Work with thought leaders and academic experts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Joel T. Nadler is Senior Consultant at PDRI and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Indiana. He was a formerly at Aon Assessment Solutions and a Professor of I/O psychology at SIUE. Dr. Nadler has taught classes including Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Development, Employee Selection, Test and Measures, graduate and undergraduate Research Design and Statistics, Social Psychology, Group Dynamics, Organizational Behavior, and Psychology of Gender. ​ Dr. Nadler has in the past actively worked as an independent consultant and as a co-founder of AOA Consulting and has consulted with organizations on areas such as assessment validation, organizational climate and culture, survey development, performance appraisal, program evaluation, needs assessment, organizational change and development, and study design and methodology. Dr. Nadler research interests include gender bias in selection and performance appraisal, sexual harassment, organizational attractiveness, adverse impact (EEO law), and assessing inclusive diversity practices.  Additionally, Dr. Nadler has expertise in advanced measurement, design and statistical techniques. His research has been published in journals such as Industrial Organizational Psychology: *Perspectives on Science and Practice, Sex Roles, Social Issues and Policy Review,  Journal of Applied Social Psychology, American Journal of Evaluation, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies.*   Dr. Nadler enjoys cycling, traveling, horseback riding, motorcycling, music, science fiction, and collecting bourbon and scotch when he is not busy consulting and conducting research.

Dr. Deepak Khazanchi is Mutual of Omaha Distinguished Chair of IS&T and Professor of Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis in the [College of Information Science & Technology](http://www.ist.unomaha.edu/) (IS&T), [University of Nebraska at Omaha](http://www.unomaha.edu/) (UNO). Between 2002 and 2021, he served the College of IS&T as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Community Engagement and Internationalization Officer, and as the Chair of the Department of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis. Deepak is also the Executive Director of the [Center for Management of IT](https://cmit.unomaha.edu) which focusses on applied R&D, training, and community projects. He has affiliate faculty appointments in UNO’s [International Studies & Programs](http://world.unomaha.edu/) and the [Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Center for Human Rights (GCHR)](https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/goldstein-center-for-human-rights/about-us/index.php). Dr. Khazanchi has served as a visiting professor and senior scholar with the Center for Integrated Emergency Management (CIEM) at the [University of Agder](http://www.hia.no/) (Kristiansand, Norway), [University of International Business & Economics](http://english.uibe.edu.cn/) (Beijing, China), [Mahindra University](https://www.mahindrauniversity.edu.in/) (Hyderabad, India), [Chiba University of Commerce](https://www.cuc.ac.jp/eng/) (Japan), [Management Center Innsbruck](https://www.mci.edu/en/) (Innsbruck, Austria), and [Murdoch University](https://www.murdoch.edu.au/) (Perth, Australia). Dr. Khazanchi is a Fulbright alum having received a Fulbright Core award for Austria (2022), and the Fulbright Specialist Grants for Norway (2014) and Japan (2023). Deepak has been instrumental in establishing multiple international collaborations for UNO with universities in Austria, Norway, Germany, Japan, India and China. He is also regularly involved as a thesis/dissertation committee member and/or external examiner for a number of graduate and PhD students at universities around the world. Dr. Khazanchi has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conferences. Over the last two decades, he has received (individually and in collaboration with others) approximately $10 million in grant funding and donations from private foundations, corporations, federal and state agencies to support his teaching, research, and community engagement activities. Deepak does applied research through a multidisciplinary lens and in the recent years has focused on areas such as applied ML in SHM, perceived fairness of AI/ML systems, Decent Work and the ICT Profession, Metaverse Technology Capabilities, Virtual Project Management, Fast Response Virtual Teams for Crisis Management, mhealth interventions, Risk analysis in extended enterprise environments, Mixed Research Methods, and the application of philosophy of science in computing disciplines.  His research has been published in both practitioner and peer-reviewed journals including the following: *International Journal of Information* *Management (IJIM), International Journal of IT Project Management (IJITPM), IEEE Access, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction (THCI), Current Opinion in Neurology, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Journal of Information Systems (JIS), The ISACA Journal*, *Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research (JITCAR)*, *Communications of the Association of Information Systems* (CAIS), *Journal of the Association of Information Systems* (JAIS), *Electronic Markets, Decision Support Systems*, *Information Systems Management*, *Journal of Information Technology Management*, *ACM’s DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems*, *Journal of Computer Information Systems*, *American Journal of Business,* and *Information Processing and Management*. He has also presented his research at a number of national/international/regional peer-reviewed conferences. Dr. Khazanchi has also given practitioner-oriented talks & conducted workshops for companies and organizations in the USA, India and Norway on a variety of topics including: “Role of Digitalization and Digital Transformation to achieve Resiliency during Supply Chain Disruptions”; “Fast Response Virtual Teams During Crisis”; “Beyond Innovation: Using Transformative Thinking as a part of our Daily Work”; “Virtual Teams & Project Management”; “Best Practices in IT Project Management”; “Politics of Project Management”; and “Patterns of Effective Virtual Project Management.” Dr. Khazanchi has been engaged in collaborative interactions with the business and nonprofit community through various R&D projects, service to the IT profession, and community service at the regional, national and international levels. Two of his community projects, [CodeCrush](https://codecrush.unomaha.edu) and iSTEM After School have celebrated their 10th year in 2024. He was one of the founding board members, served as chairman, and currently continues to serve on the board of directors of the nonprofit, [Collective for Youth](https://www.collectiveforyouth.org/) in Omaha. Deepak has also served on several other community boards including as a Trustee for the [Brownell Talbot Preparatory School](http://www.brownell.edu/), member of the Board of [Refugee Empowerment Center in Omaha](https://refugeeempowerment.org), and [Benson Theater](https://bensontheatre.org). He has served on the Board of Management for the [Sir Padmpat Singhania University](https://www.spsu.ac.in/) (Udaipur, India), the Executive Council for [Bennett University](http://www.bennettuniversity.com/) (NOIDA, India), and the Planning and Monitoring Board of the [JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research](https://jssuni.edu.in/JSSWeb/WebHome.aspx) (Mysuru, India). Deepak was one of the founding members and has served as the President/President-elect of the [Midwest Association of Information Systems, ](https://www.mwais.org)AMCIS representative member of the [Association of Information Systems](https://www.aisnet.org) Council, and the Chair of the AMCIS Site Advisory committee.  Dr. Khazanchi is the founder and first President of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) [Special Interest Group for IT Project Management](https://aisnet.org/members/group.aspx?id=89773). He has served as the conference general chair and/or co-chair of multiple international and regional conferences including hosting the [2023 Information for Crisis Response & Management Global Conference](https://iscram2023.net) (May 27-31,2023), 2022 MWAIS Conference, 2022 VINC (Vivekananda Institute National Conference), 2020 ACM SIGITE Conference, 2016 [Brain Informatics and Health (BIH 201)](https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319471020) conference, 2020 [ACM’s Special Interest Group in IT Education (SIGITE)](https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-information-science-and-technology/sigite2020/index_page.php) conference, 2015 International Conference on Advances in Management and Technology in a Global World (ICAMT-2015), 2005 [Americas Conference in Information Systems (AMCIS),](http://aisnet.org/?AMCISPage) and the 2007 IEEE [International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM)](https://dblp.org/db/conf/icdm/icdm2007.html). Deepak has also served as the VP of Programs for the [Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Heartland Chapter](https://pmiheartland.org/). Dr. Khazanchi is an [AIS Distinguished Member – Cum Laude](https://aisnet.org/page/DistinguishedMemberList#k) and a Fellow of the [IAITQM (International Academy of Information Technology and Quantitative Management)](http://iaitqm.org/fellows.html).  Deepak has been recognized as the [Nebraska Tech Collaborative as one of their 2024 PIONEERS](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nebraska-tech-collaborative_ntcpioneers-activity-7133808994401357824-gpQV) and received the 2024 [AIM Institute’s Higher Education Technology Leader Award.](https://www.aimtechawards.org/)[DAA 2024 (Khazanchi)](https://dkhazanchi.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/daa-2024-khazanchi.pdf "DAA 2024 (Khazanchi)") His undergraduate alma mater, [IIT Kharagpur](https://www.iitkgp.ac.in/), honored him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA) in its commencement held on December 30th 2024. The [DAA](https://dkhazanchi.wordpress.com/about-2/bio/_wp_link_placeholder) recognizes the “professional achievements and contributions of its alumni” ([DAA 2024 Khazanchi)](https://dkhazanchi.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/daa-2024-khazanchi.pdf "DAA 2024 (Khazanchi)"). Deepak arrived in academics after working in managerial and technical positions with responsibility for designing structures (bridges and buildings) and as a project engineer for a multinational construction project.  He received the Ph.D. degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Management Information Systems from [Texas Tech University](http://www.ttu.edu/). Prior to this, he earned the MBA degree from [Southern Illinois University at Carbondale](http://www.siuc.edu/) and obtained an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the [Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur](https://www.iitkgpfoundation.org/index.html) (India). He can be reached via e-mail at [khazanchi@unomaha.edu](mailto:%20khazanchi@unomaha.edu), his “web presence” is at [https://dkhazanchi.com/](https://dkhazanchi.com/) and @khazanchi on twitter. He is [living his dream](https://web.archive.org/web/20220701234428/https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-information-science-and-technology/news/2006/12/living-his-dream.php) as an academic and enjoys any free time he has with his family and traveling.

I am a highly experienced and dedicated scientist with a Ph.D in Biology. My research interests include controlled environment agriculture, insect rearing, plant and insect ecology, and climate change. Throughout my academic career, I have been involved in six research projects, including examining the effect of artificial diet composition on insect growth and fecundity. After completing my Ph.D, I joined Dream Harvest Farming Company LLC as a Research Scientist. In this role, I lead a team of researchers in developing innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture, such as the development of novel methods to produce spinach in a vertical hydroponic farm. I have been responsible for managing research projects, analyzing data, and publishing scientific findings in peer-reviewed journals.

I currently work as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Trauma Resilience and Education Center of Greater Washington, DC. I approach mental health treatment from a trauma-informed lens and specialize in working with transgender, asexual, and LGBQ+ clients, and clients with outpatient eating disorder concerns. I specialize in research focusing on healthcare access for trans and nonbinary individuals, gender dysphoria, LGBTQ+ resilience, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic. I received a Ph.D. counseling psychology and M.A. in psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and previously received a BA in Psychology, a BS in mechanical engineering, and a MS in biomedical engineering, all from the University of Florida. Prior to starting the PhD program, I worked in the medical device industry as the Senior Manager of Product Commercialization in Research and Development at NovaBone Products.

Dr. Mehmet Gumus is a highly educated and experienced mathematician with a passion for teaching and research. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Southern Illinois University in 2017, where he focused on matrix computations and linear algebra. During his Ph.D. studies, he also worked as a teaching assistant and gained valuable experience in teaching mathematics. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Gumus joined Auburn University as a Visiting Assistant Professor, where he taught various undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics. He then moved on to become an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he continued his research and teaching career. In addition to his mathematical expertise, Dr. Gumus also has a strong background in data analytics. He received his M.S. in Data Analytics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023. This knowledge and experience in both mathematics and data analytics allow him to approach problems from different perspectives and provide unique solutions. Dr. Gumus has a passion for sharing his knowledge and expertise with others. He has published several articles in prestigious mathematics journals and has presented his research at numerous conferences. He also actively participates in workshops and seminars to stay updated on the latest advancements in his field. In his free time, Dr. Gumus enjoys reading and spending time with his family. He also enjoys hiking and playing soccer, which he believes helps him stay physically and mentally fit. With his strong academic background and dedication to teaching and research, Dr. Gumus is a valuable asset to any institution.

Dr. John Bilello has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, the biotechnology sector, and academic and government laboratories. He was an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Albany Medical College. Dr. Bilello joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where he was the Director of Technology Development in Translational Medicine and Genetics. John assessed external technologies in his technology development role, identifying new investment opportunities for GSK’s Technology Investment Board. His work with GSK’s Human Biomarker Laboratories led to tools for stratifying patients and monitoring efficacy in clinical studies. Specifically, he developed biomarkers for enabling studies of new therapeutics for COPD, diabetes/metabolic syndrome, migraine, and neurodegenerative diseases. Before joining GSK, he was a biochemist at Roche Pharmaceuticals, a Volkswagen Fellow at the University of Hamburg (Germany), and the Director of Preclinical Research and Development at two successful biotechnology companies (SRA Lifesciences and Virco Laboratories). As an enthusiastic entrepreneur, John was a founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Ridge Diagnostics, which developed and commercialized a diagnostic for major depressive disorder. At Ridge, he was an inventor on multiple US and international patents and processes. John has authored over seventy publications in refereed journals and more than ten book chapters. An internationally recognized scientist, he was a member of the editorial board for *Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy* (1995-2009). In addition to an established track record of innovative basic and clinical research, Dr. Bilello has extensive experience in project and organizational management. John was a co-founder and Managing Partner of Innovalyst LLC,  a small business accelerator focused on catalyzing product innovation in the Life Sciences.

Dr. Meghan Lowery is an experienced industrial/organizational psychologist with expertise in assessments, surveys, and workforce research. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2010, and her M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Missouri State University in 2007. She also holds a B.S. in Psychology from Texas State University. Dr. Lowery has over a decade of experience in the field, working in a variety of roles including Senior Director, Global Talent Science at Eli Lilly and Company, Director of Organizational Consulting at Psychological Associates, and Director at Applied Research Consultants. She has also served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Throughout her career, Dr. Lowery has focused on helping organizations optimize their workforce through the use of assessments, surveys, and research. She has a strong understanding of data analysis and has conducted numerous studies on employee engagement, job satisfaction, and leadership development. She is also skilled in developing and implementing talent management strategies. Dr. Lowery is a highly-respected member of the industrial/organizational psychology community and has presented her research at numerous conferences. She is also a published author, with articles appearing in respected journals such as the Journal of Business and Psychology and the Journal of Applied Psychology. Dr. Lowery enjoys spending time training her horses, barrel racing, educating others, and spending time with her family on their ranch. She is dedicated to using her expertise to help organizations improve their workplace culture and create a more engaged and productive workforce.