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Ronnie K. Irani, Founder

Businessman Ronnie K. Irani founded the oil and gas exploration company RKI Exploration & Production and built it organically into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. In 2016 he sold that company and started RKI Energy Resources, where he is president and chief executive officer. His connection to ³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ dates back multiple decades. He earned his MBA from ³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ in 1990; was inducted into the university’s Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor in 2018; and in 2021 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university. He also was a teacher at the university, serving as an adjunct professor of organizational behavior in the mid-90s. 

Jacob Dearmon, Director

³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ economics professor Jacob Dearmon is the director of the Ronnie K. Irani Center for Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. Dearmon is an economist with expertise in economic forecasting and data analytics. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. His early career as a database programmer at Quorum Business Solutions complements his academic achievements. He has worked with prestigious clients such as MidFirst, BancFirst, city of Dallas, city of Fort Worth, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the city of Oklahoma City and Devon Energy, delivering expert forecasting services and customized analytics solutions.  His academic research is in the application and extension of machine learning models to spatial problems, particularly those found in real estate.

Loknath Sai Ambati, Faculty

Loknath Sai Ambati is an experienced assistant professor of Data Analytics at ³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from Dakota State University, specializing in analytics and decision support systems. Ambati possesses a rare combination of academic and industry experience in data analytics and AI. His research interests include health information technology, population health, social media analytics, artificial intelligence and health care informatics. He is a valuable asset to the academic and professional communities, and his expertise has contributed to numerous articles in top-tier academic journals.

Jabir Rahman, Faculty

Jabir Rahman is an assistant professor of Data Analytics at the Meinders School of Business. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Information and Technology from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, where his research focused on human AI interaction and AI aversion. Rahman's expertise in data-driven decision making has earned him recognition in the field of data analytics, with his research making significant contributions and being published or presented to top information systems journals and conferences.