UAT Faculty

Professor Jael Kruthi Battana is a passionate data enthusiast with a solid academic background. Armed with a Master’s degree in Data Science and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, she has been navigating the exciting realms of technology and information. Her journey kicked off as a Salesforce developer where she fell in love with code. Coding and problem-solving became her playground and she found joy in each line of code she wrote. Professor Battana thrives on data analysis, especially when it comes to weaving stories through visualization, she turns complex data into compelling narratives, and is so excited to share her passion with her students.

Professor Becote retired from 23 years of U.S. Navy service as a Lieutenant Commander, Naval Flight Officer, in December of 2023, having served in a variety of leadership roles including Director of International Affairs: Egypt, Qatar, and Director, Tactical Operations Center for Maritime Aviation in the Middle East.  His duties included technical, logistic, and operational execution spanning over 15 countries globally.  

His research interests span both offensive and defensive cyber operations, focused on malware analysis, programming, wireless technology, organizational technology, and incident response.  He is PMP and CISSP certified.

Professor Belanger is the Program Chair for General Education/Core and teaches across several areas in the Humanities, including literature, creative writing and composition, and cultural studies. During his career as a writer and editor, he has served as chief editor for The Journal of Advancing Technology, coordinating editor for a reference series on the 2000s, and written numerous articles on history and culture for print and online journals. Two films have been adapted from his works (a stage play and a short story), and he was the screenwriter of a Department of Justice documentary on the end of segregation in Arizona. He is in the third year of completing a novel—The Boy in Ruins—that should only have taken him one year to write, if he’s being honest. He is also the cowboy in a Violent Femmes video directed by a UAT alum.

Selected Credits
- The Journal of Advancing Technology (editor-in-chief)
- The 2000s in America (Great Neck Press, coordinating editor) 
- "Fast Horses" (actor, short)
- My Apocalypse (screenwriter, feature based on original play)
-  "Splitsville" (screenwriter, short based on an original short story)

Provost Bolman has focused his career upon the profound need for a substantial and diverse workforce within Arizona and the nation. As its long-standing provost, Dr. Bolman has built the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) into a unique, all-STEM institution that marries the best of a traditional, small, private college with the genetics of innovation that come with agile technology organizations. As an educator, he has focused on cultivating a base of technology students and future inventors. As a technologist, he has worked to create a university where the culture of innovation and creation is so regular and celebrated that the goal for each student is to graduate having worked on numerous teams and built complete solutions again and again.

Dr. Bolman has researched, written and spoken on the nature of technology and how to successfully lead innovation. He is an alumni of Valley Leadership and currently serves as its Past Board Chair. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Technology Council and the AZPBS community board.

I have over forty years of volunteer and professional experience in the performing arts including theater, modern dance, ballet, and orchestra. After twenty years of teaching, I consider my greatest accomplishments to be my alumni. Whenever an alumnus comes back to ask my opinion on something they’ve created, or requests my notes on a current project then I know that I’ve contributed to their professional development and success. My alumni have gone on to work on such television series as “Game of Thrones," "Once Upon a Time," and "The Crown," and have worked on feature films including the Marvel "Avengers" franchise, "Avatar," and "Sharknado." 

My debut novel, Death Takes A Bath, was published in December of 2022, with the next in the series, Death Takes a Fall, due December of 2023. Short stories can be found in several anthologies by Malice Domestic and Desert Sleuths: The Professor’s Lesson (2022) in Mystery Most Diabolical, Final Curtain (2020) in Mystery Most Theatrical; Carne Diem (2019) in the Anthony Award-winning Mystery Most Edible; Death on Tap (2017) in SoWest: Killer Nights. My recipes and writing tips are included in Recipes to Kill For(2019).

I love everything about writing, theater, and film. Each medium provides a different viewpoint for connecting with an audience.

Published author, mystery genre

Member: Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Author's Guild, Yoga Alliance 

Professor Clark has the passion and talent to work within multiple areas of technology and find the opportunities in the intersections of technologies in order to solve problems or find innovative solutions that create new products. One of his greatest strengths is looking at situations from different perspectives and applying different models of thinking to arrive at creative solutions. Throughout his tenure at UAT, he has applied these abilities to create curriculum, programs, software, and projects resulting in successful completion and positive impacts to those involved, both clients and colleagues. Professor Clark specializes in game program development, product development and project leadership.

Dr Jill Coddington is a senior professor in the Advancing Computer Science (ACS) and Software Engineering programs.  She teaches courses in AI, computer science, web, and database areas. 

She received a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a masters in software engineering from Regis University. Her PhD is from the union institute in mathematics and applied computer science. 

Dr. Coddington was a rocket scientist who started programming by doing submarine launched ballistic missile trajectories for the Navy. After that she switched to video game programming for 10 years then worked in communication and databases for large scale lottery systems. Following this, she developed custom sowfware for  business analytics for the real estate and property management sector. A love of teaching led her to become professor in computer science for UAT. Dr Coddington has been teaching at UAT for more than 13 years.

Professor Rae Crusoe built her first website in ASP over 20 years ago as a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems student at Arizona State University. She volunteered to reverse engineer a Perl website and took to the Internet to learn how to build the website and database. Professor Crusoe has a Master of Science degree in Information Management, also from Arizona State University. Rae has taught a number of IT courses online, along with developing websites in the banking, financial services, economic and non-profit fields. Professor Crusoe has seen the IT field change quite a bit from her first ASP website to today’s mobile development focus.

Professor Rawad Habib has a Master of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with an emphasis in Management Information Systems. Rawad also maintains certificates in FinTech and Blockchain Development and has participated in Ethereum Blockchain Developer Bookcamp with Solidity. Rawad has a strong background in Fullstack and Blockchain development.

Dr. Henry has always had a firm belief that gaming - video games in particular - can be used to change the world for the better. In addition to teaching Game Design and Programming at the college level, he studies how educators and corporate trainers can take advantage of games and video-game technologies to improve learning, retention, transfer, and performance. In other words: he's interested in building games that help players "level up" in real life. Dr. Henry specializes in Game Design (content/narrative design and systems design), scripting/programming, project management, team leading,  production and GSD/TCOB.

Professor Hinton teaches AI, Augmented Reality, Mobile Application development, and the Art of Computer Programming. He has been writing code since 1980 and working as a Software Engineer since 1990. During his first quarter of a century as a software engineer and trainer at Fortune 100 companies in the U.S. and Europe, he had a behind-the-scenes seat determining how turning caffeine into code drives different industries.

Having worked almost 15 years at IBM for part of his career, he knows ancient technology such as UNIX, CP/M, DOS, and OS/2. One of his hobbies is software archeology and exorcisms on retro computing.

Other and more normal hobbies include traveling with family, practicing traditional martial arts, and MST3K.

He also has numerous industry certifications, including MCP, MCT, MCSE, and MCSD. Currently, he is earning his second master’s degree.

Professor Jacob Hreshchyshyn is a recent addition to the UAT Team as a Game Programming Professor. His interest in game development led him to pursue a Bachelor's in Software Engineering with a certificate in Computer Gaming, allowing him to develop experience in Agile methodologies, design patterns, and programming paradigms while developing game projects. Following the completion of his Unreal Engine 4 Creative Project for Barrett, The Honors College, he obtained a Master's in Software Engineering with a ProQuest publication on Game Development for Smart Twisty Puzzles.

Alan has spent over 20 years in higher education. In his tenure he has worn many hats and had the opportunity to implement many systemic changes to affect process and procedure. A fervent practitioner of servant leadership, he enjoys developing and supporting those around him. He is equally passionate about lifelong-learning and strives for both personal and professional growth.

At the University of Advancing Technology, Alan facilitates courses in entrepreneurship, communications, marketing, innovation and cognition.  

In his spare time, Alan volunteers as a Certified Mentor for the non-profit SCORE, and is involved in a handful of other smaller, local initiatives.  For fun, Alan enjoys projects around the house, landscaping, growing vegetables at the community garden, nature and the outdoors.  He has served as a board member for the Mesa Arts Center Foundation and is a proud graduate of Valley Leadership’s Leadership Institute (Class 33).

Alan currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with an emphasis in Marketing and a Master of Business Administration.

Professor Jones is the lead Cyber Instructor at the University of Advancing Technology and is a software developer who currently creates applications for law enforcement. He is also an AZ Peace Officer Standards and Training certified General Instructor as well as a public speaker. He earned a BS, in Computer Information Systems from Park University in 2013 and an MA, in Intelligence Analysis with a focus in Cyber Security in 2014. Professor Jones has been the recipient of recognition from the El Paso Police Department, State Of Texas, Texas Military Forces, Chandler Police Department, and others.

Professor Jones is also active in the community as the founder of the Phoenix Linux Users Group Cyber Security Meetup and regularly teaches members of the public a myriad of topics related to Cyber Security. His audience includes students, teachers, law enforcement, military, government officials, and concerned members of the public with a strong desire to learn what is going on in the world of technology.

Professor Marquit has over 13 years of game industry experience both teaching and creating professional quality art for videogames. He has worked for both Rainbow Studios (THQ) and Big Bang Entertainment (Sony Online Entertainment). During Professor Marquit's time with these companies he shipped 6 games including Pixar's Cars, Free Realms and Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures. He has also worked as a free lance artist doing such things as graphic design, web development and architectural renderings.

Professor Marquit started teaching in 2008 at Collins College in both their Game Production and Graphic Design degrees. He quickly learned to love teaching and it has since become a passion. 

Professor Ryan Murray is a designer, sculptor, and digital fabricator with a passion for 3D modeling, CNC, and 3D printing. He has a Master of Fine Art in design from Rhode Island School of Design, where he learned to combine his artistic vision with cutting-edge technology. He has worked as an industrial designer and a sculptor for various clients, including the Heard Museum, Arizona Science Center, Tostito Superbowl Experience, Carvana, the City of Chandler, and RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. He also holds a patent for a product he designed and brought to market. Professor Murray has a BFA in sculpture from ASU and a certificate in teaching and learning from Brown University. He enjoys sharing his skills and knowledge with the local maker community and taught classes at Techshop Chandler the whole time it was in business. Complementing his digital fabrication, Professor Murray is also highly skilled in metal, wood, composite, plastic fabrication and mold making. 

Professor Jake Perrine graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree, Honor’s Degree, and Master’s Degree all in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arizona. Jake's professional experience involves working in the Neural Movement and Control Laboratory for 4 years looking at Haptic Virtual Reality investigating perceptual signals and rehabilitative applications. 

Professor Heather Peters has been in the education field for almost 20 years.  She has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in Secondary Education Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University.  After teaching for 11 years in the high school setting to a variety of skill levels, Heather taught for a semester in China, before returning to the valley to teach at the university level.  Heather has done some contract work for the state of Arizona reviewing state tests for biases, has been a part of several mathematics teachers’ learning communities, and has developed several courses for students from functions to financial math.  Heather is passionate about making math more fun and relevant to all students regardless of their past experiences in math.

Dr. Daniel Pike is an English professor at the University of Advancing Technology and the author of two Science Fiction novels: The Wolf of Descarta (Zharmae, 2013) and Betrayal at Phobos (Zharmae, 2015). He has also contributed to Race and American Film: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation (Greenwood, 2017) on the topics of Middle Eastern representation, imperialist narratives, and race in the Rocky films. He currently studies Medieval Literature and is focused on the influences of the English vernacular artes moriendi and ghostly chivalry on the insular Arthurian legend of the 14th and 15th centuries. His first peer-reviewed publication concerning Arthurian legend, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Armed with Virtues in the Face of Death," has been accepted into the journal Etudes Médiévales Anglaises and will be included in issue 98.

Professor Portillo teaches Game Art & Animation at the University of Advancing Technology with a specialty in project management, course development, 2D and 3D game art asset creation, and production. Aside from teaching, he owns Thinkjorge Designs specializing in advertising art and assisting with art direction for technology start-ups.

Specialties:
Game Project Management
Game Art & Animation Course Development 
Design Consulting 
3D and 2D Design Aesthetics
Graphic Design
Game Asset Creation & Integration 
Web Design 

Software Proficiency: 
Autodesk 3Ds Max ( Video Game Modeling, Animating, Texturing and Rigging) 
Adobe Photoshop (Image manipulation and Digital Painting) 
Adobe Illustrator (Vector Art and Product Design)
Adobe After Effects (Animation composting) 
Adobe Sound Forage (Audio Development)
Unreal Game Engine (Game Asset Integration) 
Pixelogic Zbrush (High Poly Modeling)

Professor Prater has  been working as an application architect in the financial sector. He has previously taught chemistry and Capstone research classes for 5 years at Highland High School in Gilbert, AZ. Before this, Matt made radioactive PET (Positron Emission Tomography) drugs at Cardinal Health for 13 years, working in quality, manufacturing and R&D positions. The drugs were used in diagnostic applications in the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and heart disease. As all the drugs Professor Prater made were radioactive, he had to use robotic synthesis systems to carry out the chemistry. This is where he got hooked on software and embedded systems.
 

Professor Prater has obtained his M.S. Software Engineering at Regis University and his M.Ed. from Arizona State University as well as a B.S. in Chemistry from Western Michigan University.

Professor Aaron Rodriguez is an Air Force Veteran which has served in military and contract support for various government agencies including supporting worldwide security efforts. Aaron has planned and managed Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRT) and multiple cyber training operations.  He has several years of information technology background with a specialty in cyber security and information protection. Aaron graduated from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelor's in Information Technology and a Masters's in Cyber Security and Information Assurance. 

Professor Tevon Sinica-Williams is a driven educator utilizing his academic background as well as industry experience across multiple fields, such as medical devices, aerospace manufacturing, and the semiconductor industry. With a passion for learning he has obtained a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering, Masters in Business Administration, a graduate degree in manufacturing along with several project management certifications that he utilizes in preparing students for the next step in their academic journeys. With a practical approach to applying his industry experience he aims to develop well rounded students who can have the impact they aim for as they transition to industry. Professor Tevon's passion for continuous improvement is a large motivator and he is excited to share this passion with his students.

Dr. Mark “The Shark” Smith’s is an IFBB professional bodybuilder, published author, and an expert in leadership, business, and organizational development. His professional background has been around company expansion and growth. With over 12 years of experience with various companies ranging from enterprise to start-up. 

Mark has significant IT experience leading sales teams through client relations and staying up on new tech for industry needs. During this process Mark became very familiar with how IT infrastructure works and became sales certified for Microsoft, Cisco, Juniper, VMware, Symantec, Red Hat, Apple, HP, and Dell. 

Mark has a wealth of start-up knowledge, being involved with organizations like Hotchalk and Digital Air Strike in their infancy. With start-ups Mark’s skill set makes him an intricate part of growing the company through output and developing the proper partnerships for expansion. Mark started with UAT in 2015 and teaches specific courses in both undergraduate and graduate on entrepreneurship, leadership, project management, marketing, and strategic planning. His philosophy and teaching style is catered to prepare students for working in today’s business markets. 

Dapzury Valenzuela is a marketing and design professional with over 20+ years of industry experience and 15+ years as a post-secondary educator. She is the Art Direction Professor at the University of Advancing Technology. She also runs the Student Innovation Project for all majors helping them to create, develop and present their tech-based product or service. She works in both traditional and digital formats using the Adobe Creative Suite with a specialty in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Dapzury is also a Brand & Marketing Consultant through her LLC, Haute Pro, helping people, startups and businesses reach their goals through her extensive knowledge in brand development, inbound marketing, and visual content creation. Her clients range from STEM-based academies to virtual reality in fashion.

Specialties:
Branding (Logos)
Graphic Design
Inbound & Content Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Art & Creative Direction
Project Management
Web & UI Design
Business Development
Entrepreneurship & Startups

Doctor Wolterbeek teaches courses in composition, literature, and communication. Reading and writing have always been her greatest passions and while she loves all forms of written communication, essays bring her the most joy. Professor Wolterbeek is especially interested in the use of micro essays as a way of connecting the traditional essay to current trends in writing for digital media. She is currently developing curriculum for middle and high school students that uses micro-blogging to help students reflect on their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Wolterbeek is the author of many articles about reading and writing and has been published in The ALAN Review, the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy and English Journal and presents regularly at the National Council of Teachers of English.  She believes that writing is a powerful tool to help us to understand our world and ourselves and finds great meaning in teaching composition and communication. Professor Wolterbeek has been at the University of Advancing Technology for over twenty years and considers her work with her students to be her greatest accomplishment.