With expertise in autonomous robots, railroad engineering, artificial intelligence, and much more, Virginia Tech’s newest engineering faculty are driving innovation in fields that shape the future. This fall, 15 new tenured and tenure-track faculty have joined the College of Engineering, along with a number of instructors, collegiate faculty, and postdoctoral fellows.

“Each of these new faculty members is committed to solving complex real-world problems through engineering,” said Julia Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering. “Their expertise not only strengthens our research and teaching but also drives our mission to prepare students to lead in a rapidly changing world. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Virginia Tech community.”

Aerospace and ocean engineering

Samantha Kenyon, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: University of Florida
  • Most recent position: Research assistant professor, Virginia Tech
  • Research areas: Space instrumentation development for earth science, space weather, heliophysics, and astrophysics applications; mission planning, environmental testing, and radiation-hardening of satellite hardware; space-based communications and networking

Chemical engineering

Anubhav Sarmah, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: Texas A&M
  • Most recent position: Postdoctoral associate, University of Minnesota
  • Research areas: Carbon nanomaterials, additive manufacturing, composites, polymer recycling

Civil and environmental engineering

Deb Mishra, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering

  • Doctoral institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Most recent position: Associate professor, Oklahoma State University
  • Research areas: Infrastructure materials, pavement engineering, railroad engineering, and transportation geotechnics

Jessi Thangjitham, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering

  • Doctoral institution: North Carolina State University
  • Most recent position: Postdoctoral fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Research areas: Resilient structures for extreme hazards; sustainable materials; rapid repair and recovery; optimized structural performance

Computer science

Ali Vakilian, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: MIT
  • Most recent position: Research assistant professor, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago
  • Research areas: Algorithmic foundations of machine learning and data science

David H. Smith IV, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Most recent position: Graduate research assistant, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Research areas: Novice human generative AI collaborative coding; interactive learning tools; automated grading and feedback; assessment

Shengwei An, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: Purdue University
  • Most recent position: Graduate research assistant, Purdue University
  • Research areas: AI security, privacy, and intellectual property protection in neural networks

Electrical and computer engineering

Jun Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering

  • Doctoral institution: UC San Diego
  • Most recent position: Postdoctoral fellow, Harvard
  • Research areas: High-density CMOS-nano neural interfaces; low-power mixed-signal neuromorphic chip design; bio-semiconductor hybrid system implementation

Engineering education

Edward Berger, professor and department head

  • Doctoral institution: Purdue University
  • Most recent position: Professor and interim head for the Department of Engineering Education, associate vice provost for learning innovation, and director of the Innovation Hub at Purdue University
  • Research areas: Student problem-solving processes and use of worked examples; change models and evidence-based teaching practices in engineering curricula; and the role of noncognitive and affective factors in student academic outcomes and overall success

Industrial and systems engineering

Alkim Avsar, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering

  • Doctoral institution: Stevens Institute of Technology
  • Most recent position: Postdoctoral scholar, Arizona State University
  • Research areas: Collaborative and cooperative systems; systems engineering; game theory and decision-making; social factors and human factors in engineering; communication in team-based design; collaborative and cooperative systems; engineering design; behavioral experiments and agent-based modeling; risk and efficiency in complex systems

Eric Brubaker, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering

  • Doctoral institution: Stanford University
  • Most recent position: Senior complex systems engineer, NASA
  • Research areas: Management and systems engineering; design theory and methodology; complex systems; cross-boundary design work; human-AI teaming; and learning sciences across various contexts, including transportation, energy, healthcare, food and agriculture, water and Earth systems.

Yuhao Zhong, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering

  • Doctoral institution: Texas A&M University
  • Most recent position: Research associate, Texas A&M Institute for Manufacturing Systems
  • Research areas: Smart manufacturing; explainable AI; quality and safety assurance; computer vision; collaborative robotics

Mechanical engineering

Mushuang Liu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering

  • Doctoral institution: University of Texas Arlington
  • Most recent position: Assistant professor, University of Missouri
  • Research areas: Controls systems; machine learning; game theory; and autonomous vehicles

Simon Stepputtis, assistant professor of mechanical engineering

  • Doctoral institution: Arizona State University
  • Most recent position: Project scientist, Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute
  • Research areas: Artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics that seamlessly adapt to complex environments and the people within them

Mining and minerals engineering

Kaiwu Huang, assistant professor

  • Doctoral institution: Virginia Tech
  • Most recent position: Research assistant professor, Michigan Technological University
  • Research areas: Flotation simulation and modeling; mine tailings reprocessing; critical minerals beneficiation and extraction; paper recycling and deinking; and battery recycling

Additional new faculty

  • Naomi Becker, senior research associate, mining and minerals engineering

  • Emir Bozkurt, research scientist, mechanical engineering

  • Kelsey Coleman, collegiate associate professor and director of the Learning Factory, industrial and systems engineering

  • Justin Dubik, instructor, mechanical engineering

  • Sam Evans, senior research associate, mining and minerals engineering

  • Zhoulai Fu, research assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering

  • Sunit Gupta, research scientist, mechanical engineering

  • Saad Nizamani, instructor, computer science

  • Kondaiah Paruchuri, research associate, materials science and engineering

  • Kirsten Richards, collegiate faculty, computer science

  • Timothy Richards, advanced instructor, computer science

  • Kurtis Rooks, instructor, mechanical engineering

  • Lisa Tenley, professor of practice, Myers-Lawson School of Construction

  • Jeremy Withers, assistant professor of practice, Myers-Lawson School of Construction

  • Mirza Zaid, instructor, mining and minerals engineering

New postdoctoral associates

  • Souradeep Banerjee, mechanical engineering

  • Alexandra Bejarano, engineering education

  • Junsik Choi, mechanical engineering

  • Hao Deng, chemical engineering

  • Mohammad Hodaei, biomedical engineering and mechanics

  • Kuntla Sai Kiran, civil and environmental engineering

  • Lauren Krauss, civil and environmental engineering

  • Daniel Lara-de la Fuente, engineering education

  • S.M. Mahbobur Rahman, mechanical engineering

  • Parisa Nikeghbal, chemical engineering

  • Aashish Shaju, mechanical engineering

  • Le Xia, electrical and computer engineering

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