The newly implemented Monmouth University Distinguished Scholar award celebrates and encourages sustained excellence in scholarship and research. This year, three university faculty are named as co-recipients who are each exemplary in their scholarship achievements.
Dr. Jay Wang, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering – Dr. Wang’s scholarly interests include artificial intelligence, software engineering, formal methods, discrete event systems, and service computing. In particular, Dr. Wang’s outstanding contributions to the field of artificial intelligence (AI) research has played a pivotal role in advancing AI applications to address real-world challenges, particularly in healthcare and emergency management. His success in grant writing, and securing multiple IEEE grants for his AI research, are commendable.
Dr. Keith Dunton, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology – Dr. Dunton is a marine fisheries ecologist with over 15 years experience leading large acoustic telemetry projects focused on endangered Atlantic sturgeon and prohibited sharks to evaluate movements, migrations, and effects from anthropogenic factors. He is currently working on using eDNA as a tool to evaluate biodiversity of offshore fish communities. In the last five years, Dr. Dunton has received several monetary awards from diverse funding sources (federal, state, NGO) totaling over 8 million dollars, with additional grants under review.
Both Dr. Wang and Dr. Dunton successfully students in their work, often leading to joint presentations and publications.
Dr. Hettie Williams, Associate Professor in History and Anthropology, in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, was the third recipient.