New Faculty 2025
Department of Computer Science
Viktoria Koscinski
Assistant Professor
Viktoria Koscinski joins CSU from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she earned her Ph.D. Her research interests include improving software security across stages of development, which reduces security issues across the software engineering lifecycle. Koscinski is currently focused on advancing software security through data-driven and AI-assisted methods. One project investigates how organizations analyze and prioritize software vulnerabilities by developing statistical and machine learning models for more accurate risk evaluation. Another project focuses on early software development by detecting security weaknesses in processing human language software documentation.
Carlos Ortiz Marrero
Assistant Professor
Carlos Ortiz Marrero joins CSU from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he spent 9 years working on problems related to Applied Mathematics, Quantum Computing, and Machine Learning. He still holds an affiliation with PNNL as a joint appointee and is a principal investigator at the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage. Ortiz Marrero’s current research interests are related to the development and analysis of algorithms for quantum computers. Through CSU, he is involved in multiple, multi-institutional projects that assess the utility of quantum computers and how they can be made more useful in real-world settings.
McKenna McCall
Assistant Professor
McKenna McCall joins CSU from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was a postdoctoral researcher. Her research interests lie at the intersection of formal methods for security and privacy and usable security. Specifically, she intends to continue researching how sensitive and untrusted information is handled by software, security programming languages that are usable by non-experts, and strategies for improving the security of smart homes. Current projects in her lab seek to evaluate the usability of security type systems, understand barriers to adopting security technology in the healthcare industry, and identify the security and privacy concerns of rural and other under-researched populations.
Juspreet Sandhu
Assistant Professor
Juspreet Sandhu joins CSU from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he was a postdoctoral scholar. His research interests lie in both theoretical computer science and mathematical physics. Specifically, he focuses on mathematical and algorithmic problems that connect probability theory, analysis, and physics.
Department of Mathematics
Joseph Antonides
Assistant Professor
Joseph Antonides joins CSU from Virginia Tech, where he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Mathematics. His research focuses on mathematical epistemology and psychology. He is interested in both the cognitive processes involved in how students reason about mathematics and the structure of mathematical knowledge itself. His research spans across a variety of mathematical disciplines, including geometry, combinatorics, and logic. Some of his current projects include investigating students’ conceptualizations of logical implications as well as students’ concepts and reasoning within transformation geometry developing methods and theories for researchers to better understand students’ mathematical reasoning.
Ben Knudsen
Assistant Professor
Ben Knudsen joins CSU from Northeastern University, where he was an associate professor. At CSU, he is the organizer of the CSU’s Topology Seminar alongside his role as an assistant professor. He specializes in algebraic topology and is interested in quantifying characteristics of space. His research explores configuration spaces, robotics, stability phenomena, and collision-free motion planning on graphs.
Department of Psychology
Amy McDonnell
Assistant Professor
Amy McDonnell joins CSU from the University of Utah, where she was a postdoctoral research fellow. She is interested in topics that combine technology, neuroscience, and nature in the realm of health innovation. In her lab, McDonnell examines changes in the brain during interactions with nature, as well as how humans interact with technology, including automated vehicles and personal devices. Ultimately, her work aims to utilize science to foster positive impacts on human health and wellness.
