AUM Faculty & Staff
Directory
Debra Tomblin
Program/Project Manager
Rodney Turley
Assistant Director of Facilities Plant & Operations
Yener Ulus
Assistant Professor | College of Sciences
Dr. Yener Ulus is an environmental health scientist studying how environmental change influences the movement, transformation, and accumulation of pollutants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. He leads the TRACE Lab at Auburn University at Montgomery with a focus on mercury and other environmental contaminants.
His research investigates how sea-level rise, flooding, saltwater intrusion, forest management, and wildfires affect pollutant cycling and associated ecological and human health risks. His work integrates field studies, laboratory experiments, and environmental monitoring to better understand and predict contaminant behavior.
More recently, his interests have expanded to artificial intelligence and data-driven environmental science, particularly for improving pollution monitoring, analyzing environmental patterns, and predicting contaminant dynamics. He also collaborates with social scientists and public health researchers to explore public awareness, risk perception, and exposure-related behaviors, connecting environmental research with human health and risk communication.
Dr. Ulus has published in leading peer-reviewed journals and maintains national and international research collaborations. The TRACE Lab welcomes new research partnerships and prospective master’s students interested in environmental science.
Robert Underwood
Professor | College of Sciences
Ph.D. Mathematics (1992), State University of New York at Albany
M.S. Mathematics Education (1986), State University of New York at Albany
Robert Underwood is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics in the School of School of Sciences. His research interests concern the classification of Hopf algebra orders in group rings and the application of Hopf orders to Galois module theory and the theory of formal groups.
Uma Vajrala
Client Service Provider
Christopher Van Fleet
ITS Service Desk Manager
Mrinal Varma
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
Shanta Varma
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Shanta Goswami Varma is Professor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Distance Education & Collaborative Partnerships. With more than two decades of experience in online education, she has led initiatives in instructional technology, digital equity, and open educational resources (OER). Her leadership has expanded AUM’s online programs, strengthened faculty development, and advanced both domestic and international partnerships. Her research focuses on student engagement, digital literacy in marginalized communities, and the use of OER to promote access and retention in higher education.
Faculty’s Expertise: Distance Education, Instructional Technology, Digital Equity, Open Educational Resources (OER), Online Program Development, Faculty Development & Training, Global & Community Partnerships, Digital Literacy in Marginalized Communities, Student Engagement in Online Learning.
Tony Veronese
Assistant Professor - 2D/Digital Arts | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Tony Veronese (Assistant Professor of 2D and Digital Art) holds a Masters of Art and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Dallas in Painting and Drawing. Within the AUM Fine Arts Department, Tony teaches regularly teaches Drawing, 3D Printing, Digital Illustration and Digital Painting. As an exhibiting artist, he has been the recipient of a grant from the MMFA for the community togetherness project, selected as a rising star of Dallas in 2017, and most recently was awarded the Edward L. Robbins prize for his entry in the 2023 exhibition Alabama A-Z.
Courtney A. Waid
Associate Professor and Faculty Athletic Representative
Courtney A. Waid
Associate Professor and Faculty Athletic Representative | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Courtney A. Waid is currently an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and serves as the NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). She holds a Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice from the Florida State University (2010). She has developed and taught courses in in the areas of corrections, juvenile delinquency and justice, victimology, and criminological theory. Her recent research appears in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.
