Klein College of Science welcomes 28 faculty and staff members into new roles
Welcome to the faculty and staff members who joined or took on new roles within the UNC Charlotte Klein College of Science this year. Dean Bernadette Donovan-Merkert recognized the College’s new faculty and staff members and celebrated the start of the 2026-27 academic year at the KCOS Faculty and Staff Meeting on Aug. 14.
New faculty
The Klein College of Science welcomed 18 faculty members into new roles across four departments.
Department of Biological Sciences
Talia Hatkevich, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Postdoctoral Associate, Duke University
- Ph.D., Genetics, UNC Chapel Hill
- M.S., Biology, UNC Greensboro
- Fun fact: Talia and her family once appeared on “Family Feud” with Steve Harvey!
Jane Walsh, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Part-time faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNC Charlotte
- Ph.D., Educational Science, University of Kentucky
- M.S. Biology; M.A. Teaching – Comprehensive Science 9-12, UNC Charlotte
- Fun fact: Jane collects garden gnomes!
Department of Chemistry
Ahmed Abdelazeez, Visiting Lecturer
- Ph.D. in Chemistry and Nanoscale Science, UNC Charlotte
- M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Yanshan University
- Fun fact: Ahmed enjoys playing soccer, which has always been one of his favorite hobbies!
Jaiqi (Jackie) Yu, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University
- Ph.D., Chemistry, Iowa State University
- Fun fact: Jackie has a furry family member, Otto, who is a 3-year-old Bernedoodle!
Abby Wright, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Instructor/Lab Coordinator, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Ph.D., Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology
- M.S., Chemistry, East Carolina University
- Fun fact: Abby is undefeated in fantasy football!
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Jennifer Brown, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Augustana University
- Ph.D., M.A., Mathematics, University of Colorado, Boulder
- Fun fact: Jennifer enjoys playing the ukulele and violin!
Ziren Chen, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, Iowa State University
- M.S., Mathematics, Middle Tennessee State University
- Fun fact: Ziren and his partner love hiking and spending time in nature. They are excited to explore North Carolina’s mountains, coast and beautiful outdoors!
Vaughn Climenhaga, Klein Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Statistics
- Previous position: Professor, University of Houston
- Ph.D., Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
- Fun fact: Vaughn enjoys disc golf and ultimate frisbee, and he is looking forward to visiting some of the world-famous disc-golf courses in the Charlotte area!
Nathan Green, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Assistant Professor, Louisiana Tech University
- Ph.D., Mathematics, Texas A&M University
- M.S., Mathematics, Brigham Young University
- Fun fact: Nathan has organized and played on a department intramural soccer team since he was an undergraduate student. His team won a championship when he was a grad student. The best his team has done since becoming a professor is the quarter finals.
Mike Hamilton, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Assistant Professor of Mathematics Methods, College of Charleston
- Ph.D., Mathematics Education, University of Georgia
- M.S. Mathematical Sciences; B.S. Mathematics, University of North Florida
- Fun fact: Mike has owned and driven the same truck for half his life!
Yeseul Jeon, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Postdoctoral Associate, Statistics, Texas A&M University; joint research with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at University of California, San Francisco
- Ph.D., Applied Statistics and Data Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Fun fact: Yeseul has been a runner for four years and completed three half marathons! She hopes to run in a race in North Carolina before the end of the year.
Brienna Rafferty, Lecturer
- M.S., Mathematics, Actuarial Science Concentration, UNC Charlotte
- B.S., Mathematics, Applied Mathematics Concentration, Minor in Biology, UNC Wilmington
- Fun fact: On weekends, Brienna enjoys coaching figure skating!
Renaud Raquépas, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Assistant Research Professor, Mathematics, Duke University
- Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Grenoble Alpes, France and McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- M.S. Mathematics, McGill University
- Fun fact: Outside of work, Renaud likes to tinker with broken guitars he purchases from the internet!
Amanda Wilkens, Assistant Professor
- Previous position: Postdoctoral Associate, Carnegie Mellon University
- Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Kansas
- M.S., Mathematics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Fun fact: Amanda played basketball for 3 years in grade school, and the only two points she ever scored were for the other team!
Aggarwal Department of Physics and Optical Science
Ritchie Dudley, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Assistant Undergraduate Laboratory Coordinator (Physics), UNC Charlotte
- Ph.D., Physics, Wake Forest University
- M.S., Applied Physics, UNC Charlotte
- Fun fact: Ritchie has visited almost all of North Carolina’s 60+ state parks!
Katie Gordon, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Physics Instructor, Mitchell Community College
- Ph.D., Astronomy, Georgia State University
- M.S., Physics, University of Arkansas
- Fun facts: Katie has been horseback riding since she was 8 years old and competed in dressage and eventing. She is also an avid gamer and has five cats!
Kelly Patton, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Previous position: Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia Southern University
- Ph.D., Physics, University of Georgia
- Fun fact: Kelly is an amateur fly fisher!
Tom Suleski, Professor and Chair
- Previous position: Associate Chair and Professor, Aggarwal Department of Physics and Optical Science, UNC Charlotte
- Site director, NSF I/UCC Center for Freeform Optics, UNC Charlotte
- Ph.D., M.S., Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
New staff
The Klein College of Science welcomed 10 staff members into new roles.
Dean’s Office
Michael Grabchak, Klein Scholars Faculty Director
- Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
- Directed the NSF REU Program in Mathematics at UNC Charlotte
- Extensive experience mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in research
Margaret Kocherga, Director of Outreach and Partnerships
- Began a permanent role in July and has already done tremendous work!
- Ph.D., Nanoscale Science, UNC Charlotte
- Fun fact: Margaret choreographed and holds the copyright to a full-length production of “The Nutcracker” that has been performed for the past 10 years!
Ben Still, Director of Assessment, Planning and Accreditation
- Previous position: Assessment Coordinator, Academic Advisor and Adjunct Faculty (Saxophone), College of Arts + Architecture, UNC Charlotte
- Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) and Master of Music (M.M.), Texas Tech University
- Fun fact: Ben is a professional saxophonist! He gigs and teaches in Charlotte whenever he can.
KCOS Office of Advising and Student Support
Kristen Petrizzo, Assistant Dean and Director of Advising
- Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Sociology from UNC Charlotte
- Former KCOS Associate Director of Advising; helped develop and implement a cohesive advising structure
- Former Academic Advisor in CLAS
- Fun fact: Outside of work, Kristen loves crocheting, reading and spending time with her energetic household that includes her husband, 4-year-old, two dogs and three cats.
Mak Thompson, Academic Advisor, Physics
- Bachelor’s degree, Psychology, University of Rhode Island
- Master’s degree, Higher Education, University of Denver
- Professional background in student life, student conduct and holistic academic advising
- Former Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities, Davidson College
Botanical Gardens
Aaryn Andrews, Gardener
- Aaryn was formerly at the San Diego Botanical Gardens
- Her primary responsibilities include irrigation and taking care of our outdoor gardens
Tammy Blume, Assistant Director
- Tammy worked in the Botanical Gardens for over 15 years before becoming the assistant director
Josh Munn, Gardener
- Josh worked as a student worker prior to beginning as a gardener
- His primary responsibility is caring for plants in the Greenhouse
- Fun fact: Josh can whistle bird calls very well!
Aggarwal Department of Physics and Optical Science
Stephanie Centeno, Administrative Support Specialist
- Student and Academic Services Administrator (since July 27)
- Previously worked as a program coordinator at Cal State Los Angeles
- Bachelor’s degree in health and human services from Cal State Los Angeles
Steven Murphy, Research Operations Manager
- Oversees Introductory Physics labs in Klein Hall
- M.S., Applied Physics, UNC Charlotte
- Previously employed as a teacher
- Fun facts: Steven is ¾ Panamanian and ¼ Irish. He is the first man in his family to earn a master’s degree. His passion is astronomy!