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Junhua DingDr. Junhua Ding

Department Chair and Professor
Reinburg Endowed Professor
University of North Texas, The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science

Dr. Junhua Ding is the Reinburg Endowed Professor and Chair of the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT). His academic career is grounded in interdisciplinary excellence, with expertise spanning data science, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and biomedical computation. Within the College of Information, Dr. Ding has played a critical role in expanding research capacity and enhancing educational innovation.

Dr. Ding has actively fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration and established productive partnerships with industry, enabling impactful applications of data science to real-world problems. His research focuses on developing novel, data-driven solutions to complex challenges, with an emphasis on translating cutting-edge technologies into practical tools for analysis and decision-making.

Dr. Ding has secured major research funding from prestigious agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Security Agency (NSA), supporting projects that promote STEM education and translate data science methodologies into impactful real-world applications. He is also a dedicated mentor, having guided numerous students and early-career researchers toward successful careers in academia and industry. Dr. Ding’s ongoing contributions continue to shape the evolving landscape of data science research and education, both at UNT and beyond.

Heng FanDr. Heng Fan

Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of North Texas 
Department of Data Science (Affiliated Faculty), University of North Texas

Dr. Fan’s research expertise spans computer vision, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY. With around ten years of experience, Dr. Fan has developed intelligent algorithms, frameworks, and large-scale data platforms to advance visual understanding of the real world and its applications in many fields such as autonomous vehicles, visual surveillance, human-machine interaction, medical imaging analysis, and robotics.

Dr. Fan’s research has been published in many top-tier conferences such as CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICLR, NeurIPS, AAAI, and IJCAI and journals such as IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (PAMI), International Journal of Computer Vision (IJCV), IEEE Transactions on Image Processing (T-IP), IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems (T-NNLS), and Pattern Recognition (PR). Dr. Fan serves or has served an Associate Editor for the journal of Pattern Recognition and as Area Chairs for ICCV, NeurIPS, WACV, and ICME. He has been named in the list of World’s Top 2% Scientists by Standford University/ Elsevier from 2021 to 2023.

Yunhe FengYunhe (Jack) Feng

Assistant Professor, UNT | Director, Responsible AI Lab
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of North Texas 
Department of Data Science (Affiliated Faculty), University of North Texas

Dr. Yunhe (Jack) Feng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science at UNT. He directs the Responsible AI Lab and co-directs the Master's Program in Artificial Intelligence. His research interests lie at the intersection of AI Security & Privacy, Efficient Generative AI, and Responsible AI, with a focus on developing robust and efficient AI systems. Dr. Feng's research is supported by grants from the Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, as well as industry collaborations with Microsoft and Kaggle. He is the recipient of the 2023 IEEE Smart Computing Special Technical Community Early Career Award and was named to the inaugural Dallas Innovates AI 75 List. His work is published in top conferences and journals such as AAAI, CVPR, ICCV, IJCAI, WWW, UbiComp, USENIX Security, and HPDC and has received international media coverage from outlets including the Financial Times, Business Insider, UW News, and ACM Tech News. Dr. Feng was elevated to IEEE Senior Member and received the CSE Department Teaching Excellence Award (Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty) in 2025.

Priyan Malarvizhi KumarDr. Priyan Malarvizhi Kumar

Assistant Professor of Data Science
University of North Texas, The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science

Dr. Priyan Malarvizhi Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Data Science in the College of Information Science at the University of North Texas (UNT). He has nearly a decade of academic and research experience, with prior appointments at Gannon University (USA), Kyung Hee University (South Korea), and Middlesex University (UK), where he served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on UKIERI-funded projects. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, India, and holds a Master of Engineering from VIT and a Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University. Dr. Kumar’s research spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and healthcare informatics. His work focuses on building ethical, scalable, and data-driven solutions for real-world problems, particularly in the healthcare domain. At UNT, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in data science and machine learning and actively mentors student research.

He serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics and the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society. He is also on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Data Science and Analytics (Springer), IETE Journal of Research, and the International Journal of Wireless Networks & Broadband Technologies (IGI Global). His research has been widely published in top-tier venues, including IEEE IoT Journal, IEEE Sensors, IEEE JBHI, IEEE ITS, and IEEE TNSE. Dr. Kumar is a lifetime member of the International Society for Infectious Diseases and the Computer Society of India, and an active member of IEEE and the VIT Alumni Association.

Kewei ShaDr. Kewei Sha

Associate Professor
Director, M.S. in Data Science Program
University of North Texas, The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science

As an Associate Professor in the Anu and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science at the University of North Texas, Dr. Kewei Sha brings a dynamic blend of academic leadership, applied research, and interdisciplinary innovation to his role. He serves as the Director of the Data Science Graduate Programs and the Director of Secure, Reliable, and Intelligent Systems (SRIS) Laboratory, where he leads efforts to advance secure, trustworthy, efficient, and data-driven computing systems. With over 15 years of higher education experience, Dr. Sha has held senior faculty and administrative roles, including Department Chair at Oklahoma City University and Full Professor at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. His research spans AI, Cybersecurity, Edge Computing, Blockchain, and Healthcare Systems, with over $5 million in external funding from NSF, NASA, and other agencies. Dr. Sha has published extensively in leading journals and conferences and serves as an Associate Editor for several top-tier publications. He actively mentors graduate students and leads collaborative, applied research that connects academic discovery to real-world challenges in fields such as healthcare, autonomous systems, and smart infrastructure.

Sharad SharmaDr. Sharad Sharma

Professor and Director, B.S. in Data Science Program
University of North Texas, The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science

Dr. Sharad Sharma is the Associate Dean of Research in College of Information and a Professor in the Department of Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT). UNT is designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a Very High Research Activity (R1) University.

Dr. Sharma is the Director of the Data Visualization and Extreme Reality (DVXR) Lab and the Director of the Data Science & Industry Innovation (DSII) Center at the UNT. Dr. Sharma is an expert in modeling and simulation of human behavior for emergency response and decision making with focus on multi-agent systems (MAS), multi-user virtual reality (MUVR), and mobile augmented reality applications (MARA). He is interested in merging Data Science and Virtual Reality for Advanced Visualization.