Newsroom

Raritan Valley Community College welcomes the following new faculty members to the RVCC community this fall:

Chandima Abeywickrama, Chemistry

Chandima received a BSc Chemistry Honors from the University of Colombo, Faculty of Science, Sri Lanka, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The City University of New York. She completed Post-Doctoral Research at Columbia University, New York, in the Department of Chemistry & Genome Center. She has also earned BSc Chemistry Honors from the Royal Society of Chemistry (Institute of Chemistry), Sri Lanka. Chandima has received numerous travel and full fellowships and is the co-author of a number of research publications. She has conducted research in Organic, Bioorganic, Medicinal, and Biochemistry in developing biologically important small molecules as potential therapeutics for treating cancer and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Chandima is currently teaching General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry lectures and laboratory courses at RVCC.
 
Thomas Bentey, Social Media

Nicole Ann Casciola, Paralegal Studies

Coordinator of the Paralegal Studies Program, Nicole received a BS from The College of New Jersey and a JD from Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. She received the Excellence in Teaching Award, Adjuncts RVCC (2022) and the Excellence in Teaching Award, Adjuncts NJIT (2022).

Alice Catalan, Mathematics

Alice will be teaching courses in Intermediate Algebra, Precalculus, Number Systems, and Mathematical Reasoning for Educators. She received a BS from Rutgers College of Engineering and an MEd from Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

Anthony Celi, Philosophy
 
Anthony’s research currently focuses on intersections between aesthetic experience, nostalgia, and the perception of significance from a (mostly) phenomenological perspective. He is the recipient of a New Jersey Council for the Humanities Grant Sponsorship for "Walk and Talk: On Nature" Philosophical Hike Series. Anthony received a BA from Montclair State University and an MA from Duquesne University.

Jeffrey Kravitz, Ophthalmic Science

Jeffrey is the Program Coordinator for Ophthalmic Science and will be teaching Ophthalmic Science courses. He received an AAS from Essex County College and a BA from Rutgers University.

Chuan Liu, Chemistry

Chuan will be teaching General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, along with their respective laboratory components. Co-author of numerous research publications, Chuan has worked on research projects focusing on Supramolecular Polymerization of Porphyrin-Based Organic Dyes and Drug Release from Hydrogel-Coated Microelectrode Arrays. He received a BS from Nankai University and a PhD from the University of Miami.

Demetris Nicolaides, Physics
 
Demetris will be teaching Physics courses. He received BA and MA degrees, both from Queens College, and an MPhil and PhD, both from The City University of New York.  Demetris is the author of In Search of a Theory of Everything: The Philosophy Behind Physics (Oxford University Press) and other articles, as well as the recipient of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research presentation award in Natural and Physical Sciences.

Cynthia P. Parayil, History
 
Cynthia will be teaching World History and World Civilization courses. She received a BA from Madras University, Tamilnadu, India; an MA from Delhi University, India; an MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; and a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Two assignments that she created are included in the Humanities in Class Digital Library, hosted by the National Humanities Center, which is an open educational resources platform open to all educators.

Kristen Ross, Nursing

Kristen will be teaching Nursing courses. She received BSN and MSN degrees, both from Western Governors University, and a Diploma from St. Luke's School of Nursing.

Brett Schwarzenbek, Mathematics

Brett will be teaching Mathematics courses. Brett received a BS from Rider University and an MS from  Kean University.

Chris Teixeira, English

Chris will be teaching courses in English Composition. He received BA and MA degrees, both from Montclair State University.


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September 28, 2023