
Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Dan Johnson
Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Data Science Program Head
- Parmly Hall 220
- Email: johnsondr@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8629
Johnson’s courses include Psychology Mythbusters and Introduction to Data Science: Mind Analytics. His lab uses computational models and empirical data to investigate the mechanisms underlying creativity processes like the generation of novel ideas.
Jeff Barry
Lecturer of Data Science
- Washington Hall 116
- Email: barryj@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8641
Barry teaches courses listed under digital culture and information, journalism and writing. His research interests include digital storytelling, the evolution of literary magazines and social network analysis.
Justin Davis
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- Huntley Hall 103
- Email: jdavis2@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8328
Jonathan Eastwood
Department Head, Sociology and Anthropology; Professor of Sociology
- Newcomb Hall 104
- Email: eastwoodj@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8777
Professor Eastwood is a social theorist who also has a strong interest in quantitative methods. He teaches seminars on classical and contemporary theory as well as a series of courses that train students how to use quantitative and computational tools to answer sociological questions.
Bright Frimpong
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- Huntley Hall 108
- Email: bfrimpong@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8036
Lingshu Hu
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- Huntley Hall 109
- Email: lhu@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8383
With a PhD in journalism focusing on computational methods and a graduate certificate in AI and Machine Learning, Professor Hu’s primary teaching interests include making data analytics accessible to students in the social sciences and helping students master storytelling skills with data analytics and visualization.
Keri M. Larson
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- Hopkins Hall 101
- Email: larsonk@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8601
Larson teaches courses that help students learn to understand and use data in areas of management. She has researched the analytics of unstructured textual data to support organizational decision making.
Sybil Prince Nelson
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
- Chavis Hall 204
- Email: sprincenelson@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4881
Prince Nelson ’01 teaches courses in calculus, probability and statistics. Her research is focused on creating tree-based models for classifying and predicting outcomes from complex data.
Holly Shablack
Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
- Parmly Hall 238
- Email: hshablack@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-5855
Shablack’s courses include Heath Psychology, Introduction to Data Science: Trends over time, and Emotions, Language, and Culture. Her research examines how our language and various socio-cultural factors influence our attitudes, emotions, physical and mental health, and behavior.
Natalia Toporikova
Associate Professor of Biology
- Parmly Hall 303
- Email: toporikovan@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-5809
Professor Toporikova’s courses include Biological Clocks and Rhythms, The Architecture of Living Systems, Dynamics of Biological Systems and Pregnancy: A Kiss in Time? In her research, she applies methods of computational modeling to study a wide range of biological systems. Some recent projects include neural control of breathing, pregnancy initiation in rats, and daily circadian cycle.
Gregg Whitworth
Associate Professor of Biology
- Howe Hall 317
- Email: whitworthg@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8895
Whitworth’s courses include Data Science: Visualizing and Exploring Big Data and The Molecular Mechanics of Life.
Affiliated Faculty
David Marsh
Professor of Biology
- Parmly Hall 320A
- Email: marshd@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8176
Marsh teaches Intro to Behavioral Ecology, Microbiome, Field Herpetology, Animal Behavior and Statistics for Biology and Medicine. His research includes effects of climate change on endemic mountaintop salamanders, effects of roads and land use on frog and toad populations across the Eastern and central U.S., and population dynamics of terrestrial salamanders.
Sara Sprenkle
Associate Professor of Computer Science and Department Head
On Leave Winter 2025
- Parmly Hall 410
- Email: sprenkles@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8309
Sprenkle teaches courses in programming, software development, and upper-level electives in software engineering. Her research focuses on automatically testing web applications to make sure they are behaving properly.
Staff
Carolyn Wingrove-Moore
Administrative Assistant
- Parmly Hall 407
- Email: wingrove-moorec@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8151