Dr. Marjorie Darrah is Professor of Mathematics at WVU. She has 25 years experience teaching at the university level, and has led three National Science Foundation projects connecting students and teachers to cutting edge technology and making a smooth pathway to IT careers. She also had funding from the US Department of Education, SBIR program to develop new products incorporating haptic touch technology that allows a person to touch and interact with a virtual object. More recently her education research is related to the mitigation of math anxiety in students and determining factors that facilitate rural, first-generation STEM student success.
Her research also includes the development and implementation of biologically inspired algorithms (Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms). She has been involved in the development, implementation and field testing of genetic algorithms that coordinate missions using multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In this area she has had funding from both Army Research Labs and Air Force Research Labs. She has also worked on a NASA project using Neural Networks to do health monitoring of UAV systems to avoid system degradation or failure. She recently worked on an Army Research Lab Project to used Convolutional Neural Networks to identify ground objects in LiDAR data collected using a small LiDAR sensor mounted on a multi-roter UAV. Dr. Darrah also has expertise in project evaluation and has conducted over 25 project evaluations, specializing in evaluation of educational technologies and educational programs.
Before coming to WVU, she was the Director of the Computer Sciences Group for the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation and also taught ten years at small private WV University, where she served at the Chair of the Natural Sciences Division.Education:
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
1995 PH. D. MATHEMATICS
1991 M.S. MATHEMATICS
Graduated summa cum laude
FAIRMONT STATE COLLEGE
1989 B.S. MATHEMATICS
1988 B.A. Education,
Comprehensive Mathematics 7-12
Graduated summa cum laude
Courses offered at WVU:
- Math 126 College Algebra
- Math 150 Applied Calculus
- Math 153/154 Calculus with Pre-Calculus
- Math 303 Introducation to Concepts of Mathematics
- Math 375 Applied Modern Algebra
- Math 318 Perspectives in Science and Mathematics
- Math 593 Neural Network Rule Extraction
Research Interests:
- Artificial Neural Networks (Dynamic Cell Structure and Convolutional NNs)
- Neural Network Rule Extraction and Rule Insertion
- Genetic Algorithms
- Social Network Analysis
- Program and Project Evaluation
- Mitigation of Math Anxiety in Students
Recent Publications:
Algorithm Related:
Darrah, M., Richardson, M., DeRoos, B., & Wathen, M. (2022). Optimal LiDAR Data Resolution Analysis for Object Classification. Sensors, 22(14), 5152.
Elsarrar, O., Darrah, M., & Cossman, J. (2021). Improving Neural Network Performance by Embedding Expert Knowledge in the Form of Rules. Procedia Computer Science, 191, 417-424.
Elsarrar, O., Darrah, M., & Devin, R. (2020). Rule Insertion Technique for Dynamic Cell Structure Neural Network. International Journal of Computer and Information Engineering, 14(8), 287-292.
Elsarrar, O., Darrah, M., & Cossman, J. (2021). Improving Neural Network Performance by Embedding Expert Knowledge in the Form of Rules. Procedia Computer Science, 191, 417-424.
Elsarrar, O., Darrah, M., & Devine, R. (2019, December). Analysis of Forest Fire Data Using Neural Network Rule Extraction with Human Understandable Rules. In 2019 18th IEEE International Conference On Machine Learning And Applications (ICMLA) (pp. 1917-19176). IEEE.
Darrah, M., Cowley, K., Wheatley, C., McJilton, L., & Humbert, R. (2022). Analyzing the Growth of a Statewide Network to Increase Recruitment to and Persistence in STEM. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 28(2), 188-212.
Darrah, M.,
Rubenstein, A., Sorton, E. and DeRoos, B. (2018). On-board Health-state
Awareness to Detect Degradation in Multirotor Systems. In Proceedings
of 2018 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS),
Dallas, TX, USA, 2018.
Rahem, M. A., Darrah, M. (2018). Using a Computational Approach for Generalizing a Consensus Measure to Likert Scales of Any Size n. International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences. Volume 2018, Article ID 5726436. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5726436
Darrah, M., Trujillo, M. M., Speransky, K. and Wathen, M. (2017). Optimized 3D mapping of a large area with structures using multiple multirotors. In Proceedings of 2017 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), Miami, FL, USA, 2017,pp. 716-722. doi: 10.1109/ICUAS.2017.7991414.
Darrah, M., Sorton,
E., Wathen, M. and Mera Trujillo, M. (2016). Real-time Tasking and
Retasking of Multiple Coordinated UAVs. Defense Systems Information
Analysis Center Journal, 3(4) pp. 21-26.
Education Related:
Darrah, M., Leppma, M. & Ogden, L. (2023). Role of Grit and Other Factors in Mitigating Math Anxiety in College Math Students. In Proceeding of Pyschology of Mathematics Education Conference, Reno, NV, October 1-4, 2023.
Darrah, M., Humbert, R., & Howley, C. (2022). Differentiating Rural Locale Factors Related to Students Choosing and Persisting in STEM. Research in Higher Education Journal, 42.
Leppma, M., & Darrah, M. (2022). Self-efficacy, mindfulness, and self-compassion as predictors of math anxiety in undergraduate students. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 1-16
Darrah, M., Humbert, R. & Stewart, G. (2022). Understanding the Levels of First Generationness. Inside HigherEd. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/03/02/first-gen-category-encompasses-varied-group-opinion
Dr. Darrah's CV