Andreea Cotoranu

Faculty Bio

Andreea Cotoranu is a Clinical Professor in the Information Technology Department, and Director of the New York City Design Factory initiative at Pace University. Andreea teaches product development, research methods and project-based courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Her research interests lie at the intersection of natural language processing, human-computer interaction, and computing/cybersecurity education.

Prior to joining the faculty in 2019, Andreea served as Assistant Dean for Academic Innovation in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University. In this role she focused on developing educational environments that enrich the student experience. Specifically, she designed and implemented project-based experiences with multiple academic disciplines, international collaborations, and partnerships with industry and academia. Andreea’s work shares a common goal of creating curricular and pedagogical structures as well as academic cultures that facilitate students' interests, motivation, and desire to persist in computing.

During her tenure at Pace University, Andreea spearheaded efforts in cybersecurity education, training, and outreach, and she is affiliated with the Cybersecurity Education Research Lab at Pace. She was the Principal Investigator for the Pace GenCyber program funded by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation aiming to expand cybersecurity education at the high school level by training teachers (2016 to 2019). She is a Co-Principal Investigator for the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship program and the National Science Foundation CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program aimed to recruit the nation’s top cybersecurity talent to the federal workforce to protect the nation’s information systems and networks.

Awards and Honors

• Writing-Enhanced Course Program, 2022, Faculty Award (PLV)
• Pace University, 2019, The Susan M. Merritt Award for Excellence in Computing Research
• Pace University, 2011, President’s Award for Excellence
• Pace University, 2010, Athletics Hall of Fame
• Daktronics, 2001, All-American Women's Volleyball
• Daktronics, 2000, All-American Women's Volleyball

PhD, Pace University - expected 2020
Computer Science

MS, Pace University, 2008
Information Technology

BS, Pace University, 2004
Information Systems

Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts

Strengthening Pace’s Cyber Community and Pathways using Research Experience, Technical Training and Institutional Outreach
Chen, L., Benjamin, D., Hayes, D., Ryan, J. & Cotoranu, A. August 2021 - August 2026. National Science Foundation, Federal, $3,856,432.00. Funded.

Challenge Based Innovation A3
Thong, C., Cotoranu, A. & Kohler, K. October 2022 - May 2024. ATTRACT Phase 2 European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation; Program Coordinator Swinburne University of Technology, Other, $260,000.00. Funded.

2022 Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Program
Cotoranu, A. & Chen, L. September 2022 - November 2023. National Security Agency, Federal, $77,751.00. Funded.

2021 Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Program
Chen, L. & Cotoranu, A. August 2021 - November 2022. National Security Agency, Federal, $139,807.00. Funded.

CAE-C K-12 Pipeline Development Initiative: RING
Chen, L., Cotoranu, A. & Mosley, P. October 2020 - September 2022. Department of Defense (subcintract via University of Alabama - Huntsville ), Federal, $112,202.00. Funded.

DoD Cybersecurity Scholarship Program: Scholarship
Chen, L. & Cotoranu, A. September 2020 - December 2021. Department of Defense, Federal, $325,166.00. Funded.

DoD Cybersecurity Scholarship Program: Scholarship and Capacity Building
Chen, L. & Cotoranu, A. July 2019 - December 2020. Department of Defense, Federal, $229,898.00. Funded.

Pace GenCyber Workshop for High School Teachers
Cotoranu, A. & Chen, L. May 2019 - May 2020. National Security Agency / National Science Foundation, Federal, $97,684.00. Funded.

Past Courses

CIS 102: Tpc: Design Thinking and Innov
CS 365: Product Development Project
CS 397: Topics in Computer Science
CS 398: Product Development Project
CS 490: Ind Study in Computer Science
CS 632: Directed Readings in CS
CS 665: Product Development Project
CS 691: Computer Science Project I
CS 692: Computer Science Project II
IS 628: Research Mthds for User Exp.
IS 638: Intro to User Exprnc Design
IS 690: Information Architecture
IT 691: Capstone Project

Publications

An Integrated System for Connecting Cybersecurity Competency, Student Activities and Career Building
Chen, L., Cotoranu, A., Mandhare, P. & Hayes, D. (2022, September). , pages 3--12.

Inspiring the future change-makers: reflections and ways forward from the Challenge-Based Innovation experiment
Vignoli, M., Balboni , Bernardo, ., Cotoranu , Andreea, ., Dosi, C., Glisoni, N., Kohler, K., Mincolelli, G., Mäkinen, S., Nordberg, M. & Thong, C. (2021, June). CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation. Vol 5 (Issue 1) , pages 1-4. https://e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CIJ/article/view/1323

Design innovation integrating deep technology, societal needs, radical innovation, and future thinking: a case study of the CBI A3 program
Thong, C., Cotoranu, A., Down, A., Kohler, K. & Batista, C. (2021, June). CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation. (Issue Special Issue) https://e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CIJ/article/view/1291

Swimloop: A Progressive Web Application for Supporting Communication between Swimming Coaches and their Athletes
Hasny, M. & Cotoranu, A. (2021, April (2nd Quarter/Spring)). (Issue 19)

NYC Design Factory
Cotoranu, A. (2020). , pages pp.76-77. https://issuu.com/aaltodesignfactory/docs/dfgn_issuu

Applying Text Analytics to Examination of End Users' Mental Models of Cybersecurity
Cotoranu, A. & Chen, L. (2020, August). (Issue AMCIS 2020 Proceedings) https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2020/info_security_privacy/info_security_privacy/10/

Using Raspberry Pi as a Platform for Teaching Cybersecurity Concepts
Cotoranu, A. & Chen, L. (2019). , pages 1237. https://doi.org/10.1145/3287324.3287534

Data Integrity Model for Environmental Sensing
Siegel, D. M., Keeley, L., Shelke, P., Cotoranu, A. & Ganis, M. (2019, May).

Presentations

Recalibrated Compass: Creating a Humanities, Art and Computing (HAC) Minor at Pace University
Kreitz, K. A., Cunningham, S. B. & Cotoranu, A. (2023, June). HASTAC: Critical Making and Social Justice. .

Design Exercise for Creative Problem Solving
Cotoranu, A. & Gandhi, D. (2022, April 1). Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeast Conference (CCSCNE). .

There is nothing artificial about this intelligence
Cotoranu, A. (2021, June 28). Kendal on Hudson,

Engagement and Collabration for the Remote Classroom with Miro
Cotoranu, A. (2021, April 23). Seidenberg: Show and Tell. Seidenberg School

Cultivating a Creative and Innovative Mindset with Design Thinking
Cotoranu, A. & Gandhi, D. (2021, April 8). Future of Work: Interdisciplinary Online Conference. Pace University

Cotoranu, A., Gandhi, D. & Kopel, J. (2020, July 10). Creative Problem Solving with Design Thinking . Seidenberg School of CSIS,

CBI A3 2020 Showcase
Cotoranu, A. (2020, May 7). NYC Design Factory. .

Professional Memberships

• Association for Information Systems
• Society for Learning Analytics Research [Member]
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers [Member]
• Upsilon Pi Epsilon [Member]

College Service

• Seidenberg Cybersecurity Club - NYC Campus Seidenberg Cybersecurity Club - NYC Campus [Faculty Advisor]
  
• Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition: Qualifier Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition: Qualifier [Faculty Advisor]
  

University Service

• University Athletic Committee [Faculty Advisor]
• Undergraduate Research Faculty Advisory Board [Member]

Professional Service

Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition League [Member]
National Science Foundation [Reviewer, Grant Proposal]
CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation - Special Issue [Editor, Associate Editor]