Master’s program also welcomes 12 new affiliated faculty members

Pinki Mondal has been named associate director of the University of Delaware Graduate College’s interdisciplinary master of science degree in data science. Mondal is an associate professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. She is affiliated with several programs and institutes at UD, including the Data Science Institute, the Delaware Environmental Institute and the water science and policy program.

Mondal’s research focuses on remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), developing geospatial methods for landscape-level monitoring and assessments, and studying the impacts of climate change on agriculture in developing countries. She is particularly interested in how weather variability affects farms and forests, and she examines smallholder agriculture in South Asia and the interaction between nature and society. Her work is crucial for understanding environmental changes and their impacts on food and nutrition security, especially in vulnerable regions.

Twelve new professors were also named affiliated faculty members for the program to enhance its interdisciplinary collaboration with their diverse perspectives and expertise:

• Ke Chen, mathematical sciences
• Mike Crossley, entomology and wildlife ecology
• Kyle Davis, geography and spatial sciences
• Jodi Hadden-Padilla, chemistry and biochemistry
• Tom Hsu, civil, construction and environmental engineering
• Ethan McCormick, School of Education
• Tom Powers, philosophy
• Marianna Safranova, physics
• Ulf Schiller, computer and information sciences
• Sandy Student, School of Education
• Harry Wang, accounting and MIS
• Timothy Webb, hospitality business management

With these additions, the program has 88 affiliated faculty members.