Faculty
Experts Who Bridge Theory and Practice
The Hybrid Master of Applied Artificial Intelligence for Business Transformation is taught by faculty who bring deep expertise in AI application, AI-driven analytics, and AI-enabled business transformation.
Faculty actively research how technology transforms business strategy and organizational performance, ensuring that what you learn reflects the latest insights from both academia and industry.
Ferdi Eruysal
Ferdi Eruysal is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems at the Penn State Smeal College of Business. His research focuses on the economics of information systems, utilizing game theoretical models to analyze strategic price optimization. At Smeal, Dr. Eruysal teaches undergraduate courses in business analytics and applied AI & machine learning, while also teaching graduate-level prescriptive analytics.
Brian Cameron
Dr. Brian Cameron is a clinical professor of information systems in the Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania State University and Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Programs and Executive Education in the Smeal College of Business. His work focuses on business architecture & strategy execution, enterprise architecture development, strategic planning & IT alignment, enterprise systems design & development, and project portfolio management.
Janet Duck
Janet Duck is a Clinical Professor of Management & Organization and Director of Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. With over 20 years of experience teaching in graduate professional programs and more than 15 years in industry, she leads innovation in online and hybrid graduate classrooms. As Faculty Chair of the Online MBA, her work focuses on preparing students for AI-enabled work through team-based learning, organizational change, and applied AI integration. She holds a Ph.D. in Workforce Development from Penn State and an MBA.
Cheryl Horton
Cheryl A. Horten is a business analytics and artificial intelligence instructor at Smeal. She earned her DBA from Marymount University, her MBA from Penn State, and a BSBA in Marketing and International Business, as well as a BA in Spanish, from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Horten’s teaching focuses on applied artificial intelligence and business analytics. Her courses emphasize practical use of generative AI, strategic interaction with AI systems, and responsible integration of AI into business decision-making and organizational processes.
Wael Jabr
Wael Jabr is an Assistant Professor of Supply Chain & Information Systems at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. He studies digital transformation and human–AI interaction in information-rich platforms, focusing on how organizations design workflows where algorithmic agents and experienced professionals collaborate effectively. He teaches graduate courses on generative AI and prompt engineering for business.
Keran Zhao
Keran Zhao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems at the Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining the Smeal College of Business, he was an Assistant Professor at the Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on digital platform design, artificial intelligence, and AI–human interaction, examining how AI-enabled systems shape user behavior and organizational outcomes using machine learning and econometric methods. He is also a Lead Trainer for the Intel AI for Current Workforce Program, translating AI and agentic AI into practical, responsible applications.