Faculty Recognitions

Vartan’s album “Stars Above,” with WeiChen Lin was a national finalist in chamber music for The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts for 2025.

Vartan, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

All performed “Memor-ii” at the El Museo Cultural in Sante Fe, New Mexico for the Currents 2025 Art & Technology Festival.

Seo, Ph.D., is associate dean for Research and Creative Works and a professor in the Visualization program; Vartan, D.M.A., associate professor, Music Performance; Bruner, M.F.A., instructional assistant professor, Visualization; Weaver, M.S., section chair for Art and Design and instructional associate professor, Visualization.

Fan’s composition “Shadows’ Resonance” was accepted for the 2025 International Computer Music Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

Fan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Music Performance program.

Tao’s paper “Auditory Perception in Open-Source Driving Simulator CARLA” was accepted at the 22nd International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots in College Station.

Tao, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Co-authored a paper with Morgan Jenks, Starlab manager, which presented a uniform approach to musical rhythm and was accepted for the International Computer Music Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

Morris, D.M.A., is a professor in the Music Performance program.

McConnell’s co-produced play titled “Whispers of the Wind: A Very Serious, Complete and Thorough Academic Presentation on the Mother Fan Cult,” premiered at the Denver Fringe Festival. It was also presented at the Tampa Fringe Theatre Festival. The play stars New York-based and Obie Award-winning actor Meg MacCary.

McConnell, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Theatre program.

Spalink’s book “Choreographing Dirt: Movement, Performance, and Ecology in the Anthropocene,” received a review in “Theatre Journal” by Diana Looser of Stanford University saying the book’s “fresh and compelling ideas lay the ground for a fertile conversation, one that will prove increasingly relevant for our current intellectual and planetary moment.”

Spalink, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program and academic graduate program director for the Performance Studies degree.

Spiers’ book titled “Archiving the Past – Women’s Film History in France, 1927–1978” was accepted by the University of California Press and is set to be published in January 2026.

Spiers, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Awarded a co-sponsorship grant from the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research for the launch event celebrating the Dallas Women’s Gallery Project, an interactive timeline, ephemera database and video oral history archive of the Dallas Women’s Co-op/Gallery. Uchacz was awarded a research fellowship from the Center of Digital Humanities Research to support the development of the project. Uchacz also earned a Technical Assistance Award from the center for her project “Ornament: Design: Translation.”

Uchacz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Cook’s film “A Quilt for Eadweard Muybridge” was selected as a semifinalist for the Sweden Film Awards.

Cook, M.F.A., is assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Served as a guest clinician and performer at Portland State University, where she led a clarinet masterclass and performed the world premiere of two clarinet works: “Beyond the Red Carpet” by composer Nicole Buetti and “Elegie” by composer Franz Cibulka. She also performed a clarinet work by American composer John Williams as a soloist with the Long Beach City College Wind Ensemble.

Figueiredo, D.M.A., is an instructional associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Had three paintings featured in an exhibition titled “The Land and Those Upon It: Regional Expressions by 22 Texas Artists” at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries.

House, M.F.A., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Kim’s team hosted a six-hour, two-session workshop on “3D Music Interface for AR Blended Space” at Yokohama Garden in Yokohama, Japan.

Kim, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Invited as a guest at the select symposium “Technology and Film Labour: Crafting the Look of the Film” at the University of Galway, Ireland. McNamara also completed the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Leadership Certification at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI at Stanford University in California.

McNamara, Ph.D., is the interim associate dean for faculty affairs and a professor in the Visualization program.

Roykovich’s work was included in group show titled “a way to mend” in the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston.

Roykovich, M.F.A., is an instructional assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Vartan’s work, “Music and Dance: Storytellers of Erosion, Repair, Place and People” with Alexandra Bradshaw, was accepted to be published in the Architecture, Media, Politics and Society Journal.

Vartan, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Completed the studio recording for “Disaster Divergence,” which is 45 minutes of all new music by Perez for percussion and electronics for album release in the fall.

Perez, D.M.A., is an instructional associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Received an International Travel Assistance grant from the college for travel to the 38th International Conference of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists in Lagos, Nigeria.

Adinku, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Performed the world premiere of “My Dear Companion” by Susan Brumfield, which is a commissioned piece for Texas A&M Women’s Chorus; with Hays singing soprano, and Virginia Figueiredo, instructional associate professor, playing clarinet. Hays also launched the international release of her solo album “How Great Thou Art: Songs by Len D. Bobo.” She was invited as a guest artist for a recital with the University of Portland Department of Performing and Fine Arts in Oregon.

Hays, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

House’s painting “Gabriela Eastwood in Unforgiven” was officially collected by the Booth Western Art Museum — a Smithsonian affiliate — in Cartersville, Georgia.

House, M.F.A., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

All exhibited artwork in the Marfa Invitational Open in Marfa, Texas.

Pugh, M.F.A., is an instructional assistant professor in the Visualization program and curator for Wright Gallery; Zika, Ph.D., assistant professor, Visualization; House, M.F.A., associate professor, Visualization.

Wrote a chapter in the book “The Screens of Virtual Production: What is Real?” titled “Virtual Production and the History of Attractions,” published by Routledge.

Zika, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Pugh’s painting installation of birds titled “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow,” was in an exhibition presented by Woodson Museum of Art. It was also on view at the Newington-Cropsey Foundation in New York.

Pugh, M.F.A., is an instructional assistant professor in the Visualization program and curator for Wright Gallery.

Li’s paper titled “NeuPPS: Neural Piecewise Parametric Surfaces,” was accepted to the foremost peer-reviewed journal in the graphics field: Association for Computing Machinery Transactions on Graphics. Li also co-authored “Eurographics State of the Art Report: A Survey on Computational Solutions for Reconstructing Complete Objects by Reassembling Their Fractured Parts,” published in the Computer Graphics Forum. Li also co-authored the paper “Skull-to-Face: Anatomy-Guided 3D Facial Reconstruction and Editing,” published in the peer-reviewed journal IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

Li, Ph.D., is a professor in the Visualization program.

Presented a paper about a red inflatable at the1958 Brazil Pavilion during the annual conference of the Association for Art History in the United Kingdom. Bieber was also invited as a panelist for the “City as Living Laboratory” conversation on the intersection of art, architecture and environment in New York. She was cited as an expert on the environmental artworks of Mary Miss in The New York Times.

Bieber, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Presented a paper titled “No Archive Without Outside: Embodied Archives and Autobiographical Performance” at the Canadian Association for Theatre Research conference in Saskatchewan, Canada. She also presented “Devised Theatre and Applied Theatre as Tools for Holistic Student Development” at the annual Texas A&M conference on Transformational Teaching and Learning.

Marini, Ph.D., is the associate dean for academic affairs and an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Presented a lecture titled “Art as Experience in an Age of Distraction” for the Marilyn T. and Byron C. Shutz Lecture in Arts & Culture at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Schuld, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Presented work at the annual Texas A&M conference on Transformational Teaching and Learning.

Simms, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Their paper “Live Performance & XR Lab: A Collaborative Learning Space for Interdisciplinary Storytelling in Live & Virtual Worlds” was published and presented at the International Symposium for Electronic Arts in Seoul, South Korea.

Seo, Ph.D., is associate dean for Research and Creative Works and a professor in the Visualization program; Bruner, M.F.A., instructional assistant professor, Visualization.

Organized the 2025 World Shakuhachi Festival on the Texas A&M campus. The quadrennial event featured guest artists and concerts on campus and one in Round Top, more than 75 workshops and classes, three open-mic sessions, two competitions and a research symposium.

Regan, Ph.D., is a professor in the Music Performance program.

Steinke’s work “A Tiny Red Dot and Other Hidden Messages” was featured in the AT&T Discovery District in Dallas as part of Video Art Night Aurora. Additionally, Steinke’s film “Threads and Sprocket Holes” appeared in the New York Film Screening: Sprockets, Scratches, Splotches Shorts Program, curated by Triple Canopy Magazine in New York.

Steinke, M.F.A., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Hays performed the world premiere of “The Demonstration” by Peter Dayton for the World Shakuhachi Festival held on the Texas A&M campus.

Hays, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Served as the editor of “People, Places, Practices: Volume 67, Issue 1” of the Theatre Design & Technology journal.

Yadav, Ph.D., is section chair for Dance, Music and Theatre Performance and an associate professor in the Theatre program.

Hosted a college-sponsored event titled “The Ingmar Bergman Foundation and Archival Research in Sweden,” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Humphrey, Ph.D., is a professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program and academic program director for the undergraduate degree.

Presented a paper titled “For Whomever Might Arrive: On Mind Wandering and Happenstance,” at the American Philosophical Association- Pacific conference in San Francisco, California. The paper was also accepted for publication in the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion.

Schuld, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Chaired a panel discussion titled “The Films of Alice Guy Blaché: New Looks and Approaches” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Spiers, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Presented his paper “Boinks and Bongos: An Unheard History of Hanna-Barbera’s Sound Effects” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Sullivan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and associate undergraduate program director for the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Presented a juried paper titled “Ornament in Translation” during “The Early Modern Multimedial Workshop” at the Association for Art History annual conference in York, England.

Uchacz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Received a Glasscock Book Completion Fellowship and a Glasscock Global Publication Translation Grant.

Cardoso, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Presented “Stylizing Hypnotic and Transformative Musical Experiences” research at the International Association for the Study of Popular Music conference in Los Angeles, California.

Kattari, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Was awarded a Software and License Award from the Center of Digital Humanities Research to secure access to NVIVO: Qualitative Data Analysis Software.

Budzise-Weaver, M.L.I.S., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Presented three paintings in the exhibition “New Western Landscapes” in the Museum of the Southwest in Midland.

House, M.F.A., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Koustov’s paintings were featured in Houstonia Magazine. His latest work was also included in a show at the Anya Tish Gallery in Houston.

Koustov, B.F.A., is a senior lecturer in the Visualization program.

Suryansh’s journal article “Mobile Robotic Multi-View Photometric Stereo” was accepted for publication in the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Journal.

Kumar, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

McNamara spoke about the importance of data science and interdisciplinary research at the Texas A&M Food Energy Water Health Nexus Symposium.

McNamara, Ph.D., is the interim associate dean for faculty affairs and a professor in the Visualization program.

Published his book “Student Agency in Devised Theatre Education: Creating Collaborative Theatre in Virtual and In-Person Classrooms” by Routledge. Poblete presented its dramaturgical implications at the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Digital Conference. He also led a panel discussion in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building about his book alongside Dr. Dinesh Yadav, associate professor in Theatre, and Dr. Marcia Montague, clinical assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development.

Poblete, Ph.D., is an instructional assistant professor in the Theatre program.

Rabbers’ company CPR Dance: Inhale Movement performed at the 15th annual Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (RAD Fest).

Rabbers, M.F.A., is an instructional assistant professor in the Dance Science program.

Featured in the Biennial Edition of Women Cinemakers Magazine, which features performance artists and independent filmmakers.

Steinke, M.F.A., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Taught a masterclass at Boston University and traveled to Philadelphia to film new music on the Marimba One Jewel marimba. Vartan also performed the double concerto “All Seeing Sky” with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Allan R Scott.

Vartan, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Presented a workshop on the interaction of color and light at the International Festival of Theatre School in Thrissur, Kerala, India. Yadav also presented “Conversations with Authors and Editors – From Idea to Page – Your Publication Journey” and “Weaving Narratives: Banarasi Textiles in Contemporary and Historical India” at the annual international conference for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology in Columbus, Ohio.

Yadav, Ph.D., is section chair for Dance, Music and Theatre Performance and an associate professor in the Theatre program.

Presented research on “Digital Twinning for Intelligent Cities” as a panelist for Connected America 2025 in Dallas.

Tao, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

All were among 25 nationally selected participants in the Full Circle Climate Change Conversation Workshop at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Bruner, M.F.A., is an instructional assistant professor in the Visualization program; Donkor, Ph.D., associate professor, Performance and Visual Studies; Klein, M.F.A., instructional associate professor, Visualization; McNamara, Ph.D., interim associate dean for faculty affairs; Starrett, M.F.A., associate professor and academic graduate program director for the Visualization program; Vartan, D.M.A., associate professor, Music Performance; Ziff, M.F.A., instructional associate professor, Visualization; Walsh, M.F.A., associate professor of practice, Visualization.

Published an article titled “Aberrant Creativity: AI Art Exhibition Catalyzing Conversations Among Artists, Educators, and Professionals” in tradition innovations in Art, Design and Media Higher Education by ARU.

Seo, Ph.D., is associate dean for Research and Creative Works and a professor in the Visualization program; Kicklighter, M.F.A., instructional assistant professor, Visualization.

Cook and Steinke’s collaborative project “U-SCOPIC” appeared with Performance in Flux at the Immerse Festival in Orlando, Florida. The film was also featured on the digital platform “LABOCINE,” which is an online ecosystem for cinema, science and film crossbreeds.

Cook, M.F.A., and Steinke, M.F.A., are assistant professors in the Visualization program.

Presented a paper titled “David Smith Takes to the Air” at the 2025 College Art Association conference in New York.

Schuld, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Presented the second annual “Afrofuturism Explored!” at the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building. The event featured panel discussions with students and faculty, keynote speakers, poem recitations and a film screening.

Connor, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Organized an exhibition and series of dance performances honoring the Harlem Renaissance in “The Heartbeat: A Cultural Revival,” at the Parker-Astin in Downtown Bryan.

Gibson, M.F.A., is an assistant professor in the Dance Science program.

Received several awards and recognition for the Theatre program’s inaugural production “SUPERHERO & SUPERHERO,” a devised comedic play devised by the ensemble about heroism in the contemporary world. Two representatives from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 6 attended and gave 11 awards to the ensemble including students and staff member Jeff Watson, theatre facility coordinator.

McConnell, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Theatre program; Middleton Dexter, M.F.A., is the interim program director for Theatre.

Received a Glasscock Center Co-Sponsorship Grant. The Glasscock Center offers this grant to faculty who engage with research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Sullivan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and associate undergraduate program director for the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Received a Glasscock Center Co-Sponsorship Grant. The Glasscock Center offers this grant to faculty who engage with research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Perez, D.M.A., is an instructional associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Received a Glasscock Center Co-Sponsorship Grant. The Glasscock Center offers this grant to faculty who engage with research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. She also Released an album of duo marimba works titled “Stars Above,” which earned the Gold Medal Award of Excellence for the 2024 Global Music Awards.

Vartan, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Received funding from the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program Advisory Council.

Donkor, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Regan’s musical work “The Book of Names” was performed by the Apollo Chamber Players in Zilkha Hall at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston.

Regan, Ph.D., is a professor in the Music Performance program.

Received the 2024 Jones Artist Award from the Houston Endowment foundation for her video “Sun Notations,” which is an experimental project about the sun. Another project titled “Footnotes from the Earth and Sky: An experimental film trilogy” was selected by the Houston Endowment for the Arts and Humanities Fellows Program – Classic.

Steinke, M.F.A., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Debuted her exhibition “The West That Never Was” at the Davis Gallery in Austin. The exhibition featured work with Dana Younger as an inclusive celebration of the Western genre with female heroes and deconstructed cowboys revitalizing stylistic themes from Western pulp fiction covers and vintage toys.

House, M.F.A., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Received the 2024 Association of Former Students College Level Distinguished Achievement Award. The Association of Former Students honors outstanding faculty members each fall with the award for their dedication to teaching and their talent, expertise and devotion in conveying knowledge to students. Recipients also get a $2,000 stipend.

Andreassen, M.F.A., is an instructional associate professor in the Visualization program.

Accepted into the Faculty Aspiring Leadership Program, which provides leadership to the development of My Grad Journey System, which is a platform for students to document their goals and activities related to their graduate journey, and for faculty advisors/committees to provide feedback.

Weaver, M.S., is section chair for Art and Design and an instructional associate professor in the Visualization program.

Accepted as an ASCEND Research Leadership Fellow, which is a collaborative-research, seed-grant initiative launched in January 2023. Tao also received a TAMU-PVAMU grant.

Tao, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program. 

Received a Glasscock Faculty Research Fellowship, which provides support for seeding and supporting faculty research projects in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Kattari, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Cardoso’s project “Gun Violence and Acoustic Surveillance in Brazil” was selected for the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program titled “Emerging Technologies: Perspectives from the Arts and Humanities.” Each recipient receives a three-year grant totaling $15,000 through the Texas A&M Division of Research. Cardoso will produce a book and sound installation that examines environmental risk in contemporary Brazil, using sound and hearing as analytical channels to study relationships between state and civil society.

Cardoso, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Rojas-Muñoz’s lab — the Laboratory for Extended and Mixed User Realities — received funding to improve the safety of maritime surveyors by using augmented reality devices. The American Bureau of Shipping collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering to fund the innovation lab as a hub for maritime research.

Rojas-Muñoz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.

Awarded a National Dance Society Legacy Award by the National Dance Organization.

Bergeron, Ph.D., is a clinical professor and undergraduate program director for the Dance Science program.

Received an Arts and Humanities fellowship from the Division of Research that includes $15,000 for her research on ornament prints.

Uchacz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Received an Arts and Humanities fellowship from the Division of Research that includes $15,000 for her research on the role of artists who served in residencies in scientific and industrial settings in the United States and the United Kingdom during the Cold War.

Schuld, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Performed an original composition titled “Prelude and Fanfare” with a brass quintet ensemble during a solar eclipse event at Century Square in College Station.

Wilborn, D.M.A., is an associate professor in the Music Performance program.

Presented her book “Choreographing Dirt: Movement, Performance, and Ecology in the Anthropocene,” during a panel discussion in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building. Spalink’s book, published by Routledge in December 2023, focuses on performances that implement dirt and examines how the choreography of dirt makes biological and cultural meaning.

Spalink, Ph.D., is the academic graduate program director for the Performance Studies degree and associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Selected as a fellow for the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program, which strives to advance academic leaders within 14 SEC institutions. Members participate in two workshops and a competitive fellowship to provide administrative growth opportunities to program alumni.

McNamara, Ph.D., is the interim associate dean for faculty affairs and a professor in the Visualization program.

Presented a two-day conference titled “Afrofuturism Explored!” which examined the current state of Afrofuturism. The event featured panel discussions, art installations, an improvisational performance and film screenings.

Connor, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Produced a virtual music project titled “Weblogmusic: Cartomancy,” which was featured in the online art festival The Wrong Biennale.

Morris, D.M.A., is a professor in the Music Performance program.

Presented a multidisciplinary immersive event titled “Dance of America: A Celebration of Black Dance in the United States,” which featured an installation of about 60 artists with archived video footage and an interactive timeline.

Gibson, M.F.A., is a lecturer in the Dance Science program.

All were accepted into the Scholarship of Teaching Yields Excellence Certificate Program.

Simms, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies program; Connor, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Performance and Visual Studies; Campbell, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Performance and Visual Studies.

Starrett visited the University of Georgia to host a workshop for students on data materialization through a grant from the Southeastern Conference Faculty Travel Program. The program provides an opportunity for faculty members to travel to other schools in the athletics conference to share ideas, conduct research and host lectures.

Starrett, M.F.A., is an associate professor in the Visualization program.

Received the Montague-CTE Scholars Award, presented by the Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence. The award is given to tenure-track assistant professors based on their early success and passion for teaching undergraduate students. The $6,500 grant goes to further development of their teaching excellence.

Uchacz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Bieber’s book “American Artists Engage the Built Environment, 1960-1979,” was published by Routledge. The book features Bieber’s analysis of the work of artists Robert Grosvenor, Donald Judd, Gordon Matta-Clark, Mary Miss, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Smithson and Lawrence Weiner during that transformational era. She also received a Glasscock Faculty Research Fellowship for the 2023-24 academic year. The $5,000 fellowship will go toward Bieber’s research for a book, tentatively titled “Global Pneumatics.”

Bieber, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Performance and Visual Studies program.

Honored with a Distinguished Achievement Award from The Association of Former Students. The association honors outstanding faculty members each fall with the College Level Distinguished Achievement Award for their dedication to teaching and for their talent, expertise and devotion in conveying knowledge to students. Recipients also get a $2,000 stipend.

Bergeron, Ph.D., is a clinical professor and undergraduate program director for the Dance Science program.

Selected for a Research Leadership Fellowship within Texas A&M University’s inaugural ASCEND research seed grant initiative. The project aims to explore the artificial generation of virtual environments, specifically targeted to urban planning and room modifications.

Rojas-Muñoz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Visualization program.