The International Conference on Data-Processing and Networking (ICDPN-2025) was held from November 7th – 8th. During the conference, the FUSION Awards 2025 celebrated trailblazers, thinkers, researchers, and change-makers who exemplify excellence in academia, industry, and innovation. This prestigious international platform recognizes collaborative brilliance, where ideas meet execution, research drives real-world impact, and cross-sector synergy accelerates global progress.
Dr. Parul Yadav, who won the International Educator of the YearAward, was recognized for her global educational leadership and cross-border impact. “I am delighted and humbled…the experience was truly enriching. The sessions offered valuable insights into emerging research, innovation, and collaborations happening across the globe. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, learn, and engage with experts and educators from different countries”, said Dr. Yadav.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Yadav on her most recent accomplishment.
For more information on the awards and selection criteria, please click here to visit their website: 2025 ICDPN Fusion Awards
IGI Global Scientific Publishing recently announced the winners of its second annual “Reviewer of the Year Award.” This honor is proudly supported by the publisher’s Open Access Journal Program.
Selection Process Details
To be considered for a nomination, an IGI Global editorial board member had to have actively provided quality, timely peer reviews throughout the previous year (2024).
The award selection process measured performance based on a rigorous set of criteria: the volume of completed reviews, the quality of those reviews, and the timeliness with which they were completed. All of this performance data is meticulously tracked and documented through the publisher’s proprietary system, the eEditorial Discovery System (eED).
Awards were presented to a top editorial review board member and a top associate editor from each of the publisher’s three major disciplinary groups:
Business & Management
Scientific, Technical, & Medical (STM)
Education & Social Sciences
This award acknowledges the critical, behind-the-scenes work that sustains the integrity and quality of published research. The winner of the Scientific, Technical, & Medical (STM) category is RMU’s very own Dr. Stephen Mancini.
Dr. Stephen Mancini is considered an expert in leadership, cybersecurity, and understanding the challenges of cybercrime. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Liberty University and a master’s degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He holds various certifications in information systems and project management, and has spent the past 30 years as a leader in cybersecurity and cybercrime for the DHS Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency and the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance.
Dr. Mancini is a distinguished educator and subject-matter expert in cybercrime, cybersecurity, and cyber policy. He has taught at the National Defense University and is currently a faculty member at RMU. He has trained global representatives on these critical issues. Beyond his academic work, Dr. Mancini has authored publications on cyber topics, co-hosts the radio program “Italian Impact Weekly,” and is the Director of the highly acclaimed documentary, “Fedelta. Soldier. Prisoner.”
The “Woman in Research Excellence – Global Woman of Science Award” is an ElevateX Award given at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Networking (ICAIN). Dr. Parul Yadav received this award at ICAIN 2025, held in Dubai this October, for her contributions to research and innovation. The award celebrates women’s achievements in research, focusing on merit-based evaluation of innovation, impact, and leadership, especially in AI and related fields.
The ICAIN conference brings together scientists, researchers, and industry experts to discuss advancements in computing and networking. The ICAIN 2025 event was organized by BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, in association with the Universal Innovators and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad.
Award Goal: The ElevateX Awards, which included the “Woman in Research Excellence” category, were created to recognize individuals and institutions for outstanding contributions in research, academia, and industry.
Selection Process: The awards used a merit-based selection process with multiple stages of evaluation, including a call for nominations, an initial screening, and a final review by an expert committee.
Dr. Jamie Pinchot received the Ben Bauman Award for Excellence at the International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS) 2025 Conference in Clearwater, FL, on October 3, 2025. (conference link here)
The Ben Bauman Award for Excellence honors faculty members who have demonstrated significant contributions and dedication to the field of information systems, including service to their university and community.
Dr. Pinchot was recognized during the ceremony as a distinguished academic who has taught at the university level for over 20 years with a teaching portfolio that spans undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses. Her scholarly research has focused on the areas of information privacy and security, mobile technologies, social media and online human behavior, and human-centered design in software development. Further, she has chaired 15 doctoral dissertation committees and served on an additional 33 dissertation committees during her tenure at RMU. Dr. Pinchot has also served RMU as Director of the Ph.D. in Information Systems and Communications and currently serves as Department Head for the Computer and Information Systems department, where she oversees 5 undergraduate programs, 6 Master’s degree programs, and the Ph.D. program. She has also served as Co-PI on two NSF grants and has been RMU’s representative for the National Center for Women & Technology (NCWIT). Dr. Pinchot’s full bio can be found here.
(left to right, Evan Kinney, Dr. G. Alan Davis, Dr. Natalya Bromall, Dr. Sushma Mishra, Dr. Jamie Pinchot, Dr. John Stewart, Shadrack Oriaro, Dr. Karen Paullet, and Amy Kulikowski)
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Pinchot on this award, honoring her impressive record of service as a teacher, scholar, and administrator in the field of information systems.
The 9th annual Research and Grants Expo was held at the Elaine Boyd Library on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. RMU faculty, staff and students were invited to attend and learn more about the research going on here at RMU.
Several faculty members from the Computer and Information Systems department showcased their research during the poster exhibition.
Dr. Gary Davis and Dr. John Stewart (pictured left to right) presented “Determining Successful Translocation of Large Mammalian Carnivores Using Random Forest Classification.”
CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grant. Dr. Ping Wang (pictured above) is the PI for this grant, and Drs. Sushma Mishra and Noory Etezady are the Co-PIs.
Drs. Parul Yadav, Natalya Bromall, Sushma Mishra and Steve Mancini (pictured left to right), presented “Learning AI Models with AWS DeepRacer.”
Presenting “Capstone Project Design for An Undergraduate Cybersecurity Program” (pictured left to right) are Drs. Ping Wang and Noory Etezady.
Congratulations to the faculty for this outstanding work!
Students and Faculty attended the 64th IACIS Annual Conference to present research and to learn about new findings in the field from colleagues.
Robert Pava, Reese Martin, and Dr. Sushma Mishra presented their research: Unveiling Exploitation Potential: A Comparative Analysis of Flipper Zero and Rubber Ducky.
James Bonacci, Peyton Lutchkus, Reese Martin, Robert Pava, Dr. Ping Wang, and Bradford Kline presented their research on: Estimating Intrinsic Dimension To Architect Compact Neural Networks.
(Pictured: Peyton Lutchus, James Bonacci, Reese Martin and Robert Pava)
Dr. John Stewart, Dr. G. Alan Davis, and William Glascoe presented their research on Determining Successful Translocation of Large Mammalian Carnivores Using Random Forest Classification. Imran Hossain was also a co-author on this paper.
(Pictured: Dr. John Stewart & Dr. William Glascoe)
William Glascoe presented his research on Human Digital Twin Initiatives. (Dr. Wenli Wang was also a co-author on this paper.)
Dr. Sushma Mishra, Dr. Natalya Bromall, and Dr. Kevin Slonka presented their research on What do High School Students Know About The Field of Cyber Security? A Survey of Perception and Experiences. Dr. Slonka is a graduate of RMU’s doctoral program and currently teaches at Saint Francis University. Dr. Peter Draus was also a co-author on this paper.
(Pictured: Dr. Kevin Slonka and son)
Dr. Ping Wang, and Christopher Johnson presented their research on The Impacts of Generative Artificial Intelligence (ai) In Knowledge Discovery and Generation For Cyber Defense.
(Pictured: Christopher Johnson)
Jing Hua, Dr. Ping Wang, and Peyton Lutchkus presented their research on How Effective Are Large Language Models In Detecting Phishing Emails?
Reese Martin, Robert Pava, and Dr. Sushma Mishra presented their research on Analyzing Machine Learning Algorithms For Antivirus Applications: A Study On Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines, and Neural Networks.
Dr. Natalya Bromall, Dr. Jamie Pinchot and Dr. Sushma Mishra presented their research on Racing To Build Your Ai Skills: Programming Rl Models With Aws Deepracer. Dr. Steve Mancini and Dr. Peter Draus were also co-authors on this paper.
(Pictured: Dr. Natalya Bromall)
Dr. Sushma Mishra, and Dr. Noory Etezady presented their research on Embedding Ai Competencies In A Cyber Security Graduate Program: Identifying Existing Gaps.
Dr. Karen Paullet and Dr. Jamie Pinchot presented their research on Can Gptzero Detect If Students Are Using Artificial Intelligence To Create Assignments? Evan Kinney and Tyler Stewart were also co-authors on this paper.
(Pictured: Dr. Jamie Pinchot & Dr. Karen Paullet)
A special shoutout to the students who attended as NSF Scholarship for Service:
Peyton Lutchkus, James Bonacci, Reese Martin, and Robert Pava
Our CIS faculty are active in research, and several of our faculty are part of ongoing grants. Several faculty members presented at the Research and Grants Expo on March 15, 2023.
Among those presented was the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grant. Dr. Ping Wang is the PI for this grant, and Dr. Sushma Mishra (pictured below) and Dr. Frank Hartle are Co-PIs.
The CIS Cyber Scholars grant “Developing a Faculty-Student Mentor Model” was also presented. Pictured below (left to right) are Dr. Abdur Shahid, Dr. Natalya Bromall, and Dr. Karen Paullet. Dr. Paullet is the PI on this grant and Dr. Shahid and Dr. Bromall are Co-PIs.
Dr. Abdur Shahid (pictured below) presented “Data Poisioning Attack Against Wearable Artificial Intelligence Systems.” His co-researchers include Dr. Peter Wu and Dr. Diane Igoche from RMU, as well as two colleagues from other institutions.
Congratulations to the faculty for this outstanding work!
Dr. Sushma Mishra, Professor of Computer and Information Systems, gave a presentation titled “Organizational Security Governance Practices: A Convergence of Frameworks” at the ISACA Pittsburgh Information Security Awareness Day Conference.
This is the premier educational event for information systems audit and information security professionals in the Pittsburgh region. With a chapter membership of more than 600 professionals, the ISACA Pittsburgh Chapter is represented by employees of more than 150 companies, academic institutions, and government entities throughout the region.
Dr. Ping Wang, University Professor of Computer and Information Systems, and co-author Dr. Hubert D’Cruze (University of Maryland) were the recipients of the Best Paper Award – Research at the 61st Annual Conference for the International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS). The IACIS conference was held virtually this year on October 6-8, 2021.
Dr. Wang’s winning research paper was titled “Honeypots and Knowledge for Network Defense.”
Dr. Paul Kovacs, University Professor of Computer and Information Systems, and Dr. Wenli Wang, Professor of Computer and Information Systems, received the Best Paper Award at the 2020 Conference on Computing Education (EDSIGCON) for a paper that they co-authored with Dr. Alan Peslak (Penn State University) and Dr. Lisa Kovalchick (California University of Pennsylvania). Their award-winning paper was titled “Effectiveness of Educational Delivery Modes: A Study in Computer Information Systems.”
Dr. Jamie Pinchot
Dr. Karen Paullet
Dr. Jamie Pinchot, Professor of Computer Information Systems, and Dr. Karen Paullet, Associate Professor of Computer and Information Systems, received the Distinguished Paper Award(Top 10%) at the same 2020 Conference on Computing Education (EDSIGCON) for their paper titled “Using Student Choice in Assignments to Create a Learner-Centered Environment for Online Courses.”
The EDSIGCON 2020 Conference was held virtually this year on November 4-7, 2020. Congratulations, faculty!
CIS @ RMU 