Analytics and Information Systems

• Predictive Modeling and Data Mining
• Contemporary Analytics (graduate)

• Stanford Medical Statistics Certificate, Stanford School of Medicine, San Jose, CA, August 2020

• MIT Certificate in Data Science and Big Data Analytics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, December 2017 

• PhD, Computer Science and Computer Engineering, University of Louisville, 2009

• MS, Computer Science, Western Kentucky University, 2004

Dr. Zhuhadar’s applied research advances analytics, machine learning, and AI through sustained interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues across the United States and Europe, targeting data-intensive problems where decision quality depends on rigorous modeling, transparent inference, and actionable insight.

As documented in her CV, her scholarly record includes 55 peer-reviewed publications (18 journal articles, 3 book chapters, and 34 peer-reviewed conference proceedings), including 8 ABDC “A” and 9 SJR Q1 journal articles. Her work has strong research visibility, with 7,810 citations and an i10-index of 30 (Google Scholar link, Feb. 12, 2026), and she is listed among WKU’s Top-10 scholars on the WKU Google Scholar organization page (link).

Her research trajectory has also been recognized through competitive awards at both the college and university levels. At the college level, she is a four-time recipient of the College Faculty Award for Research & Creativity (2025–2026, 2023–2024, 2022–2023, and 2017–2018). At the university level, she received WKU’s Most Prolific Grant Proposer award (2014–2015).

Her funded research record includes 27 awarded grants totaling nearly $500,000, with a strong emphasis on student-engaged research and workforce development. Student-centered investment totals $126,000 to date, including $72,000 in undergraduate research grants and Data Science scholarships benefiting 20 students and $54,000 in RCAP-funded graduate assistantships supporting 7 graduate students. 

Also, Dr. Zhuhadar has received the College Faculty Award for Teaching (2021–2022), the MBA Innovative Pedagogy Award (2021–2022), and the College Faculty Award for Student Advisement (2020–2021), in addition to PRIDA Awards for Student Advisement (2020–2021, 2017–2018).

  "Optimizing Place-Based Data Infrastructure Siting: Balancing Energy, Environment, and Communities" (with C. Webb, M. Gutta, M. Williamson, and B. Labreveux), Journal of ACS ES&T Water, 2026, 1, 26, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.5c01503.

"The influence of AmeriCorps members on ecosystem management" (with A. McCreary), Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023, 420, 138309, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138309.

"The Impact of AmeriCorps Members in Invasive Species and Wildfire Fuels Mitigation" (with A. McCreary), Journal of International Scientific Publications: Ecology & Safety, 2022, 16, 138-145.

"Novel findings of hidden relationships in offshore tax-sheltered firms: A semantically enriched decision support system" (with M. Ciampa), Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 2021, 12, 4377–4394.

"Using survival analysis to discover pathways to success in mathematics" (with J. Daday, S. Marklin, B. Kessler, and T. Helbig), Computers in Human Behavior, 2019, 92, 487-495.

"Data analytics and its advantages for addressing the complexity of healthcare: A simulated zika case study example" (with E. Thrasher), Applied Sciences, 2019, 9(11), 2208.

"Leveraging learning innovations in cognitive computing with massive data sets: Using the offshore Panama papers leak to discover patterns" (with M. Ciampa), Computers in Human Behavior, 2018, 92, 507-518.