation; BSU Outstanding Diversity Advocate; BSU Outstanding Teaching Award.

Lohren Deeg
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning
Ball State University, MArch, BArch, BS
Teaching interests include design studios and visual communication. Research interests include planning and design for the elderly, educational technology for planning, historically-appropriate infill, urban housing, greenways, public participation methods, environmental graphics, and way-finding systems.
Member American Society of Architectural Illustrators, American Planning Association-Indiana Chapter, Educause, Design Communication Association

Olon Dotson
Associate Professor of Architecture
Purdue University, PhD
Columbia University, MS
Ball State University, BArch, BS
Tuskegee Institute, BA
Primary research interest and focus has been in the resurgence of severely distressed inner-city communities; including the institutional abandonment and massive disinvestment of America’s inner-cities. He aims to enhance students’ sense of empathy for the citizens who choose or are forced to remain in these environments, and to develop formal inquiry which will develop further understanding of inner cities as a design professional and scholar. Olon has dedicated his life and career to improving the conditions of inner-cities by effectively developing, exploring, and communicating Fourth World Theory to a wider audience through lectures and publications.

Carolyn Dowling
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences
University of Rochester, PhD, MS
University of Virginia, BA
Research interests include hydrology, hydrogeology, alternative energy, environmental and low-temperature geochemistry, water-rock interactions, and trace metals in streams and groundwater systems. Current research examines ground-source geothermal systems, and water and sediment geochemistry in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys.
Chair Geothermal Nexus research group, official collaborator MCM-LTER (Antarctic McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research) program

David Ferguson
Dean, R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning
Professor of Landscape Architecture
University of Illinois, MLArch  
Ball State University, BLArch., BS
Current research includes integration of sustainability and digital technology to design cities and landscapes of the future. Additional research includes sustainable landscape design focusing on sustainable agricultural practices and markets, and on native landscapes. Teaching interests include sustainable construction and materials, Urban Design, Cities of the Future, and sustainable landscape architecture design.
As former Director of BSU’s Center for Media Design, oversaw applied research projects in digital technology that engaged on-campus and off-campus partners.
CERES Fellow

Janet Fick, LEED-AP
Instructor of Technology
Ball State University, MA, BArch
Miami University: BEnvD
Registered Architect in Indiana and Wisconsin and Academic Advisor for the Department of Construction Management. Teaching interests include sustainability in the built environment, sustainable construction, sustainability curriculum and materials design, LEED certification, and rehabilitating houses.
Provost’s Immersive Learning Award; COTE Exemplar Award; COTE Green Initiative Award; Habitat for Humanity Green Team 

James Flowers
Professor of Technology and Director of Online Education
West Virginia University, PhD, MA
State University of New York-Buffalo, BSEd, BA
Teaching interests include student technology assessment to identify impacts of proposed technological decisions on the environment, rapid prototyping technologies, student design/prototyping of products promoting environmental sustainability, upcycling post-consumer materials into higher-end products, and recycling post-consumer plastic into 3-D printer filament.

E. Gene Frankland
Professor of Political Science
University of Iowa, PhD, MA
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, BA
Teaching interests include comparative politics (especially European politics) and U.S. environmental law and policy, research interests focus on green movements and political parties.
Director European Studies Program, Undergraduate Advisor, Visiting Fellow, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University

Carol Friesen
Associate Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences
Michigan State University, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Stout, MS
College of St. Catherine Major, BA
Research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating sustainable community/public health nutrition programs to optimize health and reduce obesity; helping individuals and families prepare and serve healthy, low cost meals; and improving nutrition education in schools, homes, and workplaces. Teaching interests include nutrition, community nutrition, and research methods.

Jessique Ghezzi
Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
University of Kentucky, PhD
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, MS, BS
Teaching and research interests include soil management, sustainable agriculture, soil mineralogy, and outdoor sciences pedagogy. Faculty advisor for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) chapter
Kentucky Colonel; 2014 MANRRS Alessandra Wayne Memorial 110% Award (University of Kentucky); Member Soil Science Society of America, Geological Society of America

Michelle Glowacki-Dudka
Associate Professor of Adult Higher and Community Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD
Northern Illinois University, MSEd
Teaching and research interests include adult education, teaching strategies, learning communities, community development, popular education, social capital, international issues in adult education, social justice, sustainability, and transformative learning.
Member AAACE

Vamsi Gondi
Assistant Professor of Computer Technology
University of Every Val d'Essonne, France, PhD
Telecom SUDParis, France, MA
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India, BS
Research interests include heterogeneous wireless and mobile networking, cyber physical systems, and cyber security, particularly remote monitoring infrastructures and projects including Intelligent River, Precision Agriculture, Eco-restoration, Smart Transportation, and Intelligent Forests.

Timothy Gray, AIA, LEED AP
Associate Professor of Architecture
University of California-Berkeley, MArch
Ball State University, BArch, BS
Teaching and research interests include sustainable design and technologies, design/build studios, urban agriculture.
Board of Directors USGBC--Indiana chapter
Phoenix Award, EPA; Design Excellence Award, AIA—Indiana Chapter; Merit Award for Design Excellence, AIA—Indianapolis Chapter; NCARB Prize

Amy Gregg
Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Purdue University, PhD
Ohio State University, MS
Ursinus College, BS
Teaching interests include outdoor recreation topics, environmental interpretation, wilderness, and statistics and research methods. Research interests include alternative transportation and sustainability, public use of parks and public lands, visitor education and curriculum development, and green design of parks amenities.
Member Indiana Park and Recreation Association, National Association for Interpretation-Region 4 Great Lakes, CERES Fellow

Walter Grondzik, PE, LEED-AP
Professor of Architecture
Washington University, MS
Pennsylvania State University, BArchEng
Teaching and research interests include environmental technologies in architecture (HVAC, lighting systems, architectural acoustics, fire protection, plumbing systems), energy and resource conservation and utilization, building performance, and building commissioning.
Fellow ASHRAE, ASES; Member USGBC, IESNA, SBSE, NFPA. CERES Fellow

Bangshuai Han
Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
State University of New York ESF, PhD
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, MS
Lanzhou University, China, BS
Research interests include eco-hydrology and water resources engineering, social ecological system modeling, and analyzing land use through remote sensing and GIS-based spatial analysis. Han serves as a peer reviewer for several journals.
Member American Ecological Engineering Society, American Geophysical Union, International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software, International Association of Hydrological Sciences

Pamela Harwood, AIA, NCARB
Associate Professor of Architecture
University of Minnesota, MArch
University of Stockholm, Diploma Urban Studies
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, BArch
Teaching and research interests include assessment, planning, and design of high-performing pre-K, elementary, and secondary education facilities integrating pedagogy with interior and exterior spaces; the phenomenology of architecture reflecting the language of space, form, and materials; design-build, service outreach, cultural landscapes of the Midwest.
President's Immersive Learning Fellow; Building Better Communities Fellow; Provost's Immersive Learning Fellow; Outstanding Creative Endeavor Award; Outstanding Junior Faculty Award; National Collaborative Practice Teaching Award, ACSA

Sotiris Hji-Avgoustis
Chairperson of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Oversees programs in Hospitality and Food Management, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Residential Property Management, Family Studies, Child Development, Child Life Specialist, and FCS Education. Research interests include city tourism with emphases on cultural tourism, sports tourism, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Expositions (MICE). Teaching interests include in tourism economics, tourism entrepreneurship, and tourism financial accounting and decision making.

David Hua
Assistant Professor of Technology
Ball State University, EdD, MBA, BS
Teaching interests include information technology, positive and negative effects of technology on sustainability, energy conservation outreach and awareness, and immersive learning outreach and engagement in technology for students in elementary school-university.
Member AASHE, ACTE, ATMAE, AITP. COTE Green Initiative Award

Martha Hunt
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
Iowa State University, MLArch
Iowa State University, BLArch
Wartburg College, BA
Teaching and research interests include therapeutic and healthy landscapes, evidence-based design, social sustainability, restoration of native species in the built environment.
CERES Fellow

Yong Joe
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Director, Center for Computational Nanoscience
Ohio University. PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago, MS
Sung Kyun Kwan University, Seoul, South Korea, BS
Current research includes computational nanoelectronics to model and characterize nanoscale systems for potential applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics, and molecular electronics, electron transport in an Aharonov-Bohm ring with coupled quantum dots, and charge transport through DNA molecules.
Outstanding Research Award; CERES Fellow

James Jones
Associate Professor of Technology
Ball State University, DEd, MA
University of Idaho, MEng
Purdue University, BSCE
Teaching interests include construction management, project management, planning and scheduling, and sustainable construction. Research interests include university-industry partnerships and team teaching and learning.
COTE Green Initiative Award 

Adam Kuban
Assistant Professor of Journalism
University of Utah, PhD
Iowa State University, MS, BS
Teaching and research interests include mass communication theory, qualitative research (interpretivist paradigm), journalism pedagogy (curriculum development and assessment), learning theory, knowledge construction, and electronic media.
Ramona W. Cannon Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence in the College of Humanities, University of Utah; Iowa State University Teaching Excellence Award

James Lowe, PE
Director of Engineering Construction, and Operations
Kettering University, BSME
Directed and managed design and construction of the ground source geothermal heat pump district heating and cooling system that serves 47 campus buildings. Responsible for direction and management of engineering, energy, and environmental design, construction projects, skilled maintenance trades, and the geothermal and steam plant operations.
Member ASHRAE, IDEA, APPA

Melinda Messineo
Associate Professor, Sociology
Chairperson of the Department of Sociology
Director, Freshman Connections
University of California-Riverside, PhD, MA, BA
Teaching and research interests include sociology of media, culture, leisure, and family coresidence patterns; images of race and gender in advertising; and aspects of pedagogy.
Accessible Teacher of the Year Award; Outstanding Teaching Award, Excellence in Teaching Award; John H Schnabel Award for Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award, North Central Sociological Association
Member, COTE

Thalia Mulvihill
Professor of Social Foundations of Education and Higher Education
Syracuse University, PhD, MA, BA/BS
Teaching and research interests include qualitative research methods, innovative pedagogies, history and sociology of higher education, and women and gender issues.
President International Society for Education Biography, AERA
American College Personnel Association Annuit Coepti Award; University Excellence in Teaching Award; Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry Fellowship; Departmental Award for Outstanding Research; Graduate School Fellow; Diversity Associate; Fisher Institute Wellness and Gerontology Award; GLACUHO Consultant in Residence; Ray Williams Academic Affairs Award for Outstanding Higher Education Faculty; Dr. Robert O. Foster Faculty/Professional Staff Award.

Daniel Overbey, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, NCARB
Instructor of Architecture
University of Nevada—Las Vegas, MA
Ball State University, BArch, BS
Teaching interests include energy and the built environment and active/passive environmental systems. Research interests include online course development in energy modeling and illumination, post-occupancy analysis of green roofs, and green facility design and animal welfare.
Member ASES, SBSE, USGBC—Indiana Chapter

John Pichtel
Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Ohio State University, PhD, MS
Rutgers University, BS
Teaching and research interests include environmental chemistry, site remediation, hazardous waste management, and emergency response.
Member International Association of Arson Investigators, Indiana Academy of Science, Sigma Xi Scientific Society, National Registry of Environmental Professionals, Delaware County (IN) Emergency Management Agency.
CERES Fellow

Michael Planton
Director of Ball State Arboretum and
Associate Director of Environmental Management
Central Michigan University, MS
Ohio State University, BS
Responsible for design, installation, and maintenance of campus landscape, campus recycling program, and management of MS4 storm water program.

Deanna Pucciarelli
Associate Professor
Director, Hospitality and Food Management Program
University of California-Davis, PhD
California State Polytechnic University-San Luis Obispo, BS
Culinary Institute of America-Hyde Park, NY, AOS
Teaching interests include food culture; hospitality, restaurant and catering management; and nutrition and food policy. Research interests include sustainable commercial food practices, chocolate in history and culture, and curriculum development in sustainable food systems.
Board member Association for the Study of Food and Society; Board of Trustees Muncie Visitors Bureau
Outstanding Paper Award, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal; Outstanding Teacher Award; COTE Green Initiative Award; Mars Fellow 

Rona Robinson-Hill
Assistant Professor of Biology
University of Missouri-St. Louis, PhD
Maryville University-St. Louis, MS
University of Missouri-Kansas City, BS
Research interests include supervising practicum for pre-service teachers in experiential settings, teaching inquiry science using the 5E Learning Model to underrepresented students in grades K-5, and teaching effective course success strategies to pre-service university students.

Annette Rose
Associate Professor of Technology
Indiana University, EdD, MS
West Virginia University, MA
Northeastern State University, BS
Teaching and research interests include the intersection of energy, technology, and the environment, especially technology’s impact on human health, ecosystems, and wildlife; technology education; and technology-mediated pedagogy.
Member Robert Cooper Audubon Society, Member BSU Sustainability Task Force, Treasurer Living Lightly Fair
COTE Green Initiative Award; Paul T. Hiser Exemplary Education Award; Outstanding Research Award, Council on Technology Teacher Education; Mildred B. and Charles A. Wedemeyer Award 

Andrea Swartz, NCARB
Chair, Department of Architecture
Professor of Architecture
Yale University, MArch, BA
Teaching interests include architectural design and conceptualization integrating technology systems, materials, detailing, and passive and active sustainability strategies; teaching methods that engage students in hands-on learning in the realities of fabrication; and facilitating student/community conversations in architectural design and “making.” Coordinated students in restoration of a downtown building into the Muncie Makes Lab gallery and installation venue.
AIA Henry Adams Medal, Charles M. Sappenfield Award of Excellence

Imran Syed
Assistant Professor of Management
Oklahoma State University, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison, MBA
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, MBA
University of Mumbai, BA
Research interests include entrepreneurial innovativeness and self-efficacy and venture success. Teaching interests include business policy and strategy management, teaching evaluation, entrepreneurial decision-making, marketing for new ventures, entrepreneurial thinking and behavior, venture management, and international business.

Heather Williams
Program Manager, Building Better Neighborhoods
Ball State University, MURP, MBA, BA
Professional experience includes working in municipal community development to enforce building codes and improve or demolish blighted buildings, ensuring zoning compliance, organizing neighborhoods, and managing stabilization grant activities as well as work in higher education to facilitate collaboration between neighborhoods, non-profits, local government, and BSU and strengthening neighborhood leadership and associations.
M Magazine 20 Under 40, Muncie Person of the Year finalist. Member American Planning Association; board member of numerous local organizations

John West
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Development
Columbia University, MUP, PhD
University of Illinois-Chicago, MUPP
Kenyon College, BA
Research interests include urban planning history and theory, urban governance, morphology, and the impact of economic theories on energy and transportation planning. Is a frequent presenter at national planning conferences on governance topics.
Columbia University PhD Fellowship
Member American Planning Association, Urban Affairs Association, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Planners’ Network, Association of American Geographers

Sanglim Yoo
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, PhD
Seoul National University, MCP
Seoul National University, BS
Teaching and research interests include application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques to address and quantify the interaction between humans and the environment in urban areas, application of traditional and spatial statistical analysis methods, economic valuation of environmental amenities in urban areas, application of spatial statistical methods to address the heterogeneity of urban environmental issues, addressing Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) by applying GIS and RS techniques, and the relationship between UHIs and heterogeneous physical and socio-economical characteristics of urban areas.
Member American Association of Geographers, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, North American Regional Science Council, and Indiana Geographic Information Council

Bowen Zhang
Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Auburn University, PhD
Northwest A&F University, China, MS
Northwest A&F University, China, BS
Teaching and research interests include the biogeochemical and hydrological cycle within the terrestrial ecosystem, the exchange of greenhouse gases across the land-atmosphere interface and riverine fluxes across land-ocean interface, and the carbon and nitrogen cycle in response to multiple global changes (climate, land use and land management practices, atmospheric composition) in terrestrial ecosystems using a systems approach, ecosystem modeling, and data-model assimilation at various spatial and temporal scales.
Goggans’ Graduate Award in Forest Biology, Auburn University

See our listing of past affiliates.