DALLAS, Pa. — Penn State Wilkes-Barre has hired three full-time faculty members, Chancellor Lynda Goldstein announced. Adriana Dinescu has been named assistant teaching professor of chemistry; Lori Dunn, previously an adjunct instructor at the campus, has been hired as lecturer in business; and Henrique Oliveira has been named assistant teaching professor of surveying engineering. All three are teaching courses for the fall semester.
“We welcome Dr. Dinescu and Dr. Oliveira to Penn State Wilkes-Barre and are pleased Ms. Dunn will continue to teach here,” Goldstein said. “Their commitment to education, research and developing relationships with students will be felt throughout our campus and beyond.”
Dinescu, an ACS member, holds a doctorate in inorganic computational chemistry from the University of North Texas, a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Texas and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest in Romania. She completed postdoctoral training at the Idaho National Laboratory and Washington State University.
Dinescu previously worked as a tenured associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Centenary University in New Jersey, an assistant professor of chemistry at Wilkes University and a lecturer at Butler University in Indiana. She has taught upper-level courses in physical chemistry, computational chemistry, biochemistry and environmental, toxicology and inorganic chemistry, as well as introductory chemistry for non-science majors. Dinescu designed and implemented new experiences for courses with a lab component.
At Wilkes University, she coordinated all general chemistry labs and also served as co-adviser to the Wilkes University Chemistry Club, which received American Chemical Society (ACS) commendable and outstanding awards during that time.
“I look forward to being a part of the tight-knit community of Penn State Wilkes-Barre and cannot wait to meet my students this fall,” Dinescu said. “The second I set foot on this Penn State campus, I was impressed by its splendor. Then, I met amazing people who are passionate about student success and well-being. As a new faculty member, it will be an honor to serve and support our students during their academic journey.”
Dunn has served as a part-time instructor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre since 2006, primarily teaching courses in taxes and financial and managerial accounting. She has also taught accounting courses at Penn State’s World Campus since 2015.
A certified public accountant, Dunn also worked as a full-time faculty member at Luzerne County Community College, where she also served as the business department coordinator, and adjunct faculty at Misericordia University. During her 20-year career in education, she has taught courses in accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting, small business management, taxation, management, marketing, business communications, finance, personal management and more.
Prior to becoming an educator, Dunn worked professionally in her field as a controller, tax supervisor and senior accountant. She holds a master’s degree in taxation from King’s College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from King’s College. She is past president of the Northeast Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and has volunteered on PICPA committees at the local and state level.
“I am very excited to be joining the Penn State Wilkes-Barre team,” Dunn said. “I am looking forward to being involved in students' education and growth from their entry into college through graduation and beyond. Having a positive effect on a person's life is an amazing experience for me.”
Oliveira most recently worked as an assistant professor at the University of Campinas – Brazil, where he was associate department head for the Department of Infrastructure and Environment. He taught undergraduate courses in geomatics (another name for surveying engineering) for students enrolled in civil engineering, architecture, agricultural engineering and geology, along with graduate courses for civil engineering students. He previously served as assistant professor for the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) – Brazil School of Cartographic Engineering.
Oliveira has worked with projects in a variety of areas, including spatial data acquisition from different sensors (LiDAR, visible and multispectral imagery, GNSS receivers and others), development of a low-cost mobile mapping system, sensor integration for transport purposes, aerial photogrammetry using low-cost UAV as a platform, precision agriculture, software generation for image and point cloud processing, evaluation of different techniques for 3D model generation, Internet of Things and smart cities. He also developed virtual surveying material to help students understand how land surveying techniques are applied in the field.
Oliveira earned a doctorate and master’s degree in cartographic science from São Paulo State University and a bachelor’s degree in cartographic engineering, also from São Paulo State University. During his doctoral studies, he had the opportunity to develop part of his research at Purdue University at the Digital Photogrammetry Research Group.
“It is a pleasure to be part of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre team,” Oliveira said. “I am excited to join the surveying program and collaborate on the high standard of education for Penn State students. I hope to help the surveying program to continue its successful path and to achieve long-term goals.”