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Online Master of Computer Science program adds two lecturers

Marmar Orooji and Janell Straach join faculty of Rice's top-ranked computer science department.

Online Master of Computer Science program adds two lecturers

Two new lecturers have been added to the faculty who are teaching in the Online Master of Computer Science (CS) Program at Rice University.

The new program, run by the Department of Computer Science, ranked as one of the nation’s top 20 by U.S. News & World Report, enables professionals to earn a Rice degree in a flexible, online format aimed at working adults.

Marmar Orooji is a native of Iran who earned her B.S. in electrical engineering from Shahed University in Tehran in 2013. She went on to earn an M.S. in engineering science, an M.S. in CS, and a Ph.D. in engineering science, all from Louisiana State University in 2017, 2019 and 2019, respectively.

Her research interests include data analytics, data privacy and information systems. In addition to teaching at LSU, she worked as a database administrator and data analyst in the university’s Social Research and Evaluation Center.

Janell Straach earned a B.S in CS from Angelo State University in 1984, an M.S. in CS from Texas A&M University in 1985, a Ph.D. in CS from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1998 and an MBA from the University of Dallas in 2008.

Straach’s areas of specialization include machine learning and cyber security. She previously worked for 12 years for IBM and is chairman of the board of Women in CyberSecurity, a national, non-profit organization for women from academia, research and industry.

Orooji and Straach join longtime CS lecturers Zoran Budimlic, Mike Fagan and John Greiner in teaching the online program.

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