Staff

	Mohammad A. Karim, Ph.D. Vice President for Research (757) 683-3460 mkarim@odu.edu As the institutional research officer, Dr. Karim is responsible for all administrative aspects of research  and its development at ODU. He oversees all university-wide research centers and support facilities. He interfaces tightly with the ODU Research Foundation in support of sponsored program activity. His staff in the Office provide basic support to the faculty for their regulatory, research development, grant writing, intellectual property and marketing needs. More
	Robert L. Ash, Ph.D. Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development Director, Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel (757) 683-4914 rash@odu.edu Dr. Ash is responsible for Old Dominion University's economic development initiatives involving research.   Dr. Ash also oversees the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology's Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel (LFST) in Hampton, Virginia, which is the largest, university-operated wind tunnel in the world, and which provides aerodynamic analysis and simulation for ground and air vehicles. More
	Philip J. Langlais, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Research (757) 683-6406 planglai@odu.edu Phil joined the Office of Research in August 2003, after sixteen years at San Diego State University and UCSD, School of Medicine. Phil's responsibilities include multi- and interdisciplinary research and graduate programs; the research infrastructure and inter-institutional collaborations required to support faculty and graduate development; and corporate and community partnerships. More
	Jeremiah Creedon, Ph.D. Director, Transportation Research Center (757) 683-5685 jcreedon@odu.edu Jerry joined the Office of Research in August of 2003, coming to us after a distinguished career at NASA. In his new role, he is responsible for formulating, advocating, and implementing transportation-related research projects which use the University's discipline strengths to advance the state of the art in transportation. Specific current efforts include the Maglev Demonstration Project and modeling and simulation of air transportation systems. More
	Pat Hatcher, Ph.D. Executive Director Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium 757) 683-6537 phatcher@odu.edu Dr. Hatcher joined ODU in June 2005. In addition to his position as the Executive Director of the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, he also serves as the Batten Endowed Chair in Physical Sciences, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Faculty Director of the College of Sciences Major Instrumentation Center. More
	Richard Heller, Ph.D. Director of Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics (757) 683-2421 RHeller@odu.edu Dr. Heller,  the renowned cancer researcher and pioneer in the use of electrogenetherapy, became Executive Director of the university's Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics and joined ODU's College of Health Sciences in July 2008.He oversees the Center's objectives, which are to perform leading edge interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research, recruit top faculty and exceptional graduate students, support regional, national and international programs, and to increase external funding and institutional visibility.
	John Sokolowski, Ph.D. Interim Executive Director of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (757) 686-6232 jsokolow@odu.edu Before becoming Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center’s Interim Executive Director, Dr. John Sokolowski has been a research professor and director of research for VMASC since the fall of 2006. He is credited with expanding the areas and amount of research being conducted at the center, and he is an author and co-editor of Principles of Modeling and Simulation - A Multidisciplinary Approach, the first multidisciplinary textbook in the M&S field. More
	Zohir Handy Licensing Manager (757) 683-5052 zhandy@odu.edu Zohir joined the Office of Research in April 2004, coming most recently from private enterprise in Canada.  Zohir's primary responsibility is to evaluate and market ODU intellectual property and technology, including the prosecution of patents and copyrights and the negotiation of licensing agreements.  Zohir's professional successes have been in new product launches, commercialization of technologies and the start-up of new ventures.  His experience includes both academia and industry in the U.S. and in Canada.
	Tawana Hardy Assistant to the Vice President for Research (757) 683-3460 thardy@odu.edu Tawana keeps the operation running from the "front end" by providing administrative support to the V.P., and facilitating logistics of Office operations. In addition, Tawana monitors the office budgets, tracks grant proposals with indirect cost commitments, and maintains the Vice President's calendar.
	Luna Mylene M. Magpili, Ph.D. Grant Writer (757) 683-4478 lmagpili@odu.edu Luna provides grant-writing support primarily to the Batten College of Engineering and Technology in developing multi-investigator,multi-disciplinary,  inter-college  and  multi-institutional  proposals. She analyzes grant applications and guidelines, performs post-analysis of submitted proposals, provides technical writing services and develops grant writing modules, templates, and check lists.  She also serves as conduit between the college and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects.
	Leigh Rastivo Nolan, MFA Grant Writer (757) 683-3631 Arts and Letters (757) 683-5103 Education lnolan@odu.edu Leigh provides grant writing support to faculty in the College of Arts and Letters and the Darden College of Education. Grant services include: analysis of solicitations and guidelines to clarify requirements; specific guidance in writing, together with templates, outlines and editing support; and coordination of grant teams and related resources. She also serves as a liaison between the Colleges and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects.
	Laura Paganucci Grant Writer LPaganuc@odu.edu (757) 683-4095 Laura joined the Office of Research in January 2008 and provides grant writing support to faculty in the College of Health Sciences.  Grant services include: analysis of solicitations and guidelines to clarify requirements; specific guidance in writing, together with templates, checklists and editing support; and coordination of grant teams and related resources.  She also serves as a liaison between the college and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects.
	Umaporn Pongphuntharak Research Development and Outreach Coordinator upongphu@odu.edu  (757) 683-3148 Umaporn joined the Office of Research in May 2009 and provides several services to ODU faculty which include: finding funding opportunities for faculty, administering intramural funding programs, compiling the Office of Research Funding Opportunities Newsletter and Annual Research Report. Umaporn also serves as a Web Administrator for the Office of Research website.
	Adam J. Rubenstein, Ph.D. Research Compliance Coordinator (757) 683-3686 arubenst@odu.edu Adam joined the Office of Research in May 2006. He is the liaison to the University's research protocol review committees (human subjects, animal subjects, radiation safety, & biosafety). He ensures compliance with federal regulations governing research risks and he reviews research proposals for adherence to federal and internal procedures and guidelines. Also, he coordinates training and education regarding research ethics and professional development. His academic training is in developmental psychology and infant development.
	Jackie Stein, M.A. Grant Writer (757) 683-6758 jstein@odu.edu Jackie joined the Office of Research in October 2007 and provides grant writing support to faculty in the Colleges of Arts & Letters, Business & Public Administration, and Education, as well as  to University administration.  Grant services include: analysis of solicitations and guidelines to clarify requirements; specific guidance in writing, together with templates, checklists and editing support; and coordination of grant teams and related resources.  She also serves as a liaison between the colleges and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects.
	Ying Song Licensing Associate (757) 683-4027 yxsong@odu.edu Ying joined the Office of Research in April 2009. Her main responsibility includes evaluating and marketing technologies developed by ODU researchers. Ying started her career as a bench scientist working for Ortec International, a pioneer in tissue engineering field, and had led the successful development of the company's first commercial product. Ying had also interned at Innovation Works, a Pennsylvania state funded venture capital firm, developing commercialization strategies for an early stage software product company. Prior joining the Office of Research, Ying pursed entrepreneurship in technology licensing in the medical device field. Ying holds a Doctor's degree in Dentistry from Tianjin Medical College in China, a BS in Biology from Trent University in Canada, a MS in Pharmacology from St. John's University in New York, and a MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
	Amanda Trussell Animal Facility Manager (757) 683-3595 atrussel@odu.edu Amanda Trussell joined ODU as Manager for the Animal Care Facility in July 2008. Her responsibilities include: taking care of all the animals housed in the facility; overseeing training for new animal facility users; and ensuring that research involving animals is conducted in accordance to protocols that were approved by the university's IACUC review board.
	Steve Urick Greenhouse Conservator (757) 683-5839 SUrick@odu.edu Mr. Urick joined ODU in 2007. As greenhouse Conservator, he is responsible for all aspects of greenhouse operations at ODU, including the newly constructed Arthur S. Kaplan Orchid Conservatory.  His duties include managing the daily operations of the greenhouses, supervising part time student workers and volunteers, and maintaining the health and well being of the many different plants including a collection of over 1,500 orchids.  In addition he is constructing a mini rainforest setting in the 1,200 square foot display greenhouse where many rare, exotic and beautiful plants will be part of an ever-changing, ever-blooming showpiece for the research, educational and conservational projects of the growing greenhouses.
	Prakash C. Viswanathan, Ph.D. Grant Writer pviswana@odu.edu Prakash joined the Office of Research in February 2008 and provides grant writing support to faculty in the College of Sciences. Grant services include: developing initial proposal outline based on solicitation or agency specific requirements; reviewing proposal to assure required components are addressed; specific guidance in proposal writing and editing; drafting and obtaining letters of support; and coordination of grant teams and related resources. He also serves as a liaison between the college and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects.  More