Embry-Riddle Faculty Q & A

Faculty Voices

Frederique Drullion

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Daytona Beach campus

What did you do before joining Embry-Riddle’s faculty?

I received a master’s in mathematics from ISITV, a science and engineering institute in Toulons, on the Cote d’Azur in the South of France, where I am from. Then I did my Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the French Ministry of Defense, where I was doing numerical codes for Airbus airplanes. But I didn’t want to grow up yet, so I did a post-doc at the University of Florida in their Coastal Engineering Department. I gave up airplanes for hurricanes. I wanted to do natural phenomena.

Is math that flexible?

You can use math for anything. It’s the basis of physics, biology, science. When I was a kid, I loved pure math. Math is like a game. You can represent everything on the planet with it. It’s like a new language. I’ve studied Latin, modern Greek, English, and Spanish, but the language I love the best is math. In high school, you’ve seen algebra, geometry, calculus, maybe trigonometry, but you haven’t really seen math yet. Math is like the ocean, but these others are like a pool. Boring.

What big challenge do you dream of solving?

The Navier Stokes Equation for fluid flows. It’s one of the problems of the millennium – a $1 million prize if you can solve it. I told my students about it, and they got excited and said they would work on it that night. They found out it’s not so easy. But I’m working on a more manageable problem instead, with an internal grant from Embry-Riddle. I’m using math to create simulations of tornadoes, going through campus, of course. Everybody agrees on how to approach the problem of hurricanes, but nothing much is known about tornadoes.

What’s it like teaching math at Embry-Riddle?

In France, they break the class into groups according to difficulty, but here everybody is together. So once a week I break them into groups of difficulty and work with each group individually. The rest of the week I teach the whole class. American students expect to be motivated and encouraged. But I like them. They talk to me about their boyfriends and girlfriends and bring me cookies.

John Nafziger

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Prescott campus

You teach two courses in robotics. What’s important to know about robotics?

The multidisciplinary nature of the design and implementation of manipulator robotics or autonomous vehicles. The mechanics and mechanisms of robotics is apparent, but a large part of robotic system design requires electrical and computer engineering, probability and statistics for path planning and decision-making, and computer science. In fact, my Ph.D. is in neuroscience, and I focused on research in vision, motor and sensor systems, and long-term memory.

What clinched your decision to join Embry-Riddle’s faculty?

During my interview, I gave a technical talk on studying non-linear dynamical systems, using the brain and neurophysiology as an example from my research. The first three questions were from students. Their questions showed me they had the insights and the ability to be critical in an area outside their area of study. They were of the quality I’d expect from graduate students in the field of neuroscience, not a group of aerospace engineers. That speaks to the quality of the students and the education they receive at Embry-Riddle.

What were you doing before then?

I worked as a mechanical engineer at General Dynamics, followed by a research position at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Md. After graduate school, I worked at the Sarnoff Research Laboratory in Princeton, developing real-time computer vision algorithms for post-9/11 security and surveillance application at airports and in Iraq.

I understand you have some interesting hobbies.

After getting my commercial, multi-engine, and instrument ratings, I took a spin course in a Pitts, so I could recover from all spin modes, such as upright, inverted spins, accelerated spins, and flat spins. That introduced me to competition aerobatics. I’ve been competing for four years and train with Nikolay Timofeev, a three-time world aerobatic champion. I fly a Russian-made Yak-55M in advanced. I was also a competitive road cyclist for 10 years, so I enjoy mountain biking, cyclocross racing, and trail running with my wife and two dogs. I’m also building a Pitts Model 12 airplane, a two-seat aerobatics biplane. It will help me show what an 8-g pull is like!

James Ramsay

Professor of Homeland Security, Daytona Beach campus

What drew you to Embry-Riddle?

The opportunity to build something great from nothing. Academic homeland security is brand new, and we’re building the nation’s pre-eminent undergraduate program here. After just four semesters, we’re already one of the nation's largest, with close to 110 majors! Two years from now, I hope people will no longer say “homeland security – what’s that?” and that Embry-Riddle will be known not just for “how to build ’em and how to fly ’em,” but also for having the nation’s top homeland security program.

What challenges does homeland security face?

The lack of a deep understanding of other cultures, traditions, and customs has hampered America’s ability to function abroad in effective, nation-building ways. Another problem is the virtually total lack of environmental security integration into the national security strategic planning process. This detracts from our ability to identify root causes of radicalization and reduces our ability to develop effective mechanisms to combat terrorism.

What will Embry-Riddle's Homeland Security degree program help?

The curriculum encourages students to minor in international relations and concentrate in the area of emergency management, transportation security, or terrorism. With 16 elective credits remaining, they can select another minor, such as occupational/aviation safety or Asian studies, which makes tons of sense given the prominence of China. We have also begun an active research program to investigate how environmental security can be better integrated with the U.S. national security strategic plan, and we've been working with two student researchers for over a year now.

I assume you had a life before Embry-Riddle. What were the high points?

I've been blessed with tons of totally cool high points, but the one that stands out is my six months of teaching in Sydney, Australia, because so much of that life also impacted my family at the same time – a completely cool, exotic, exhilarating life. The everyday interaction with a new culture, language, and the ability to discuss “America” with non-Americans and view it through their eyes was, and remains, stunning.

Robin Sobotta

Chair of the Department of Business and Associate Director of Global Security and Intelligence Studies, Prescott campus

How does aviation business differ from other industries?

Aviation has unique challenges. There are negotiations and hedging of fuel purchases, bond swaps for future building projects at airports, airline mergers and acquisitions, and heavy regulation in a cyclical industry. For example, airports are like small cities that just happen to have runways, but they are owned by public entities such as a local or state government. We teach our business students about the public and the private sector. We teach them how corporate finance applies to an airline. We teach them the skills it takes to succeed in this special environment.

What’s something most people don’t know about aviation business?

The relationship between an airport and airline is like that of a landlord and tenant. It has to be a real cooperative venture for it to work. Airports and airlines become massive generators of economic life and growth in a community and state. We teach students that local communities need to be educated about their value.

Why do students go to Embry-Riddle for a business degree?

Like most Embry-Riddle students, they have a dream of aviation, but it’s not one with wings. They want to manage. We have a robust business internship program. Many of our students begin fulfilling their dream as paid interns at airports. They work at McCarran (Las Vegas), Seattle-Tacoma, Phoenix Sky Harbor, San Jose, and Denver. They also intern at aerospace companies such as Boeing and Honeywell. The business program at the Prescott campus just completed its fourth year. We had our first 13 graduates this May.

When you’re not chairing the business program and teaching, how do you unwind?

I spend time with my two daughters. I’m an occasional golfer, but I love working jigsaw puzzles.