Engineering Faculty Expertise

• Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
• Chemical and Environmental Engineering
• Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Materials Sciences and Engineering
• Mining and Geological Engineering
• Systems and Industrial Engineering

Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering

Ara Arabyan
Dynamics of rigid and deformable bodies; advanced computational methods in mechanics; biomechanics; simulation of multisegmented biosystems.

Thomas F. Balsa
Fluid mechanics; boundary layers; jet noise; nonlinear waves in shear flows.

Lik Chan
Heat transfer; materials processing; boundary element method.

Eniko T. Enikov
Theoretical and applied research in MEMS applications, design and fabrication; continuum mechanics; dynamics; material science and electromagnetics.

Hermann F. Fasel
Computational fluid dynamics; hydrodynamic stability; laminar-turbulent transition; turbulent flows; flow control; nonlinear dynamics; aerodynamics.

Barry D. Ganapol
Radiation and particle transport theory; fast reactor safety; applied mathematics; satellite remote sensing.

Jeffrey W. Jacobs
Experimental fluid mechanics; hydrodynamic instabilities, including Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities; turbulent mixing; optical flow diagnostics.

Dimitri B. Kececioglu
Reliability, maintainability and availability engineering; operational readiness; system effectiveness; probabilistic design for reliability; reliability and life testing; reliability growth; accelerated, Bayesian, nonparametric and burn-in testing; environmental stress screening.

Edward J. Kerschen
Fluid mechanics and applied mathematics; unsteady flows; hydrodynamic stability and receptivity; aeroacoustics; unsteady aerodynamics.

Peiwen Li
Fuel cells and hydrogen generation and storage; energy and power systems; heat mass transfer in gas turbines and HVACR; thermal and flow measurement and imaging techniques; numerical heat transfer; turbulence drag reduction.

Erdogan Madenci
Fabrication and characterization of layered material systems, and development of analytical and numerical solution methods to predict their behavior specific to aircraft and electronic components in the presence of defects under various loading conditions.

John McGrath
Responses of biomaterials to thermal treatments and the development and application of instrumentation, including optical diagnostics and image analysis.

Samy Missoum
Structural and multidisciplinary optimization; reliability-based and robust optimal design; design of experiments and metamodeling techniques; evolutionary optimization algorithms.

Parviz E. Nikravesh
Computational methods in multibody kinematics and dynamics; computer-aided design; optimization and optimal design; control systems; biomechanics; vehicle dynamics. 

Kumar Ramohalli
Space technologies; propulsion and power; combustion; acoustics; solid propellant rockets; in-situ resource use. 

Sergey V. Shkarayev
Fracture mechanics; structural analysis and health monitoring; aircraft design; software development. 

Anatoli Tumin
Hydrodynamic stability; laminar-turbulent transition; flow control; aerodynamic heating.

Jonathan van de Geest
Biaxial testing of soft tissues; finite element analysis of biological materials; 3-D reconstruction from medical imaging data; aneurysm mechanics.

Pak Kin Wong
Single molecule detection and manipulation; molecular and cellular bio mechanics; BioMEMS; micro- and nanofluidics; computational systems biology; point-of-care diagnostics.

Xiaoyi Wu
Tissue engineering; biomechanics; biomaterials; computational biomaterials.

Israel Wygananski
Aerodynamics related to fixed and rotary winged craft; control of separation, high-lift devices and drag reduction; aeroacoustics -- jet noise, cavity noise, screech; turbulent shear flows and control of turbulent mixing; laminar-turblent transition; hydrodynamic stability.

Yitshar Zohar
Science and technology of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS); microscale fluid mechanics and heat transfer; bio-MEMS: microscale manipulation of DNA, proteins and cells; microsensors and microactuators; integrated microfabrication technologies. 

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Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Robert G. Arnold
Applied microbiology -- bioremediation and microbially catalyzed processes of environmental interest; biotic catalysis of hazardous waste transformations; treatment of hazardous organic pollutants; abiotic catalysis, including the electrolytic and photo-initiated decomposition of trichloroethylene.

James C. Baygents
Transport and interfacial phenomena in biophysical systems; electrohydrodynamics of drops and bubbles; nonlinear electrokinetic effects; nucleic acid and protein separations.

Paul Blowers
Facilitating predictions of activation barriers for reactions in various environments; using ab initio quantum mechanical calculations to find correlating parameters for activation barriers; the effects of surfaces on reactions; predicting activation barriers for new reactions on complex surfaces.

Wendell Ela
Particle-particle interactions in natural systems; remediation of contaminated surface water systems; processes occurring at natural solid-water interfaces; development of a quiescent water column and optical imaging systems; processes to remediate metal and metalloid contamination in acid mine drainage.

James Farrell
Transport and fate of organic contaminants in groundwater; mechanisms controlling adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds in water-saturated microporous materials; electrochemical water treatment of chlorinated organic compounds and redox active metals.

James Field
Soil science; anaerobic biodegradation of priority pollutants; lignin degrading system of white rot fungi; biosynthesis of organohalogens by fungi.

Roberto Z. Guzman
Separation technology and bioremediation; emphasis in protein and metal ion separations; co-metabolic bioventing for degradation of chlorinated organic contaminants; synthesis of polymers, surfactants and surfaces for metal-affinity separation techniques and development of selective adsorptive surfaces.

Anthony J. Muscat
Processing science of electronic materials, including gas-phase surface preparation and supercritical fluid etching, cleaning and film repair; plasma etching of III-V materials.

Kimberly L. Ogden
Bioremediation and biotechnology; transport and fermentation processes; effects of heavy metals on biodegradation, and development of treatment strategies to remediate wastes (solid and liquid) containing mixtures of organics and heavy metals; soils contaminated with explosives and barium; feasibility of using microorganisms to remove organics and metals from water streams that will be recycled within a semiconductor plant; formation and destruction of biofilms in ultrapure water systems.

Ara Philipossian
Applied research in environmentally benign semiconductor manufacturing; chemical-mechanical planarization fundamentals; abrasive nanoparticle design and characterization; process kinetics and fluid dynamics.

A. Eduardo Saez
Transport phenomena in multiphase and colloidal systems; flow of polymer solutions, polymers and surfactant solutions through porous media and other complex flows; study of facilitated transport by colloids in porous media; encapsulation of solid waste in polyceramic matrices.

Glenn Schrader
Impact of complex catalytic processes on environmental sustainability; fundamental and applied materials science with particular interest in catalysis.

Farhang Shadman
Application of chemical reaction engineering in semiconductor manufacturing; advanced materials processing and environmental contamination control.

Reyes Sierra
Microbial mobilization and biotransformation of arsenic in municipal landfills; agricultural chemicals as a major nonpoint source of arsenic; application of sulfate-reducing bacteria for the biomineralization of heavy metals; biological removal of copper in wastewater from semiconductor manufacturing.

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Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

Muniram Budhu
Model-based simulation of civil engineering systems; constitutive laws for engineering materials; application of numerical methods to engineering problems; seismic behavior of soils and foundation systems; bioremediation; smart clay as barriers for landfills; modern communication technologies; erosion from hydropower dams.

Yi-Chang Chiu
Development of cluster-computing-based Spatially Scalable Dynamic Traffic Assignment modeling tool; regional corridor management and regional evacuation planning, and real-time evacuation opperations support; Anisotropic Mesoscopic Simulation traffic flow model.

Chandra S. Desai
Constitutive modeling and testing for engineering materials, interfaces and joints; computer methods for analysis, design, reliability and manufacturing for problems in civil engineering; electronic packaging, engineering mechanics and mechanical engineering.

Jennifer Duan
Hydraulics and water resource engineering with a focus on hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and fluvial geomorphology.

Mohammad R. Ehsani
Behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures; rehabilitation and strengthening techniques for existing structures; application of fiber composite materials in civil engineering structures; nondestructive evaluation of structures.

Robert Fleischman
Design of earthquake-resistant building structures; modular connections for steel moment-resisting frames; diaphragm flexibility effects on precast concrete structures; posttensioned steel frames; connectors for automated construction; nonlinear finite element modeling; nonlinear dynamic structural analysis; full-scale experimentation.

George N. Frantziskonis
Multiscale material modeling from atomic to macro, and applications to fracture and fatigue resistance; stochastic material behavior and application to reliability assessment; corrosion pitting and characterization, and application to fracture initiation; simulation of material behavior and nondestructive evaluation.

Achintya Haldar
Application of probabilistic methods in engineering, including earthquake engineering, seismic risk analysis, wind and tornado engineering, structural dynamics, fatigue and fracture reliability, maintainability of infrastructure, soil-structure interaction, system identification, nonlinear random vibration, stochastic finite element, stochastic optimization, probabilistic evaluation of construction deficiencies, fuzzy sets and systems analysis, all aspects of damage, nondestructive inspections and their use in updating the reliability of existing structures.

Mark Hickman
Public transportation operations and management; application of information technologies in transportation; transportation systems analysis and quantitative modeling.

Tribikram Kundu
Ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation; material characterization; acoustic microscopy; elastic wave propagation in solids; computational and fracture mechanics. 

Kevin Lansey
Application of system analysis and probabilistic methods to water resources and hydrologic and environmental engineering problems; design, calibration and operation of water distribution systems, reservoir operations, and soil-aquifer treatment systems; use of remote sensing data in hydrologic forecasts.

Hamid Saadatmanesh
Advanced materials such as fiber composites for strengthening of existing structures; rehabilitation of infrastructure systems; space materials; behavior of steel and concrete structures.

Juan Valdés
Stochastic and deterministic hydrology and flood forecasting analysis; synthesis and sampling of hydrologic processes; mathematical models of natural resource systems; modeling of space-time precipitation; environmental risk assessment; stochastic modeling of environmental processes.

Lianyang Zhang
Deep foundations: piles (especially drilled shafts socketed into rock) under different loading conditions; rock mechanics and rock engineering: 3-D characterization of discontinuities in rock; evaluation of mechanical and hydraulic properties of jointed rock masses, and enhancement of reservoir (both oil and water) production in rock; geotechnical earthquake engineering: dynamic properties of soils and rocks, prediction and mitigation of liquefaction and subsidence of soils under earthquake loading, and stability of rock slopes under earthquake loading; geoenvironmental engineering: effective remediation of contaminants in jointed rock masses, geotechnical analysis and design of landfills, and low head dam removals as a stream restoration and mitigation technique.

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Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ali Akoglu
Embedded high-performance computing, specializing in application-specific reconfigurable architecture design space, hardware software co-design, scientific computing and performance modeling.

Jennifer K. Barton
Optical imaging (optical coherence tomography); laser-tissue interaction; bioinstrumentation.

John R. Brews
Semiconductor device physics; MOSFET design; electromagnetics of interconnections. 

Ivan Djordjevic
Optical communication systems and networks; error control coding; constrained coding and modulation formats; orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing; code division multiple access systems and optical encryption; optical packet switching; free-space optics; information theory; statistical communications theory; digital communications; satellite communications. 

Steven L. Dvorak
Electromagnetic transients; wave propagation; analytical and computational electromagnetics; optics; applied mathematics; microwave measurements. 

Nathan Goodman
Radar and array signal processing; adaptive signal processing.

Salim Hariri
High-performance distributed systems; high-speed communication protocols and networks; performance modeling and analysis of parallel and distributed computing systems; fault-tolerant distributed computing.

Charles M. Higgins
Neuromorphic engineering, focusing on analog VLSI for vision and robotic systems; real-time VLSI systems for processing visual motion, disparity, and egomotion; integrated sensors and control systems for highly capable, inexpensive autonomonous robotics.

Raymond K. Kostuk
Optical interconnects; diffractive optical elements; fiber optics; optical data storage.

Marwan M. Krunz
Power control, scheduling and protocol design for wireless networks, World Wide Web traffic modeling, packet video, constraint-based routing and topology aggregation.

Loukas Lazos
Networking and distributed systems, focusing on identification, modeling and mitigation of network security vulnerabilities in wireless networks and analysis of network performance.

Murray Anthony Lewis
Biological models of visuomoter behavior; consumer robotics; hardware implementation of central pattern generators. 

Ahmed Louri
Computer architecture; computer networks; parallel processing; parallel algorithms; optical computing; optical interconnects.

Roman Lysecky
Embedded system design with emphasis on dynamic adaptability; dynamic optimizations; low-power field-programmable gate arrays, hardware-software partitioning; efficient architectures; low-power design methods.

Susan Lysecky
Using CAD techniques and methodologies within the sensor network domain to facilitate and optimize the construction and customization of various sensor network applications; development of usable interfaces and tools to aid nonengineers, such as biologists, agriculturists, military personnel, and homeowners, who are often responsible for the development of sensor network applications; self-configuring systems; efficient architectures; ubiquitous computing; human-computer interaction.

Dongsheng Ma
Analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design; on-chip power management for VLSI systems; microsystem design for biomedical applications, nanodevices, hopf bifurcations and chaos circuits.

Michael W. Marcellin
Data compression; digital communication and storage systems; digital signal processing.

Michael M. Marefat
Machine intelligence; software engineering; robotics; computer vision; computer graphics; intelligent control; CAD/CAM. 

Kathleen I. Melde
Microwave engineering; modeling and performance visualization of broadband integrated antennas for radio communications applications.

Mark A. Neifeld
Optical information processing; pattern recognition; parallel coding and signal processing; pattern recognition; neural networks; volume optical storage; multiple-quantum-well photonics. 

Olgierd A. Palusinski
Computer-aided design and integrated circuits; electronic packaging; circuit simulation.

Harold G. Parks
Integrated circuit processing; defect studies; yield enhancement and modeling; semiconductor devices.

Kelly Potter
Development of elements for integrated optical systems using optically active and passive novel photowritable materials; examination of single- and multiphoton processes leading to linear and nonlinear response in optical materials as a result of exposure to either ionizing or nonionizing radiation; research into the effects of defect physics on material optical behavior, waveguide device design and optical device performance is particularly emphasized.

Linda S. Powers
Environmental sensors; medical diagnostics; spectroscopy-based instrumentation; signal processing and algorithms. 

Srinivasan Ramasubramanian
Optical networks; communication networks and protocols; fault tolerance; system modeling and performance analysis. 

Jeffrey J. Rodriguez
Symbolic visualization; engineering design decision-support for CAD framework and design management; collaborative and distributed design engineering of computer-based systems.

Janet Wang Roveda
Computer-aided design for high-performance nanometer integrated circuits; package design; digital and mixed-signal systems; nanometer full chip circuit simulation and modeling.

Jerzy W. Rozenblit
Modeling; simulation; artificial intelligence; knowledge-based design; intelligent systems; engineering of computer-based systems; co-design.

William E. Ryan
Error control coding; turbo codes; trellis codes; algebraic codes; linear and nonlinear equalization; applications of communication theory and coding to data transmission and storage.

Jonathan Sprinkle
Compositional systems -- specifically, systems where a major portion of control, operation or sensing involves computing, such as cyberphysical systems, autonomous systems and robotics; the technology required to perform this research includes embedded computing, model-integrated computing, and software engineering. 

Robin N. Strickland
Digital image processing; computer vision; signal processing; control systems; communication networks; statistical signal processing; neural network theory; applications to control system design.

Malur Sundareshan
Signal and image processing -- signal detection, image restoration and superresolution, target tracking, sensor fusion; control and guidance -- nonlinear systems, intelligent control, adaptive guidance and control; computer and communication networks -- network management and control, encryption and secure communications, internetworking; neural network theory and application -- architectures, learning methods, control and signal processing applications.

Miklos N. Szilagyi
Particle beams and optics; computer-aided synthesis of electron and ion optical systems; physical electronics; artificial intelligence; neural networks; nonlinear stochastic dynamic system simulation.

Hal S. Tharp
Multivariable, multirate, robust, adaptive, and neural network control theory.

Bane Vasic
Coding theory; information theory; symbolic dynamics; communications theory; digital communications and recording.

Janet (Meiling) Wang
High-performance nanometer integrated circuits; biomedical circuit designs and manufacture; robust mixed-signal and RF circuit design; design for manufacture; design for network-on-chip; system-in-package design. 

Hao Xin
Microwave and millimeter-wave technology; active microwave devices and circuits; electronically scanned antennas; novel materials for microwave applications.

Bernard P. Zeigler
Modeling and simulation environments; high-performance discrete event simulation; distributed modeling and simulation.

Richard W.Ziolkowski
Computational electromagnetics; transient linear and nonlinear electromagnetic, optic and acoustic phenomena.

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Materials Science & Engineering

Rene Corrales
Developing theoretical methods and applying computational materials chemistry tools to study chemical reactivity, electronic excitation, and defect formation in materials and interfaces.

William G. Davenport
Flash furnace optimization, including sulfuric acid manufacture; plasma reactions; recovery of extraterrrestrial resources.

Pierre A. Deymier
Atomistic computer simulation techniques applied to materials science problems; interfacial phenomena in metals; grain boundary segregation; electronic structure of materials; high-temperature superconductors; composite materials.

Robert Erdmann
Multiscale computational materials science with an emphasis on transport modeling in materials processes; computational investigations of random heterogeneous materials; theory of porous media; microscale computational fluid dynamics; advanced scientific visualization; object-oriented scientific computing.

J. Brent Hiskey
Copper electrorefining and electrowinning; extractive metallurgy of gold and silver; electrochemistry of conducting and semiconducting materials; in-situ leaching of minerals and metals.

Douglas Loy
Design, synthesis, and characterization of new materials, particularly those with potential energy-related application: development of new monomers, polymerization chemistries, functionalization strategies, and methods for characterizing nanoscale structures in intractable networks.

Pierre Lucas
Infrared glass ceramics with new functionalities; photoinduced effects in chalcogenide glass; live-cell-based bio-optic sensors.

David C. Lynch
Plasma chemistry; plasma-solid reactions; photo-enhanced reactions; processing of glass ceramics; thermochemistry of minor elements in copper smelting; catalysis (carbon monoxide disproportionation).

David R. Poirier
Macrosegregation and transport phenomena in solidifying alloys; computer modeling; permeability in solidifying alloys; liquid-solid equilibria in titanium alloys and steel; structure development in equiaxial solidification.

B.G. Potter
Photosensitive phenomena in inorganic, organic, and molecular hybrid material; nanoassembly; optically based biosensing; rare-earth-doped matrices; quantum confinement effects in semiconductors; computational materials science; optical phenomena in complex ferroelectric oxides.

Srini Raghavan
Microcontamination; interfacial phenomena in wet processing of silicon; surface coatings; corrosion; surface modification of material.

Supapan Seraphin
Electron microscopy and electron holography of magnetic clusters in carbon cages; TEM and SEM characterization of aluminum alloys, glass and thin films; TEM and SEM studies of oxygen implanted silicon-on-insulator materials and integrated circuits.

Joseph Simmons
Quantum-size effects in the optical properties of semiconductor clusters; optical properties and carrier dynamics in wide-gap semiconductors; photosensitivity in glass films; nonlinear optical behavior of materials and glasses; molecular dynamics simulations; nonlinear viscous flow and rheological behavior of molten glasses; quantum coherence and quantum computing in semiconductor quantum dots and wells.

Donald R. Uhlmann
Sol-gel synthesis of ceramics; nonlinear optical materials; engineered surfaces; ferroelectric materials; kinetic processes in materials.

Pamela Vandiver
Application of materials research to archaelology, conservation and long-term preservation issues; pottery in the Upper Paleolithic and Early Neolithic periods in Southwest Asia and East Asia; the relationship of complex societies to elite craft technologies, espcially the beginnings of glass and glaze technologies in Southwest Asia.

Brian Zelinski
Wetting characteristics of glass-ceramic and glass-metal interfaces; effects of compositional inhomogeneties on glass crystalization behavior; wet chemical approaches for the generation of electronic and opto-electronic materials; sol-gel synthesis of optical waveguides and gratings.

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Mining and Geological Engineering

Sean Dessureault
Mine management; mine automation; operator assist; tactical mine management; operations management and research; applied anthropology; industrial relations; organizational design; mine costing; process improvement programs and sustainability.

John M. Kemeny
Rock mechanics; fracture mechanics; fault and earthquake mechanics; borehole breakout; microcrack imaging; damage modeling; measurement of fragmentation and fracture properties using digital image processing, which includes software to measure fragment size distributions in mining and mineral processing; characterizing rock masses using digital image processing and 3-D stereo imaging.

Pinnaduwa Kulatilake
Rock mass fracture characterization and network numerical modeling in geoengineering; rock slope stability.

Moe Momayez
Geomaterials characterization; rock mechanics; rock physics; rock softening; slope stability; underground mining and construction; mine ventilation; geophysics; noninvasive and nondestructive testing techniques; instrumentation; data fusion; knowledge integration; renewable energy. 

Mary M. Poulton
Neural networks; pattern recognition; geophysics; environmental investigations; geographic information systems; remote sensing; mineral and petroleum exploration.

Ben K. Sternberg
Development of new measurement methods; electrical and electromagnetic geophysics; interpretation of geophysical data for environmental engineering, mining, oil and gas applications.

Jinhong Zhang
Mineral processing; particle flotation; surfactant chemistry; water treatment.

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Systems and Industrial Engineering

Terry Bahill
Modeling physiological systems -- experiments and modeling analysis of the human arm, head and eye movement systems, with applications to clinical medicine and the science of baseball; knowledge engineering -- computer techniques for verifying and validating decision-support systems; systems engineering -- system design, quality function deployment, concurrent engineering, design for manufacturability, sensitivity analyses discovering requirements.

Guzin Bayrasan
Theory and algorithms for stochastic optimization using Monte Carlo sampling-based methods; simulation-based optimization; computational enhancements to stochastic programming algorithms; parallel computing.

Jeffrey B. Goldberg
Applied optimization modeling and solution; designing standard modules for use in many end products; determining optimal or near-optimal base locations for emergency vehicles; determining cost-effective low-variance process designs.

Larry Head
System design and architecture; algorithms for estimation, control, and optimization; embedded systems with applications to real-time traffic signal control and transportation management systems.

Simge Kucukyavuz
Integer programming and computational optimization; applications in logistics, supply chain management and communications network design.

Wei H. Lin
Transportation network optimization; intelligent transportation systems; traffic flow theory; logistics and supply chain management; computer simulation modeling.

Leo Lopes
Modeling; hedging; computational optimization.

Pitu B. Mirchandani
Models and algorithms for optimization; control of stochastic systems and logistics; routing, location and scheduling; applications in transportation and traffic; integrated manufacturing and telecommunications.

Young-Jun Son
Hybrid, distributed and multilayered simulation for analysis and control of automated manufacturing systems and integrated supply chain and shop floor control.

Ferenc Szidarovszky
Numerical methods; game theory; systems theory; dynamical economic systems; multiobjective programming; modeling industrial processes and natural resources.

Feiyue Wang
Mathematical theory of intelligent machines; nonmonotonic deduction and knowledge-base; fuzzy logic, neural nets, and distributed learning; coordination and task plan translation; complexity and reliability analysis; robotics and automation, dynamics, control, and computer vision; space robotics and structures; manufacturing systems, specification, design, control synthesis, and evaluation of CIM systems; discrete event dynamic systems with applications in CIMs.

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