2007-2008 ComSci Fellows

ANA IVELISSE AVILÉS, PH.D. Mathematical Statistician Statistical Engineering Division, Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez, 1997
M.S., Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University, 1999
Ph.D., Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University, 2001

Background Highlights:
Dr. Ana Ivelisse Avilés is a Mathematical Statistician in the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. From 1995-1997, she worked for Johnson & Johnson. Her experience with the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry served as the main motivation to pursue doctorate studies and devote her thesis work to Experimental Design. Her main research interests include statistical design of physical experiments, linear and nonlinear mixed-effects models and quality improvement & control. Dr. Avilés organized and co-chaired the International Conference on Generalized Linear Models that was held at NIST in April 2002. She has served as member of the ITL Awards Committee (2002-2005) and co-Director of the ITL’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (2005-2006). She graduated from the NIST Building the Next Generation of Leaders Program in 2006. At the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Section on Industrial Science and Technology, she represents the entire membership of the American Statistical Association (2005-2011) and serves on its Electorate Nomination Committee (2007-2010). She is Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association. Dr. Avilés periodically visits minority-serving institutions to promote research opportunities and to encourage students to pursue advanced studies. Some of her honors include: National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow (1997), Grant Mack Memorial Scholarship from the American Council of the Blind (1998), R.A. Freund international scholar from the American Society for Quality (1999), and Summer Research Opportunities Program Alumni Achievement Award from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (2004).

STEPHANIA K. BOLDEN, PH.D. Fishery Biologist National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Biology, Ohio Northern University, 1987
M.S., Marine Biology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1990
Ph.D., Biology, University of Miami, 2001

Background Highlights:
Dr. Stephania Bolden is a fishery biologist with the Protected Resources Division for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in St. Petersburg, Florida where she directs Endangered Species Act policy from North Carolina through Texas and the U.S. Caribbean coordinating and implementing recovery plans and research for listed species, and evaluating species for potential listing. Dr. Bolden developed, manages and directs a regional sturgeon conservation program to facilitate impacts across a broad geographic range that require cooperation and coordination with both federal and state resource managers. From 1990 – 2001, Dr. Bolden was a research fishery biologist at the SE Fishery Science Center conducting research on the ecology of coral-reef fishes and was liaison to fishery management councils. She has authored many papers on the ecology of coral-reef fishes and often acts as a peer reviewer for scientific journals. She is a NOAA scientific diver, a 2005 graduate of the USDA Graduate School “Executive Leadership Program,” and is a member of the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team.

ELIZABETH CHEW, CISSP Supervisory IT Specialist (INFOSEC) Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Mathematics, University of Maryland, 1981

Background Highlights:
Ms. Elizabeth Chew is the Group Leader of the Security Management and Assistance Group, within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Computer Security Division. Her group’s missions include developing NIST Standards and Guidelines, including those mandated by the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and numerous outreach efforts including support to the:

• Health IT Security initiative with the Department of Health and Human Services
• Federal Computer Security Program Managers’ Forum
• Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB)
• Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA)
• Information Systems Security Line of Business (ISS LOB) initiatives
• Computer Security Resource Center (CSRC) website, which averages over 3.6 million hits per month

Ms. Chew was previously the Computer Incident Response Program Manager for the Department of Justice and while at the Food and Drug Administration, she led a project to harmonize efforts with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and pharmaceutical manufacturers to ensure secure data interchange goals were achieved. Prior to her experience as a Federal Government employee, she worked as a LAN analyst contractor for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and United States Navy. She is a current Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and former Certified Novell Engineer.

MARK C. ECKL Chief, Field Operations Branch National Geodetic Survey, NOS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Surveying and Mapping, University of Florida, 1992
M.S., Surveying and Mapping, University of Florida, 1998

Background Highlights:
Mr. Mark Eckl’s professional experience began at Paul Smith’s College, New York where he studied Forest Technology. After graduation, he went to work for a surveying and engineering firm in Sarasota, Florida where he supervised a survey crew. During his time at the University of Florida, he worked/consulted on multiple land administration projects specializing in cadastral surveying for developing countries. At the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Mr. Eckl has worked on various projects related to the development of spatial reference systems in a number of countries and accuracy assessment of the National Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network. He has served on the National CORS accuracy assessment team, assists in development and presentation of CORS workshops and demonstrations and provides technical support. Currently he is the Delaware Geodetic Advisor and Branch Chief for the NGS Field Operations. As branch chief, he oversees 30+ people and facilities in Norfolk Va. His branch serves the data collection needs of the NGS. He has co-authored several papers and holds a Land Surveyor in Training (LSIT) certificate from the state of Florida.

BRIAN HUGHES Operations Manager Satellite Services Division, Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Meteorology, Millersville University, 1997

Background Highlights:
Mr. Brian Hughes serves as the operations manager for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data processing and distribution system for the Environmental Satellite Processing Center (ESPC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Mr. Hughes oversees the development, operation and maintenance of a specialized system that ingests, processes and distributes NOAA’s satellite data and products to various users worldwide. In addition, Mr. Hughes serves as a customer support lead by interfacing directly with users of NOAA satellite information and coordinates operational satellite activities with partners and customers. Mr. Hughes also provides technical support activities to future satellite processing operations, including product generation and distribution guidance for the next generation of GOES satellites: GOES-R.

Mr. Hughes began his federal career with NOAA in 1998, working as an operational meteorologist for the Satellite Analysis Branch of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. Mr. Hughes served as lead for internal IT systems while actively providing operational support to all five product teams of the branch. Mr. Hughes developed and implemented various technical and scientific solutions in the field of operational satellite data analysis, as well as provided innovative solutions to the development and enhancement of the Satellite Services Division web site. Mr. Hughes’ drive is the desire to increase customer satisfaction, enhance relationships with partners and boost NOAA’s visibility as a global leader in the field of environmental satellite analysis. Through his work to maintain effective operations at NOAA, Mr. Hughes was recently awarded two Department of Commerce Bronze metals for superior federal service.

KENNETH P. IWANSKI, PH.D. Senior Aerospace Engineer Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Science, Technology & Engineering) United States Air Force Department of Defense

Education:
B.S., cum laude, Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 1986
M.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 1988
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2001

Background Highlights:
Dr. Ken Iwanski is a senior aerospace engineer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Science, Technology & Engineering), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Washington, D.C. He currently serves as the Air Force’s Air Vehicle Technologies Program Element Monitor (PEM). As the PEM, he provides guidance, management and oversight of approximately $1.4B over the FYDP in research and development (R&D) in the core disciplines of aeronautical science, vehicle control technologies and structures for current and future military atmospheric and transatmospheric vehicles. His responsibilities include planning, programming and budgeting as well as representing air vehicle R & D programs to senior Air Force leaders, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the United States Congress.

Dr. Iwanski has over 19 years of R&D experience with the Departments of the Air Force and Navy. His efforts have been primarily in the field of applied aerodynamics.

MEKA LASTER, D.Sci. Program Planning Specialist Office of Education, Educational Partnership Program National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1983
M.S., Engineering Management, George Washington University, 1994
D.Sci., Engineering Management, George Washington University, 2003

Background Highlights:
Dr. Meka Laster is the Program Planning Specialist for the Educational Partnership Program (EPP) in NOAA’s Office of Education. She leads short and long-term planning efforts for the Program Planning Programming Budgeting and Execution System. She coordinates programmatic, administrative, education and research activities with EPP Cooperative Science Centers. From 1991-2005, Dr. Laster served as an Electrical Engineer with NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), where she worked on two major programs: Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), a computer and communications system deployed in the late 1990's, and Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), an array of weather sensors and a communication system located near airports across the United States. She developed a rapid alpha software release process for AWIPS and worked with weather sensor manufacturers to develop sensor technology for ASOS. She also served on the NWS requirements process working group and the strategic planning team. Prior to joining NOAA’s NWS, she worked with the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration where she worked with vehicle manufacturers to develop vehicle safety technologies including anti-lock brakes, navigational systems and heads-up displays. Dr. Laster served as a Component Engineer for four years in the private sector at a major computer company.

XIANG-NING LI, M.D., PH.D. Scientific Review Administrator Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
M.D., Internal Medicine, Shandong Medical University, P. R. China, 1984
M.S.M., Cardiology, Shandong Medical University, P. R. China, 1990
Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Washington, 1998

Background Highlights:
Dr. Xiang-Ning Li has been with the Center for Scientific Review since 2004 and served as a Scientific Review Administrator in the Surgery, Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Integrated Review Group. While administrating multiple scientific activities associated with peer review, he has been adapting innovative technologies to improve the process of peer review. He was awarded the Explorer Award from the Center for Scientific Review in 2006 for piloting the video-enhanced discussion and developing electronic review administration.

Prior to joining the federal government, Dr. Li worked as a scientist and senior system engineer in one of the largest ultrasound companies devoted to the development of cardiac flow quantification and three-dimensional image acquisition and image optimization components on an advanced ultrasound imaging system. He was experienced in the research and development of medical imaging product with expertise in multi-dimensional image processing and Doppler flow quantification, clinical imaging research, diagnostic ultrasound imaging and echocardiography. He has filed over 10 U.S. patents in these areas and co-authored over 60 articles and conference abstracts in medical and bioengineering journals. Additionally, he was involved in a joint venture project, training staff on ultrasound imaging, production operation and quality control. Dr. Li received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Washington and completed his postdoctoral training at Oregon Health & Sciences University. He was a trained cardiologist in China and specialized in echocardiography.

STEPHEN P. MATULA Supervisory Physical Scientist National Ocean Service, National Geodetic Survey National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Earth Science and Biology, Central Michigan University 1978
M.S., Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, 1989

Background Highlights:
Mr. Stephen Matula is the Chief of the Systems and Quality Assurance Branch in the Remote Sensing Division of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). He manages all aspects of day-to-day operations including primary program support for Coastal Mapping Quality Assurance, Airport Survey Quality Assurance, Research and Development, and Information Technology systems. From 1995 to 2000, he served as Chief of the Network and Systems Branch in NGS’ Systems Development Division. In that role, he and his staff worked to modernize and sustain all office computer systems and associated technologies. This included infrastructure support for the Office’s Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) processing and acquisition systems using Global Positioning System (GPS) inputs. In prior positions, Mr. Matula was a Computer Specialist in the Office of Coast Survey’s Hydrographic Survey Division and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Project Office. There he provided technical and scientific expertise for multiple sonar systems and bathymetric mapping activities. As a member of NOAA’s 2004-2005 Leadership Competency Development Program, he provided technical guidance, focused-research and collaboration while on assignments at the Air Force Surgeon General’s Office, the U.S. Census Bureau, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, and Workforce Management Office. Mr. Matula is a 2003 graduate of the Council for Excellence in Electronic Government (e-gov) and helped to introduce change for the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services Agency. As a supervisor and mentor, he has participated in the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Consortium for Students in Science, Mathematics and Engineering (METCON) program for the past 12 years.

DONNA MCNAMARA Physical Scientist Product Implementation Branch, Satellite Services Division, Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution, National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

Education:
B.A., Environmental Science, University of Virginia, 1981
M.S., Meteorology, University of Maryland, 1988

Background Highlights:
Ms. Donna McNamara is Ozone Product Area Lead and the Government Technical Monitor for all NOAA satellite product development in the Satellite Services Division of NESDIS. She oversees operational ozone monitoring and oversees efforts to bring new satellite products from research into operations. Ms. McNamara’s career began as an Air Force Weather officer from 1981 to 1991. She was stationed in Little Rock AFB in Arkansas, Andersen AFB in Guam and Andrews AFB in Maryland. She received her Master’s Degree through the Air Force Institute of Technology, concentrating in Atmospheric Chemistry. Her thesis was called “Origin of Tropospheric Ozone over the Central US.” After leaving the Air Force, Ms. McNamara, worked as a contract scientific programmer for NASA from 1991 to 1996, primarily supporting tropospheric ozone research and aircraft research campaigns. She moved to a contract programmer and supervisory position supporting NOAA from 1996 to 2001. In this capacity, she supervised 26 programmers and satellite analysts, and managed a major subcontract. In January 2001, Ms. McNamara joined NOAA as a federal employee. Her first project was to establish an operational fire and smoke detection program. In 2004, Ms. McNamara moved to her current position as the Ozone Product Area Lead.

GUY NOLL Commander, NOAA Corps Office of Marine & Aviation Operations National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration US Department of Commerce

Education:
B.A., Physics/Mathematics, Whitman College, 1985
B.S., Civil Engineering, Columbia University, 1986

Background Highlights:
Commander Guy Noll just completed his commanding officer tour aboard NOAA Ship RAINIER, a hydrographic survey ship tasked with mapping the waters of the coastal northeastern Pacific Ocean. As chief scientist for this multi-year mission, he accomplished surveys that supported new and improved nautical charts, benthic fisheries habitat research and tsunami inundation modeling efforts. Commander Noll has worked to build NOAA survey resource infrastructure in prior positions in the Office of Coast Survey, including directing funds towards new technologies, improving training of field personnel and developing data management methodologies. The successful transition from vertical-beam echosounder methods to full-bottom coverage of the ocean floor using multibeam echosounders by both internal and contract surveyors was accomplished during his tenure as Chief, Hydrographic Systems and Technology Programs, a part of the Coast Survey Development Laboratory.

STEVEN PAYSON, PH.D. Chief of Research Government Division Bureau of Economic Analysis US Department of Commerce

Education:
B.A., Mathematics and Bio-psychology, Wesleyan University, Connecticut, 1979
M.S., Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1982
Ph.D., Economics, Columbia University, 1991

Background Highlights:
Dr. Steven Payson is an economist in the Government Division of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, where he is Chief of Research and Acting Chief of the Special Studies Branch. He oversees the measurement of various aspects of the government sector of the economy such as the amount of fixed assets held by the U.S. government, government finance statistics and a price index for government-funded biomedical research. In addition, since 2003 he has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where he taught a class on the “Economics of Technology, Innovation and Growth.” Dr. Payson taught economics previously at Virginia Tech, American University, Marymount University and Trinity College. He is the sole author of two books in economics: Quality Measurement in Economics: New Perspectives on the Evolution of Goods and Services (1994) and Economics, Science and Technology (2000). His current research is interdisciplinary between economics and science policy, looking into methods of comparing, analyzing and improving peer review systems.

Dr. Payson began his career as an economic consultant at ICF Incorporated from 1979 to 1984, and then worked as a research associate at the Inter-American Development Bank, from 1987 to 1991. In 1992, he began his federal career where he served as an economist for over 4 years at the Department of Agriculture and as a science resources analyst for 7 years at the National Science Foundation before moving to the Bureau of Economic Analysis where he has been a supervisory economist since January 2003. In 2006, he completed the Department of Commerce, Executive Leadership Development Program and he is currently serving as the Executive Secretary of the Society of Government Economists.

NESTOR R. RAMIREZ Director Office of Patent Automation Search and Information Resources Administration U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education:
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, 1989
Masters Certificate in Project Management, George Washington University, 2006
Certificate of Advanced Public Management, Executive Leadership Development Program, Maxwell School of Syracuse University, 2001

Background Highlights:
Mr. Nestor Ramirez joined the USPTO in 1989, became a Primary Examiner in 1995 and a Supervisory Patent Examiner in 1998. Throughout his career, he managed employees examining patent applications in the fields of Power Plants, Motor Structure and Electrical Measuring and Testing. His involvement in special projects has left a trail of significant accomplishments. In 2000, he received the Director’s Supervisory Equal Employment Opportunity Award for his work as part of the USPTO Recruitment Team. In 2001, he received the Patent Management Innovation Award for his leading efforts to create and implement a time and attendance system. Mr. Ramirez has also served as a spokesperson for the USPTO with published articles in the Washington Post Magazine and in Engineering Times.

For almost three years, Mr. Ramirez served as a managing partner in charge of overseeing the implementation of the electronic Image File Wrapper (IFW) to the entire examining corps. The IFW project was the first step in the USPTO’s transition to a paperless environment. During his career, Mr. Ramirez has also received three Bronze Medals and served as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner for patent Resources and Planning. Today, Mr. Ramirez serves as Director of the Office of Patent Automation (OPA). He is responsible for the program and project management of all patent automation programs and initiatives. OPA ensures that automation services and products needed by patent business users have incorporated the necessary functional and technical requirements, are designed and implemented to accomplish program objectives, are aligned to improve business processes and are in full support of the USPTO’s mission.

CAROLYN M. SCHMIDT Program Manager, Information Technology Security Awareness, Training & Education Information Technology Security & Networking Division Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of the Director National Institute of Standards and Technology U.S. Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Computer Management and Information Science, University of Maryland, University College, 1996
(ISC)² Certification and Accreditation Professional (CAP), 2007

Background Highlights:
Ms. Carolyn Schmidt is a senior computer scientist who serves as the Program Manager for Information Technology (IT) Security Awareness, Training and Education for NIST. In her role as Program Manager, she is responsible for general IT security training for all general NIST users across both NIST campuses in Gaithersburg, Maryland and Boulder, Colorado. She is also responsible for specialized IT security training for NIST’s security staff with significant security responsibilities. In 2006, Ms. Schmidt was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal in support of this work. Her current role also requires involvement in development of agency and department-wide IT security policy, implementation of agency level policy and procedures and certification and accreditation activities of NIST IT systems.

Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Schmidt’s experience has encompassed digital library research, systems administration and web development and design. She has spoken at several conferences in support of her work in research and in information technology security. Her federal career spans over 22 years - all of which have been with NIST.

ROSS D. SHONAT, PH.D. Health Scientist Administrator Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.S., Engineering Physics, University of Illinois, 1983
M.S.E., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1985
Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1991

Background highlights:
Dr. Ross Shonat, a Health Scientist Administrator in the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) at the National Institutes of Health, manages and coordinates the scientific peer review of research grant applications primarily in the areas of microscopic imaging and bioengineering within the Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies (BST) Integrated Review Group. He is also the Co-Director of the Asynchronous Electronic Discussion (AED) Review Initiative at CSR. This is an initiative to develop an additional review platform, based upon the application of electronic message board technology, which complements and extends the way that CSR conducts scientific peer-review at NIH. Prior to joining the federal government, Dr. Shonat was a biomedical engineering faculty member at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where he developed new imaging technologies to measure blood flow and oxygen dynamics in the diabetic eye and taught physiology and bioengineering to both undergraduate and graduate students. He also completed postdoctoral training in microcirculatory physiology at the University of Arizona and neurophysiology and molecular biology using magnetic resonance imaging at Carnegie Mellon University.

MEHRDAD TONDRAVI, PH.D. Scientific Review Administrator Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences Division of Physiology and Pathology Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.S., Biology, University of Illinois, 1981
Ph.D., Cell and Molecular Biology, Washington University, 1988

Background Highlights:
Dr. Mehrdad Tondravi is the Scientific Review Administrator for Center for Scientific Review’s (CSR) Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration study section. He is also a member of the SRA Council and other committees. Dr. Tondravi is active in outreach activities to promote the NIH/CSR mission to the NIH extramural community including presentations on peer review process and mock study section demonstrations. Dr. Tondravi earned his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Washington University where he studied gene expression and developmentally regulated DNA rearrangements in Tetrahymena, a single cell ciliated organism. He did his postdoctoral training in cartilage matrix biology and in bone development at the Burnham Institute (formerly La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation) and at Washington University, respectively. As an independent investigator at the American Red Cross, he led a research team studying bone development with emphasis on the differentiation of osteoclasts and the effects of specific immune cytokines on bone homeostasis. His work was supported by grants from the NIH, DOD and by biotechnology industry. Prior to joining the Center for Scientific Review, Dr. Tondravi was a Program Director at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases where he oversaw a portfolio of clinical and basic research grants on endocrine regulation of bone development and pathology.

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