At Edinboro University, small class sizes and an internationally recognized instructional faculty—90 percent of whom hold terminal degrees in their field of study—offer students the personalized, high-quality education they need to succeed.
Dr. Anne Quinn joined the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Edinboro University in 1991. She has taught a wide variety of classes, including: Finite Mathematics, Math of Finance, Basic Algebra, College Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus, Statistics, Discrete Mathematics I and II, Mathematics for Elementary Education Majors, Informal Geometry, Calculators and Computers in the Classroom, Actuarial Science Seminar, Math Seminar, independent study in Game Theory, and graduate Number Theory. Her research, featured in the Mathematics Teacher journal (NCTM) and the College Mathematics Journal (MAA), includes: the mathematics of the game of SET ®, research in the development of proof, graph theory, recreational mathematics, and incorporating mobile apps and statistical technology into the classroom. She is also a frequent speaker at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NTCM) conferences, Mathematical Association of America (MAA) conferences, the Joint Mathematics Meetings, Mathfest, and local high schools. In the past few years, she has presented talks on recreational math at Mathfest and the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Columbus, Atlanta, Chicago, and Cincinnati, including being part of an invited panel on women in recreational mathematics. Research details are available at http://users.edinboro.edu/quinna/public.htm and www.linkedin.com/in/drannequinn/. From 1999-2014, Dr. Quinn served as Assistant Department Chair and Mathematics Placement Director. In this position, she worked on department scheduling, assessment, and curriculum, including the development of the Actuarial Science concentration. She has served as the Chair of Mathematics and Computer Science since May of 2014. In this role, she is busy with department planning, hiring, curriculum development, and outreach to talented high school mathematics and science students. These efforts include inviting hundreds of local students to campus twice a year, for Pi Day each March and STEM Day each October (since 2014). Details available at https://www.edinboro.edu/piday.
Marc Sylvester, PhD Professor, Assistant Chairperson
Dr. Marc Sylvester joined the Edinboro University faculty in 2000. He earned a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Pittsburgh. His dissertation work titled “Estimation of a Common Mean through a Series of Similar Interlaboratory Experiments,” is in the area of statistical meta-analysis and experimental design. Dr. Sylvester actively consults on statistical analyses both on-campus and professionally. Here at Edinboro University, Dr. Sylvester enjoys teaching a variety of classes in statistics and pure mathematics such as: Elements of Statistics, Mathematical Probability and Statistics, Statistical Inference, Introduction to Actuarial Science, Linear Algebra, and Mathematics Seminar.
When not in the classroom, Dr. Sylvester takes on many campus responsibilities. He is the assistant chairperson of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Recently, he served as interim director of the Robert C. Weber Honors Program. He also serves in a variety of leadership roles for the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) faculty union. He currently serves as spokesperson for the Edinboro University APSCUF Meet and Discuss team, and has previously served as a negotiator for the statewide faculty collective bargaining agreement.
Dr. Sylvester is an avid contract bridge player. He holds the rank of Gold Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League. He competes at bridge locally, regionally, and nationally. He also has a passion for travel. In the remainder of his spare time, he is on a constant quest for the perfect meal or glass of red wine.
Dr. Dan Bennett joined the Edinboro faculty after spending 12 years as a systems administrator in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Kent State University. While teaching at Edinboro, he earned a PhD in Computer Science from Kent State with a specialization in parallel computing and scientific visualization.
At Edinboro, he has taught a wide variety of computer science classes including Computer Graphics and Algorithm Design and Analysis. He particularly enjoys individual instruction and independent study classes and has participated in a number of student research and independent investigation projects.
Dr. Larry Downey has been teaching mathematics at Edinboro University since 2012. He earned his Ph.D. in pure mathematics at Kent State University in 2001, where he studied Functional Analysis and Operator Theory. Dr. Downey has published papers in his field in several prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including the Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, Note Di Matematica and the International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics. In addition to studying pure mathematics, Dr. Downey has worked in several applied areas of research, including image forensics and signal processing. He has contributed to several papers in the mechanical engineering field, and has developed software used by academic publishers for the detection of forgeries within digital images. The use of his software has resulted in multiple retractions of falsified research submitted to scientific journals. His expertise in the field of image forensics has been sought by numerous outside parties for consultation, including the United States government and Harvard University. His ultimate goal professionally, however, is to show his students the beauty of mathematics and to have a positive impact on their lives.
Outside of Academia, Dr. Downey is a fine art photographer and an avid fly fisherman, and most importantly, Dad, to Jacqueline, Anna and William.
Dr. Korey Kilburn first joined the Edinboro University faculty in 2001. After studying abroad in France, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education Mathematics with a French minor from Edinboro University; a Master’s in Mathematics/Operations Research from Miami University, a Master’s in Applied Mathematics and also a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering - Applied Mathematics from the University of Akron. Dr. Kilburn is the liaison and program coordinator for the Associates degree in Aeronautical Sciences. He is a licensed pilot with an instrument rating and has been avidly flying since 2000.
Dr. Kilburn teaches a wide variety of courses including all levels of applied mathematics, numerical methods, probability, statistics, actuarial science, finance and operations research. Dr. Kilburn is the founder and advisor of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, and he is the head black belt instructor – teaching class two times per week in the evenings. Dr. Kilburn enjoys service to the students and the community. He regularly volunteers time to work with General McLane’s Academy of Medical Arts and Engineering students. He was selected as a “distinguished alumni” of the local General McLane High School.
Dr. Kilburn enjoys traveling, learning, and experiencing different cultures. He has taught English as a foreign language to Russian speaking students and has presented at scientific research conferences in Ukraine. He speaks advanced French and intermediate Russian languages. His other hobbies include chess, handball, woodworking and playing fingerstyle guitar. Dr. Kilburn often participates in board game events that the Mathematics and Computer Science department organizes.
Dr. Frank Marzano received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1988 and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Northern Illinois University in 1995. His research interests include ordinary differential equations, mathematics education, Vedic mathematics, and the history of mathematics. Dr. Marzano has presented his research at scholarly gatherings throughout Pennsylvania as well as farther afield. In 2015, he was a panelist for the first worldwide Vedic Mathematics Conference.
From 1996 to 2012 Dr. Marzano served on the executive board for PASSHE-MA, a mathematics organization for the fourteen schools in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. He was the chairperson for the 2006 PASSHE-MA Conference. He also maintains membership in the Mathematical Association of America, having served as EU’s departmental liaison from 1996 to 2010.
Dr. Marzano has taught courses ranging from remedial math to graduate courses in partial differential equations. He is skilled in a wide variety of teaching techniques, including the traditional classroom and videoconferencing and foreign languages include Spanish and Russian.
In addition to mathematics, Dr. Marzano is also an avid musician. He has recorded two CD’s: “But Enough About Me” (2007) and “The Boy Who Always Got Picked Last” (2012). A Japanese music blog declared “But Enough About Me” the #4 album of 2007. In 2013, “The Boy Who Always Got Picked Last” climbed to #3 in the Pennsylvania Roots Music Report charts. One of Dr. Marzano’s songs, “Drink Her Goodbye”, was recorded by Canadian artist Jaimie Vernon in 2009.
Professor Amanda Porter attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she was employed as a network and systems administrator for 6 years and occasionally performed website design and development work. While working full-time, she completed her Master’s Degree in Computer and Information Science at Gannon University.
Professor Porter joined the Math and Computer Science Department in Fall 2016. Professor Porter was instrumental in the curriculum development and execution of the new Mobile Application Development course and newly modified Web and Mobile Application Development program. She actively supports the students in the Math and Computer Science Department by advising and overseeing the Computer Science Club and the Math and Computer Science Women’s Networking Group on campus. She is currently working toward a PhD in Computer Science from Kent State University.
Aside from teaching and technology, Professor Porter has a strong passion for music and the outdoors. She enjoys hiking, fishing, kayaking and camping when time and weather permits. She has been to over 50+ live concerts and continues to grow that number each year.
Dr. Sajedul Talukder joined the Edinboro University faculty in 2019. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Florida International University. During his dissertation work, he worked as a research assistant in the Cyber Security and Privacy Research (CaSPR) Lab under the supervision of Dr. Bogdan Carbunar. Dr. Talukder's research interests include security and privacy with applications in online and geosocial networks, machine learning, wireless networks, distributed systems and mobile applications. His current research focuses on building an automated system that aims to reduce the online social networking risks for the general users and seeks to detect and defend abuses that can arise from social networking friends.
Dr. Talukder's research works have been published on top-tier social networking conferences and have been invited by Facebook in their headquarter. He was awarded several travel grants to present his research and received a number of media attentions including from NBC 6 and Sage Research Methods. At FIU, Dr. Talukder worked as a research mentor for several undergraduate students in their summer research programs (such as Science without Borders, NSF-RET, NSF-REU). During his undergraduate, he worked as a research intern in Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bangladesh and Samsung R&D Institute.
Dr. Talukder is a passionate instructor who loves to explain the subject matter to his students using real-life examples. It's his dream to explore advanced areas of Computer Science to boldly go where no man has gone before. For more details, please visit his webpage: http://stalukder.cs.edinboro.edu.
Professor David Tucker joined the Edinboro Computer Science Faculty in 2001 after two years at Virginia Tech as an instructor and nine years of industry work in the Washington D.C. area including subcontracting for the Navy and NASA. Since coming to Edinboro he has served on numerous department and university-wide committees but is most active with computer science curriculum, the faculty union, and student fraternity advising.
His research focus is on computer science education having presented papers in that area at regional conferences. Currently his curricular focus is on the further development of the Computer Science - Web Development & Implementation program in the Computer Science Department’s program offerings.
Professor Tucker’s community involvements revolve around volunteering his time to develop websites for non-profits and playing drums in a local band.
Dr. Roger Wolbert joined Edinboro University as a full-time, temporary mathematics instructor in 2011. Prior to coming to EU, Dr. Wolbert started his teaching career at Mercyhurst Prep in Erie, Pa., and then taught abroad in Bahrain, Indonesia, Venezuela, and Switzerland. Dr. Wolbert has completed three master's degrees related to curriculum and instruction, mathematics education, and computer education. He completed his coursework in Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, France, and the U.S.A.
Dr. Wolbert completed his PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning with a concentration in mathematics education through the University at Buffalo. His dissertation title was Using Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism to Evaluate YouTube Videos on the Formal Definition of Limit. In Fall 2016, Dr. Wolbert was promoted to assistant professor and then to associate professor in 2019. He serves on numerous department and university-wide committees, and he has presented papers on mathematics education at regional and national conferences. Dr. Wolbert is active with the faculty and coaches' union, APSCUF, serving as the chapter PR Chair and as a Legislative Assembly delegate.
Dr. Wolbert, Dr. Whitney Wesley and Dr. Nina Thumser were awarded a 5-year, $1.2 million NSF Noyce Scholarship Grant (#1852781) in Fall 2019. They started the Edinboro Noyce Teacher Scholar (ENTS) program, which is to recruit and support STEM majors and recent graduates to become teachers in one of the many high-need school districts in western Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Dr. Wolbert is the principal investigator and can be contacted for more information about the program. Additional information is on the website edinboro.edu/ents.
Ellen Zimmer, MS Assistant Professor, Internship Coordinator
Professor Ellen Zimmer joined the faculty in 1989 as one of the first Computer Science faculty hired at Edinboro University. Ellen attended Clarion University transferring to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to complete her undergraduate BS in Computer Science. She worked as a Software Engineer at IBM in Owego, N.Y., System Administrator/ Programmer at the Resource Center in Jamestown, N.Y., and Technical Writing Specialist at Erie Insurance in Erie, Pa., before returning to RIT to complete her MS in Computer Science. After joining EU as a faculty member, she attended Kent State University pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Professor Zimmer has a passion for programming and enjoys teaching any class where she can share this love. In addition to teaching, she is the CS Internship Coordinator. She finds it very fulfilling to see the CS students putting their skills to work in the workplace. Ellen served as chairperson of the Computer Science curriculum committee from 1990 to 2014 and played an active role in obtaining ABET accreditation for the BSCS Theoretical track.
Outside the University, Professor Zimmer was an active member of the Ophelia Project, creating and writing the COOL (Character-building Object Oriented Lessons) Club curriculum. She ran the program at Tracy Elementary school from 1998 to 2006. She enjoys backpacking, biking and fishing. Her biggest backpacking adventure was the Camino de Santiago in 2014, a 500-mile hike across Northern Spain.
