About Myself

Currently, I enjoy wearing 2 hats at UNCA: I'm part of the joint NCSU/UNCA Mechatronics Engineering Program, and part of the UNCA Computer Science Program. Engineering has been my interest since 1977 when I completed my B.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. I worked for 12 years as a Mechanical Engineering on projects ranging from the development of medical equipment to the analysis of missile re-entry systems. I completed a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 1985, and obtained my professional engineering license in North Carolina in 1989.

I returned to graduate school to pursue Artificial Intelligence as my new field of study in 1990. I completed my M.S. in Computer Science in 1992 and my Ph.D. in 1995; both degrees were awarded from New Mexico State University.

Before coming to UNCA in 1997, I was at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas but left when my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Since joining UNCA, my interests have drifted from Artificial Intelligence to pedagogy and the design of the various classes that I hope we will share.