AUA Announces Faculty Promotions for 2020-2021 AY
4 min readYEREVAN, Armenia ‒ The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to announce several faculty promotions approved during the 2019-2020 academic year. Dr. Hayk Nersisyan, Dr. Vardan Baghdasaryan, and Dr. Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan were promoted to the rank of associate professor, effective July 1, 2020.
Dr. Hayk Nersisyan joined AUA’s Akian College of Science and Engineering (CSE) in 2014 as adjunct lecturer, assuming the position of chair of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) program a year later. He has spent a year and a half as a postdoctoral fellow at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Spain. Dr. Nersisyan also has taught a number of undergraduate and graduate courses at Cergy-Pontoise University, France, Yerevan State University (YSU) and French University in Armenia (UFAR). In the past five years at AUA, he has designed and taught four new courses, along with teaching five other courses in CSE.
His research interests range from controllability and stabilization of partial differential equations (PDEs), equations of fluid mechanics, and optimization of water wave equations, to machine learning. Dr. Nersisyan has authored eleven peer-reviewed publications and has been cited in 88 publications. For the past three years, he has been leading joint research projects within the scope of the collaboration between Mentor Graphics and AUA. He also is a founding member of a working group focused on research in mathematics behind machine learning.
“Teaching is one of the favorite parts of my job. I constantly work to be a more effective instructor, and pay careful attention to student feedback. As a result, I regularly update my courses and strive to prepare clear and informative syllabi. Serving as a program chair, I frequently meet with students who have questions about their degree plans and career options,” notes Dr. Nersisyan.
He holds a doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Cergy-Pontoise, France, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics from YSU, Armenia.
Dr. Vardan Baghdasaryan is chair of the AUA Master of Science in Management (MSM) program and an affiliate fellow at CERGE-EI (Prague). Prior to joining AUA in 2014, he worked as a senior consultant at AVAG Solutions, providing advisory services to international donor organizations, such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Dr. Baghdasaryan has authored several peer-reviewed publications and actively participates in international conferences, workshops, and seminars. His current research interests include political economics, labor economics, microfinance, and economics of transition. Recently, a team of researchers under his leadership was awarded a grant by the Policy Development and Research Fund (PDRF) to study the Active Labor Market Policies’ efficiency in Armenia. He is also the principal investigator of a project on developing alternative methodologies of tax evasion identification that commenced in August 2019 with a grant from the Manoogian Simone Research Fund (MSRF). Dr. Baghdasaryan teaches a number of undergraduate and graduate courses in microeconomics and data analysis (econometrics and machine learning) across various programs of the Manoogian Simone College of Business and Economics (CBE).
“I engage in scholarly research in line with my teaching and university service. I am currently actively involved in redesigning the Master of Science in Management program as its chair. Throughout these years, I have tried to execute my duties professionally and to drive real positive changes” notes Dr. Baghdasaryan.
He earned his PhD degree in economics from the Catholic University of Milan, Italy. His academic record also includes completion of the qualification requirements of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK.
Dr. Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan (M PSIA ‘03) joined AUA in January 2011, teaching and conducting research at AUA’s Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) program, first as a senior lecturer and then as an assistant professor in 2015. Her prior work experience includes teaching at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany; managing the Data Initiative and Methodological Training program at the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), Armenia; and research for the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Armenia.
Her areas of research and teaching specialization include civil society, political culture, democracy and democratization, research methodology, and corruption. She has established herself as a scholarly authority on Armenian civil society. Related to this experience, Dr. Paturyan has contributed chapters to edited volumes on civil society, including books published by Routledge and Springer. A chapter in an edited volume about the Velvet Revolution, published by Bloomsbury, is forthcoming this summer. In addition, she has authored four publications in peer-reviewed journals.
“My time at AUA has been one of immense personal and professional growth. I am currently engaged in the development of AUA Press, and I am also a faculty advisor to the Student Council: a task I find both challenging and rewarding. I am learning from students every day and I hope they learn from me as well,” comments Dr. Paturyan.
She earned a doctoral degree in political science and a master’s degree in integrated social sciences from Jacobs University Bremen. Dr. Paturyan also holds a master’s degree in political science and international affairs from AUA.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.