Meet the Faculty of the UW Master’s in Cybersecurity

Jennifer Butler Modaff, PhD, is an associate professor in communication studies at UW–La Crosse.

Dr. Butler Modaff earned a PhD in Communication Studies with a Certificate in Gender Studies, an MA in Sociology/Criminology, and a BA in Sociology/Criminology, all from Ohio University.

David Furcy, PhD, is a professor of Computer Science at UW–Oshkosh.

Dr. Furcy’s research interests are algorithmic self-assembly and computer science education. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (France) and the University of Iowa.

Dr. Tomi Heimonen, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Computing and New Media Technologies at UW–Stevens Point. He earned his Ph.D. in Interactive Technology and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Tampere and has taught at UWSP since 2015. At UWSP, Dr. Heimonen teaches courses in web development, user experience design, and AI, with an emphasis on enhancing students' awareness of the role of cybersecurity in systems planning, design, and development. He currently serves as the Academic Director for the MS in Cybersecurity program at UW–Stevens Point.

Chad R. Johnson, PhD, is an assistant professor and information security consultant for UW–Stevens Point. Dr. Johnson teaches courses in cybersecurity. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology where he teaches courses in criminology. He is the author of several works on computer criminology, user/machine profiling, conducting digital investigations, and digital forensics.

Dr. Johnson received his PhD in Cyber Defense from Dakota State University, and also holds an MS in Criminology from UW–Platteville, and a BA in Political Science and Social Science from UW–Stevens Point.

Omar Meqdadi obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Kent State University, with Prof. Jonathan Maletic as his advisor. He has MS and BS degrees in Computer Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan. He joined UW-Green Bay in August 2022 as Assistant Professor of Computer Science/Cyber security. Currently, he is teaching security courses in information assurance and Cybersecurity emphasis.  He started teaching CYB 703 in Summer 2024. His research interests are centered on Cybersecurity, with focus on network security, security issues of software evolution, and using machine learning methodologies for mining software repositories with 21 refereed publications.

Tim Pervenecki, PhD, is a Teaching Assistant Professor at UW-Superior. Dr. Pervenecki's research is in Mathematical Biology with a focus on population dynamics. He also does research in Combinatorics and Graph Theory.

He earned a PhD in Applied and Industrial Mathematics and a MA in Mathematics from the University of Louisville, and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Southern Indiana.

Steve Rosenberg, PhD, is a professor in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at UW-Superior. Dr. Rosenberg received his BS in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California and his doctorate in mathematics from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He also has extensive experience in computer science and software engineering. Dr. Rosenberg has published results in the areas of algebraic number theory, cryptographic protocols, and combinatorial designs, among others.

Surina Borjigin (FNU Surina), PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at UW-Superior. Her research is in Image Processing.

Dr. Surina's earned her Ph.D. from the University of Louisville in Applied and Industrial Mathematics.

George Thomas, PhD, is an associate professor and department chair at UW–Oshkosh. Dr. Thomas’ research interests are artificial intelligence, with focus on coordination, task allocation and marketbased mechanisms in multiagent systems; machine learning and natural language processing; and computer science education.

Dr. Thomas received his PhD and MS in Computer Science from the University of Iowa, and his B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Kerala, Trivandrum, India.

Jon Totushek, PhD, is an assistant professor at UW–Superior. Jon's research is in Homological Algebra.

He earned a PhD from North Dakota State University.

Tony Varghese, PhD is a professor in the Department of Computer, Information, and Data Science at UW–River Falls. Dr. Varghese has taught security courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels since 2015. He is the Academic Director on the River Falls campus for the cybersecurity program and developed 3 courses for this program: CYB 740, 755, and 765. He started teaching CYB 755 in Fall 2022.

He earned a PhD from the University of Minnesota.

Joshua Yue, PhD, is the head of the department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at UW-Platteville. He serves as the Cybersecurity program Academic Director. His research interests are in cybersecurity, cyber risk management, and software engineering. He has published many research papers in conferences and journals, and received research funding from both inside and outside grantors. Prior to academia, Dr. Yue worked in the IT industry, where his experience in software development and project management gives him a perspective that informs his teaching and research.

Dr. Yue received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Alabama.

Mike Zorn, PhD, is an associate dean and professor at UW–Green Bay in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Dr. Zorn's research interests relate to the development of chemical sensors and the use of sensors for environmental monitoring. Among other things, he is currently working on developing environmental sensor systems that use LoRaWAN communication strategies.

Dr. Zorn earned a PhD in Environmental Chemistry and Technology at UW–Madison, and a BS in Chemistry from UW–Green Bay.