MDS@RICE
Meet the Online Faculty
Meet Rice's extraordinary educators who are dedicated to delivering an online learning experience that helps working professionals achieve their career goals and improve society.
Kerry Back, J. Howard Creekmore Professor of Finance, Professor of Economics
Dr. Kerry Back is the J. Howard Creekmore Professor of Finance at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and a Professor of Economics. In addition to teaching applications of Data Science within Investments and Finance for MDS@Rice, he currently teaches investments to MBA students and asset pricing theory to PhD students at the Jones School. His research interests include Asset Pricing, Market Microstructure, Derivative Securities, and Auction Theory.
Arko Barman, Assistant Teaching Professor
Dr. Arko Barman has a background in both data science and the medical field having work as postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Houston in 2018. His research interests include Medical Image Computing, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Data Mining, and Heuristic Optimization Algorithms.
Mike Fagan, Research Scientist and Lecturer in Computer Science
Dr. Mike Fagan received his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. all from Rice University. His Research interests include design and implementation of programming languages, especially high level languages, and automatic differentiation.
Arun Gopalakrishnan, Assistant Professor of Marketing
Professor Arun Gopalakrishnan is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and teaches electives on Customer Lifetime Value and Advanced Marketing Research at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. His teaching and research interests include the impact of various marketing initiatives on holistic customer relationship management and revenue, as well as econometric and statistical methods to uncover customer insights from big data.
Xinjie Lan, Assistant Teaching Professor
Master of Data Science Courses: Statistical Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing
Dr. Xinjie Lan joined Rice University’s D2K Lab and Master of Data Science program in May 2022 as an Assistant Teaching Professor. His doctoral research focuses on machine learning theory, eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), and computer vision. His teaching experience involves machine learning and data science courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Tilsa Oré Mónago, Lecturer in Computer Science
Master of Data Science Courses: Statistics for Computing & Data Science
Tilsa Oré Mónago, Ph.D., is lecturer in Rice University's Department of Computer Science as well as a lecturer for the Master of Energy Economics program in Rice's Department of Economics. She is also a fellow in energy and market design at the Baker Institute and a member of the Lima School of Economics (LimaSE) in Peru. Oré Mónago has specialized in industrial organization, applied game theory, competition policy and economic regulation. Her research focuses on market structures, pricing strategies and switching costs in network industries.
Marmar Orooji, Lecturer in Computer Science
Dr. Marmar Orooji’s research interests include Data Analytics, Data Privacy and Anonymization, and Semantic Analysis.
Amit Pazgal, Friedkin Chair in Management and Professor of Marketing and Operations Management
Professor Amit Pazgal is a professor of marketing and operations management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. His teaching and research interests include Operations Management, Optimal Pricing Mechanisms, Competitive Marketing Strategies, Internet Institutions and Competition, and Process Improvement.
Janell Straach, Lecturer in Computer Science
Dr. Janell Straach has a diverse background including academic and industry experience. She has worked in industry for IBM and a large electric/gas utility organization and is chairman of the board of Women In CyberSecurity-WiCyS (www.wicys.org). Her research areas of interest include Intelligent Systems, CyberSecurity, Software Architecture, and Software Project Management.
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