Authoring Team

Rajeevan Amirtharajah is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis. He received his B.S. in Electrical Science and Engineering, and the M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994, 1994, and 1999, respectively. His research focuses on low-power mixed-signal integrated circuit design, power electronics, energy harvesting, and sensor interfaces. He has published more than 60 research papers and holds 23 U.S. patents.

Mark Atkins has been an associate professor of Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, and Computer Engineering Technology at Ivy Tech Community College, Indianapolis, Indiana since 2003. He has authored content for zyBooks since 2017. He has BSEE and MSEE degrees from Purdue University. He worked as a design engineer at IBM for 5 years and an application engineer at Intel corporation for 13 years before switching to academia.

Ryan Barlow obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2012, his Master’s Degree in Science Education from the University of Maryland in 2016 and his PhD in Engineering Education from Utah State University in 2020. He is currently an Engineering Content Author with zyBooks, a Wiley Brand. His current work centers on transitioning traditional print textbooks to the online interactive zyBooks format making engineering textbooks more accessible.

Alan Bass is a Senior Math Content Developer at zyBooks. He earned a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Mathematics from UNC-Wilmington. After grad school, Alan taught Math for fifteen years at San Diego Mesa College. As part of the work, he served on several curriculum committees and chaired the committee for basic skills for eight years. Alan was Chair of the Math Department at Mesa College for two years before leaving for zyBooks. Since joining zyBooks, Alan has co-authored every title in the Math list and contributed to zyBooks on Statistics and Data Science.

Heather Berrier is a Math Content Developer at zyBooks. She earned a B.S. in Physical Science from Biola University (2003), and an MS (2007) and PhD (2009) in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. Before coming to work for zyBooks, Heather taught astronomy and physics courses at Northwest Arkansas Community College, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Rutgers University.

Chris Chan earned a B.S. in Mathematics at Dalhousie University in Canada and an M.A. in Mathematics at San Francisco State University. As part of the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education, he co-developed and taught mathematics classes and led weekly Math Circle sessions at Mission High School in San Francisco. Prior to joining zyBooks, he worked as a mathematics lecturer for several colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recently, he co-authored the Data Science Foundations and Machine Learning titles for zyBooks.

Alicia Clark earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College, and her MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. Her research interests include engineering education, fluid mechanics, and medical ultrasound. At zyBooks, she created digital content for engineering textbooks to help make textbooks more engaging and accessible for students.

Jim Eakins is a Senior Engineering Content Developer. He earned his B.S. in Physics from West Virginia University, and his M.S. in Physics from Northeastern University. Jim has won multiple teaching awards, and was an assistant professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He is interested in engineering education accessibility, biophysics, and making terrible puns while reading through odd research papers.

Alex Edgcomb is a senior Software Engineer at zyBooks and Research Specialist at the University of California, Riverside. He earned a B.S. (2008), M.S. (2011), and Ph.D. (2014) in Computer Science at the University of California, Riverside. He has published more than 25 research papers, including two best papers at the American Society for Engineering Education. His dissertation research focused on assistive monitoring of the elderly in an at-home environment. His post-doctoral research focuses on improving STEM education and student retention. Dr. Edgcomb served as a university lecturer in computer science, and continues to teach an all-online, asynchronous course via StraighterLine.

Pamela Fellers is a statistics content developer. She earned her BS in Mathematics from Chadron State College and her MS and PhD in Statistics from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Lauren Fogg obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 2021, her Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 2022 and completed her PhD in Engineering Education at Louisiana Tech University in 2024. She is currently an Associate Engineering Content Developer with zyBooks, a Wiley Brand.

Tony Givargis is a Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean in the School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Riverside in 1997 and 2001, respectively. He conducts research in the area of embedded systems with an emphasis on embedded and system software and has authored over 90 peer reviewed papers. He is a named inventor on 11 U.S. patents and has co-authored two popular textbooks on embedded system design. Professor Givargis has received numerous teaching, service, and research awards, including the Frederick Emmons Terman Award, presented annually to an outstanding young electrical engineering educator by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Michael Goldwasser is a Professor of Computer Science at Saint Louis University. He served as the inaugural chair of the Department of Computer Science from 2016 through 2022. Dr. Goldwasser received his Sc.B. degree in Math and Computer Science from Brown University and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University. Dr. Goldwasser’s research interests are in the design and analysis of algorithms, with a particular focus on online computation and approximation algorithms with applications in scheduling and bioinformatics. He is also active in the Computer Science education community and the author of undergraduate textbooks on introductory programming, data structures, and algorithms.

Dan Goodman is an Information Technology Content Lead at zyBooks holds a Master‘s in Information Systems with an Advanced Certificate in ICT Strategy and Innovation from Pace University and a Master’s in Management from Texas A&M University-Commerce. He has over twenty years of IT experience in both the public (US Air Force 2003-2010) and private sectors with ten years of experience in technical education. Dan is currently certified in CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, and Linux+ and previously held certifications with Cisco and Palo Alto Networks. He also serves as the CIO for a non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary operated by his wife, himself, and local volunteers.

Sandy Irani is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. She received her B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University in 1986 and her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. Her research area in theoretical computer science has focused on applied algorithms for resource allocation in computer systems. She has also worked in quantum computation. She has been teaching discrete mathematics to students in computer science for over 20 years and has won numerous teaching awards.

André Knoesen is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis. He received a B.S. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 1980, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982 and 1987, respectively. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He performs research in biosensors, materials, and their applications in electronic and optoelectronic sensor systems. He has published more than 100 research papers and holds 2 U.S. patents.

Milo Koretsky received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. He is currently the McDonnell Family Bridge Professor at Tufts University, holding appointments both in Chemical and Biological Engineering and in Education. His engineering education research group works on integrating technology into effective educational practices that promote the use of higher-level cognitive and social skills in engineering problem solving and in promoting change towards motivating faculty to use evidence-based instructional practices.

A particular focus is on what prevents students from being able to integrate and extend the knowledge developed in specific courses in the core curriculum to the more complex, authentic problems and projects they face in professional practice.

Susan Lauer is a Senior Math Content Developer at zyBooks. She earned a BS in Mathematics from the University of Georgia, a M.A.M. (Masters of Applied Mathematics), and a PhD in Mathematics from Auburn University. She was an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Wingate University, but also has many years of experience teaching high school and community college mathematics and statistics courses.

Matthew Liberatore earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research involves the rheology of complex fluids and materials. His engineering education interests include using YouTube videos to create engineering problems and developing interactive textbooks. He has published papers and has won awards for teaching and research.

Adrian Lizarraga recevied a Ph.D. in the Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Arizona in 2016 and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona in 2010. His research focuses on runtime optimization of embedded systems and data-adaptable embedded systems. He is a recipient of the NSF Bridge to Doctorate Grant and has published several research papers. Adrian is currently a Software Development Engineer at Microsoft, and was previously a Engineering Lead at zyBooks.

Roman Lysecky is VP of Content Strategy at zyBooks and a Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. He is an active researcher and entrepreneur. He is an author on more than 100 research publications and received nine Best Paper Awards. He is a co-author for 12 zyBooks and has contributed to several more.

Frank Marsaglia is an Information Technology Content Lead at zyBooks and holds a Master’s in Computer Networking and certificates in A+, Novell Administrator, Cisco Teaching IT Essentials, CCNA R&S, and CCNA Security. Frank has over 22 years of teaching experience at the college level and 35 years of work experience within the Computer Networking and Security field, consulting with local K-12 schools in designing and implementing district-wide networking/security solutions.

Greg Mason is a Professor Emeritus in Mechanical Engineering at Seattle University where he taught instrumentation and control systems for nearly 30 years. Prior to teaching at Seattle University, Greg worked in a robotics lab for the Department of Defense developing manufacturing automation. He received his M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology, his Ph.D. from the University of Washington, and is a licensed professional engineer. Greg is currently an Engineering Content Developer at zyBooks focusing on control systems and mechanical engineering topics.

Frank McCown is a Professor of Computer Science at Harding University and a Senior Content Developer at zyBooks. He earned a B.S. in Computer Science at Harding University (1996), an M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2002), and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University (2007). Dr. McCown has published numerous articles in digital preservation, web archiving, and CS education. He has won Harding University’s Teaching Achievement Award twice. At zyBooks, he contributes primarily to books on programming.

Bailey Miller received his B.S. in Computer Engineering, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science, from the University of California, Riverside in 2009, 2011, and 2014, respectively. His dissertation research focused on embedded systems design and novel highly-parallel many-core computer architectures. He has published more than 10 research papers, served as a university lecturer in computer science, and previously worked at Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX).

Evan Olds is a Senior Content Developer at zyBooks. He earned a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Washington State University (WSU) and subsequently was a Clinical Assistant Professor at WSU. While teaching at WSU, he began working part time with zyBooks. He eventually left his teaching career to become a full time content author at zyBooks. His primary authoring work focuses on data structures and algorithms. He has also contributed to the Web Programming zyBook and several other titles.

Dan Ouellette is a Content Author at zyBooks. He earned a BS in Computer Science from the University of Michigan and an MS in Computer Science from Eastern Michigan University. He has had several jobs in industry and taught over 70 college computer science courses in the areas of general programming, and database, mobile, and web app development. He enjoys college football, American history, and writing.

Erica Perich is an IT Associate Content Developer. She earned a BS in Mathematics Education from Brigham Young University in 2013. While teaching secondary mathematics, she gained a passion for finding innovative ways to facilitate students’ conceptual understanding. Erica earned an MS in Information Technology from Southern New Hampshire University in 2023 and contributes to IT content and labs

Yamuna Rajasekhar is the Director of Content, Authoring, Assessments, and Research at zyBooks. She has contributed to several Computer Science/Engineering books. In her current role, she leads content development for CS and IT disciplines in addition to research strategy and authoring pedagogy across disciplines. Yamuna has served as an assistant professor of Computer Engineering at Miami University, where her research was focused on assistive technology with embedded systems, and engineering education. Her research interests include investigating the role of AI in education and exploring learning principles to inform authoring pedagogy in a digital world.

Adrian Rodriguez is an Engineering Content Developer with contributions to zyBooks covering materials science, thermodynamics, and MATLAB. He also teaches various core courses as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Adrian earned his B.S. (2009) from UT Austin and M.S. (2010), Ph.D. (2014) from UT Arlington all in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include engineering education, multibody dynamics, contact and impact with friction, electro-mechanical systems, and nonlinear dynamics.

Nikitha Sambamurthy is an Editorial Director at zyBooks. She earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Her research centers around the role of technology in engineering courses to assist student learning, as well as tools to provide pedagogical feedback to instructors. Her dissertation focused on the role of visible and invisible diversity traits in the hiring of engineers.

Ayla Sánchez is a Senior Statistics Content Developer. She obtained her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Tufts University and her M.S.+B.S in Mathematics from University of Miami. Prior to zyBooks she taught mathematics and statistics courses at Wheaton College (MA).

Mohsen Sarraf is currently a senior lecturer in Electrical Engineering at the University of New Haven, CT, and a content developer at zyBooks. He received his, BSEE, MSEE, and PhD (1986) from USC, L.A., CA. Mohsen is a veteran of the industry with over 30 years of experience. He was the director of Advanced Multimedia Communications Department at Bell Labs, senior scientist at Telcordia, among other positions and companies. Mohsen holds over 40 US and 3 European patents in addition to many publications.

Aimee Schwab-McCoy is the Senior Manager for Content Development in Data Science, Mathematics, and Statistics. She completed her PhD in Statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2015). Before joining zyBooks in 2022, Dr. Schwab-McCoy was an Assistant Professor and Data Science Program Director at Creighton University, and a Lecturer at Institute of Technology Sligo. Dr. Schwab-McCoy has published several articles in statistics and data science education, and has received awards for teaching statistics in the health sciences.

Prateek Shekhar is an assistant professor - engineering education at New Jersey Institute of Technology. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas - Austin, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a BS in Electronics and Communication Engineering

Babak Shoraka is an Information Technology Content Lead at zyBooks. He earned a B.S. in Mathematics, and B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Florida, M.S. in Software and Systems Security from the University of Oxford, and Ph.D. in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University. His dissertation research focused on information security management standards. He is an adjunct professor of Information Technology and has worked as a systems engineer, information security analyst, and software developer in various industries.

Gergely (Greg) Sirokman is an engineering content developer. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from MIT. He was a professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology for 14 years, with a particular interest in renewable energy and gamification of education. Greg now works on statistics for engineers, and has developed a keen interest in increasing accessibility for learning media.

Nkenge Wheatland is a Sr. Manager for Content Development in Computer Science at zyBooks, where she overseas the development and maintenance of CS titles. She earned a B.S in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). While at UCR, she was a lecturer for multiple undergraduate computer science courses and developed two new courses in computer graphics and animation that were co-taught with a member of the Art department.