RESEARCH TEAM
JOSE PADILLA, PH.D.
Storymodelers Lead
VMASC Research Associate Professor, Dr. Padilla is the HDL lead scientist. He has degrees in industrial engineering, business management, and engineering management. From the development of frameworks to the creation of tools, Dr. Padilla explores new avenues for computational modeling innovation.

ANTHONY BARRACO
Storymodelers Software Engineer
Lead Project Scientist, Anthony Barraco works on developing simulation platforms an applications in diverse areas of research at VMASC. He has a bachelor's degree in computer science. His focus at VMASC has been the development of web-based, cloud-deployed applications, geospatial processing, system dynamics simulation modeling, and M&S interoperability.
RESEARCHERS IN TRAINING
Research Assistants and Interns

DANIEL ARISTIZABAL
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Junior Industrial Engineering student at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, with knowledge in data analysis and machine learning models with Python, and Agent Based Modeling (ABM) with Netlogo. Daniel is interested in ABM and data analysis.

JHON BOTELLO
Graduate Research Assistant
Industrial Engineer and master’s student in the Industrial Engineering Program at Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia. He is working on survey research applying Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling techniques to build and test models.

LIA CASTILLO
Research Assistant
Industrial Engineer at Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia. Lia has been working for the last two and a half years on quali-quantitative data analysis related to the forced migration of Venezuelans in Colombia. Lia is interested in learning multivariate data analysis methods for theory testing.

JAIRO GONZALEZ
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Senior Computer Science student at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Jairo has a particular interest in Machine learning and data analytics.

BRIAN LLINAS
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Senior Industrial Engineering student at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Brian is enthusiastic about data processing, visualization, and model selection (ML/Statistics). He has been working on developing computational insights about frustration towards migrants in global refugee host communities.

JOSEPH MARTÍNEZ
Graduate Research Assistant
Industrial Engineer graduated with honors from Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia and master’s student in the graduate program in Modeling and Simulation at Old Dominion University (starting Fall 2022). Joseph is interested in the application of computational methods and machine learning models in industrial and social contexts.

MEL MILLER-FELTON
Graduate Research Assistant
Melissa J. Miller-Felton is a second year Ph.D. student in the International Studies Program, with concentrations in Cultural and Comparative Studies, at Old Dominion University. She is also completing a graduate certificate in Women's Studies. Her research interests center around migration, refugee studies, and xenophobia. Melissa is also a clinical social worker with experiences in crisis intervention, community health, acute inpatient hospitalization, hospice/grief, and substance abuse treatment.

GINA PEREZ
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Junior Industrial Engineering student at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Gina is interested in data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

LISS ROMERO
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Senior Industrial Engineering student at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Liss has been working for the last two and a half years on qualitative and quantitative data analysis and modeling related to the forced migration of Venezuelans in Colombia. She is interested in expanding her knowledge in multivariate data analysis.
AFFILIATE RESEARCHERS
Multidisciplinarity at its Best