NSE Faculty and Staff
Division Chair
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Ben Montgomery |
Dr. Ben Montgomery earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He teaches introductory biology as well as courses related to ecology and botany. His research interests include mating systems, pollen movement between species, and barriers to hybridization.
Astronomy & Physics
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Andrew Leonardi |
Dr. Andy Leonardi earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He teaches introductory astronomy, introduction to physical science, and general physics courses. His research interests include star formation, post-starburst galaxies, and integrated-light spectroscopy.
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John Riley |
Dr. John Riley earned a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics from Duke University. His current scholarly and creative interests include physics pedagogy, new media creation and photographic virtual reality.
Biology
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Bradley Baumgarner |
Dr. Bradley Baumgarner earned a Ph.D. from Purdue University. He teaches human anatomy and physiology and comparative animal physiology. His lab conducts research on xenobiotic and nutrient metabolism in skeletal muscle cells.
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Kim Brewitt |
Dr. Kim Brewitt earned a Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Cruz. She teaches and coordinates introductory biology I, as well as introductory biology II and ecology. Her professional interests include fisheries ecology.
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Vincent Connors |
Dr. Connors earned a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and held research or faculty appointments at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Perpignan (France), and the University of Montana. His teaching interests include Parasitology, Invertebrate Biology, and Immunology. Dr. Connors’ research focuses on the parasites of estuarine fish and humans.
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David Ferris |
Dr. David Ferris earned a Ph.D. in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in biology from Georgia Southern University. Dr. Ferris regularly teaches animal behavior, ecology, pathophysiology, anatomy and physiology, and introductory biology courses. His research interests include the basking behavior of turtles, simulation modelling, and ecological impacts of introduced species.
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Kathleen Ferris |
Ms. Kathleen Ferris earned a Master of Science in wildlife and fishery sciences from Texas A&M University. She teaches and coordinates microbiology laboratories. She has taught general biology, introductory biology, human biology & society and environmental science. She has a broad range of professional interests in biology ranging from microbiology to ecology, and the importance of scientific literacy in society today.
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Amandela Harris |
Ms. Amandela Harris earned a Master of Science in biomedical sciences from Liberty University. She has taught introductory biology, human physiology, anatomy and physiology and exercise physiology. She teaches and coordinates anatomy and physiology II labs.
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George Labanick |
Dr. George Labanick earned a Ph.D. in zoology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Dr. Labanick has taught introductory biology, general biology, human physiology and society, genetics and society, invertebrate zoology, genetics, developmental biology, animal behavior, and senior seminar
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Melissa Pilgrim |
Dr. Melissa Pilgrim earned a Master of Science in biology from Southeastern Louisiana University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas, with post-doctoral training at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Melissa teaches ecology and evolutionary biology, field vertebrate zoology, comparative animal physiology, human physiology, and senior seminar. Her primary research focus involves an integrative approach to investigating how ecosystems respond to environmental change (natural and anthropogenic), and she is interested in large-scale questions regarding anthropogenic influences on nutrient cycling and understanding how individual animal responses to environmental variation impact population-level processes.
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Kimberly Shorter |
Dr. Kim Shorter earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of South Carolina and did her postdoctoral research in molecular psychiatry at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She teaches Intro. Biology I, Intro. to Cell and Molecular Biology, Histology, and Neurobiology. Her research interests include (1) the effects of excess B-Vitamins on epigenetics with relevance to aging and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and (2) the role of miRNAs in regulating gene expression in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
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Julie Smoak |
Ms. Julie Smoak earned her Master of Science in botany from Clemson University, where her research focused on reservoir shoreline restoration and enhancement. She teaches and coordinates BIOL 110, general biology.
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Jonathan Storm |
Dr. Jonathan Storm earned a Ph.D. from Indiana State University. He teaches Introductory Biology and Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. His research interests include mammalian ecology and animal behavior.
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Melissa Storm |
Ms. Melissa Storm earned her Master of Science from Indiana State University. She teaches and coordinates the laboratory for human anatomy and physiology I.
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Scott Tanner |
Dr. Scott Tanner earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and he completed 2 postdoctoral fellowships in the Departments of Microbiology and Surgery at UAB. He teaches Genetics, Developmental Biology, Immunology, and Introductory Biology Laboratory I. Dr. Tanner’s research interests include intestinal disease and development, and the genomic evolution of Drosophila (fruit flies).
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Ginny Webb |
Dr. Ginny Webb earned a Ph.D. In microbiology and immunology from the Medical University of South Carolina. She teaches microbiology, virology, emerging infectious diseases, and biology courses at USC Upstate. Her research focuses on the pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungi responsible for the most-common cause of fungal meningitis, and on studies of environmental microbial contamination to understand the role microbes play in public health and infectious diseases.
Chemistry
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Christopher M. Bender |
Dr. Chris Bender earned a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Cornell University. He teaches general chemistry lectures and labs as well as inorganic chemistry. His research interests include inorganic chemistry and materials science, with research focused on creating nanoparticles of various morphologies
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Sarah Caldwell |
Dr. Sarah Caldwell earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Duke University. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina Upstate, she was employed as a research and development chemist for the polymer industry, focusing on the development of new products for polyester resins and fibers. She teaches general and organic chemistry lecture and labs.
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Chad Mueller |
Mr. Chad Mueller earned a Master of Science in chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He previously taught a mix of introductory, general and organic chemistry as a professor at Bluegrass Community & Technical College in Kentucky, but also has experience teaching at the University of Colorado at Denver, Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, Maysville Community College in Kentucky, University of Kentucky in Lexington and Wofford College.
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Anita Nag |
Dr. Anita Nag earned a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and she completed two postdoctoral studies at Yale University and Florida State University while supported by a fellowship from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She primarily teaches biochemistry lectures (Biochemistry I and Biochemistry II) and lab as well as general chemistry labs. Dr. Nag’s research focuses on the effect of viral proteins and RNA on host cells, specifically studying nonstructural protein 1 of SARS coronavirus.
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Anselm Omoike |
Dr. Anselm Omoike earned a Ph.D. in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry from Queen’s University in Canada, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Clemson University and the University of Arizona, Tucson. Dr. Omoike teaches General Chemistry, General and Qualitative Analysis, Quantitative Analysis, Environmental Chemistry, and Instrumental Methods of Analysis. His research interests involve magnetic nanoparticles functionalization for applications such as pollutants adsorption/degradation, reduction of allergenicity in foods, and drug delivery.
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Astrid Rosario |
Dr. Astrid Rosario earned a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. She teaches organic chemistry and polymer chemistry courses. Her research interests include physical and kinetic measurements of crosslinked polymer systems and high-performance polymeric nanocomposites.
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Joshua Ruppel |
Dr. Josh Ruppel teaches organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, organic spectroscopy, and undergraduate research courses. His research interests include the development of transition metal catalyzed organic transformations, the synthesis of a new class of porphyrinoid compounds to study their interaction with proteins associated with certain types of cancer, and chemical education.
Geology
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Briget Doyle |
Dr. Briget Doyle earned a Ph.D. in geological engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. She teaches physical geology, environmental geology and natural disasters courses. Her professional interests include identification and mitigation of natural hazards using geographic information systems (GIS).
Staff
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Christina "Nina" Pacilli |
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Travis Specht |
Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering
Horace C. Smith Building, Room 215
160 Gramling Drive
Spartanburg, SC 29303
864-503-5464
nseoffice@uscupstate.edu