Introducing Grainger Engineering's accomplished new faculty

9/25/2024

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The Grainger College of Engineering is proud to introduce our newest spring and fall 2024 faculty members.

These accomplished individuals are at the forefront of their fields, driving academic excellence and pushing the boundaries of engineering and computer science research. Their innovative approaches to complex challenges will play a crucial role in developing the next generation of problem-solvers.

We are excited to see how their contributions will enhance our community, inspire our students and address pressing global issues. Join us in welcoming these brilliant minds to The Grainger College of Engineering's distinguished ranks.

Aerospace Engineering

David Ehrhardt
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2015, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research interests: Experimental nonlinear structural dynamics; fluid-thermal-structural interactions; nonlinear structural reduced-order modeling

Fabien Evrard
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2018, Imperial College London
Research interests: Computational fluid dynamics; multiphase flow modeling

Matt Hausman
Assistant Professor of Practice

M.S. 2003, University of Colorado Boulder; M.A. 2009, Loyola Marymount University
Research interests: Space systems; astrodynamics; program/project management; launch vehicles

Jordan Smart
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2023, Stanford University
Research interests: Aerospace systems design and simulation; applied aerodynamics; computational fluid dynamics; space systems; uninhabited aerial vehicles

Hiroyasu Tsukamoto
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Research interests: Controls, dynamical systems and evaluation; space systems

Bioengineering

Min Jee Jang
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2015, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Previous appointment: Research Professor, Korea University
Research interests: Neural engineering; molecular imaging; viral vector engineering; gene therapy

Yudu Li
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2022, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Magnetic resonance imaging; machine learning; signal processing

Yang Liu
Professor

Ph.D. 2006, Northwestern University
Previous appointment: Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Research interests: Multiscale and multimodal optical microscopy techniques; label-free quantitative phase imaging; large-scale image informatics; precision cancer prevention and therapeutics

Hongqiang Ma
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2014, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Research interests: Super-resolution imaging; mesoscopic imaging; quantitative phase imaging

Seonyeong Park
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2017, Virginia Commonwealth University
Research interests: Photoacoustic computed tomography; computational modeling of biological tissues; learning-based image reconstruction

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ran Mei, Assistant Professor

Hongbo Ma
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2014, Tsinghua University
Previous appointment: Associate Professor, Tsinghua University
Research interests: Environmental engineering and sciences

Ran Mei, Assistant Professor

Ran Mei
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2020, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Environmental engineering and sciences

Siebel School of Computing and Data Science

Tal August
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, University of Washington, Seattle
Research interests: Human-computer interaction; natural language processing; interactive computing

Reza Farivar
Clinical Associate Professor

Ph.D. 2012, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Systems and networking; cloud computing; computer-intensive data analytics; big data

Max Fowler
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Isomorphic programming; large-language modeling; “Explain in Plain English” (EiPE) work

Fernando Granha Jeronimo
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2021, University of Chicago
Research interests: Coding theory; expanders and high-dimensional expanders; quantum computing

Minje Kim
Associate Professor

Ph.D. 2016, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: AI for audio; model compression; personalized AI; signal separation; speech enhancement; neural speech; audio coding

Fan Lai
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, University of Michigan
Research interests: AI; systems and networking; machine learning systems; cloud computing

Ge Liu
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Bioinformatics and computational biology; AI

Billy Moses
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Research interests: Compilers; parallelism; machine learning; automatic differentiation; scientific computing; high-performance computing

Dilek Hakkani Tur
Professor

Ph.D. 2000, Bilkent University, Ankara, Türkiye
Research interests: Machine learning; conversational AI; speech and language processing; large language models; dialogue systems

Gokhan Tur
Research Professor

Ph.D. 2000, Bilkent University, Ankara, Türkiye
Research interests: Large language models; spoken dialogue systems; language understanding; conversational AI

Jiaxuan You
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2021, Stanford University
Research interests: Machine learning for graphs and databases; foundation models; large language models; AI

Tong Zhang
Professor

Ph.D. 1999, Stanford University
Previous appointment: Chair Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Research interests: Machine learning algorithms and theory; statistical methods for big data

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ivan Thomas Abraham
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: System theory; dynamics and data analytics; neuroscience and controls

Saksham Agarwal
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, Cornell University
Research interests: Networking, systems and hardware

Hyunseok Kim
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2018, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Research interests: Electronics; optoelectronics; heterogeneous integration; III-V/III-N/2D materials

Ning Luo
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, Yale University
Research interests: Formal methods; automated reasoning; programming languages; cryptography

Craig Shultz
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2017, Northwestern University
Research interests: Haptic interaction - surface computing; VR/AR/XR; wearables; mid-air haptics; IoT

Corey Ethan Snyder
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Digital signal processing; machine learning and pattern recognition

Yu-Lin Wei
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Acoustic signal processing; IoT; wireless/visible light communication; indoor positioning

Cunjiang Yu
Professor

Ph.D. 2010, Arizona State University
Previous appointment: Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University
Research interests: Rubbery electronics; devices and technologies and understanding fundamental mechanisms

Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering

Inki Kim
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2015, Pennsylvania State University
Previous appointment: Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
Research interests: Human-systems integration; cognitive engineering and neuroergonomics; cyber-physical-human systems engineering for healthcare

Bob Norris
Research Professor

Ph.D. 2001, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Field robotics; autonomy; mechatronics

Yunzong Xu
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Research interests: Machine learning; decision theory; data science

Materials Science and Engineering

Yuecheng Peter Zhou
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2019, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Optical bioelectronics; biomaterials and biointerfaces; neuroengineering

Mechanical Science and Engineering

Craig Bradshaw
Associate Professor

Ph.D. 2012, Purdue University
Previous appointment: Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University
Research interests: Building and energy thermal systems; compressor and expander technologies; waste-heat recovery; heat pumping

Mickey Clemon
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2017, University of California, Berkeley
Research interests: Engineering pedagogy; advanced manufacturing and the interplay of materials and design

C. Ricardo Constante-Amores
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2020, Imperial College London
Research interests: Simulation of multiphase/complex flows; fluid-structure interaction; data-driven techniques for turbulence

Nazanin Farjam
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, University of Michigan
Research interests: Modeling frameworks and intelligent decision-making strategies to enhance the flexibility, robustness, and efficiency of complex manufacturing processes

Tom Golecki
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2023, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Random vibrations in structural dynamics; structural and topology optimization considering moving loads

Varda Hagh
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2018, Arizona State University
Research interests: Control in mechanical metamaterials; training soft and biological matter; reconfigurable mechanisms and structures; memory formation in matter

Kellie Halloran
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Engineering pedagogy; handcycling biomechanics

Bumsoo Han
Professor

Ph.D. 2001, University of Minnesota
Previous appointment: Professor, Purdue University
Research interests: Applied physics; health and biology; manufacturing; solid mechanics and materials; thermodynamics; heat and mass transfer

Kevin E. Wandke
Teaching Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2024, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Engineering pedagogy; mechanical metamaterials; machine learning to accelerate multiphysics modeling

Janelle Wharry
Professor

Ph.D. 2012, University of Michigan
Previous appointment: Associate Professor, Purdue University
Research interests: Structure-property-functionality relationships for materials in extreme mechanical, irradiation, electrochemical and corrosive environments

Siyi Xu
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2022, Harvard University
Research interests: Soft robotic platforms equipped with compliant, lightweight, and compact sensing; transducing systems to advance wearable and implantable technologies

Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering

Dren Qerimi
Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2021, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Extreme ultraviolet photo-resist development; extreme ultraviolet sources; 3D graphene production research; plasma sources; semiconductor processing; deposition and etching

Jianqi Xi
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2017, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Research interests: Nuclear materials; chemical degradation of claddings in corrosive environments; multiscale modeling of microstructure evolutions of materials under irradiation; data-driven/ML material design

Physics

Rafael Fernandes
Professor

Ph.D. 2008, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Previous appointment: Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Minnesota
Research interests: Condensed matter theory; iron-based superconductors; twisted moiré systems; Kagome superconductors; strontium titanate and quantum paraelectrics; transition metal dichalcogenides; quantum Monte Carlo

Jong Yeon Lee
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2020, Harvard University
Research interests: Condensed matter theory; numerical simulations; topological phases and critical phenomena; coherent control of quantum simulator platforms; quantum information and nonequilibrium dynamics

Morten Lundsgaard
Teaching Associate Professor

Ph.D. 1995, Kansas State University
Research interests: Atomic physics; physics education research; online learning environments; professional development for college physics instructors and in-service school teachers

Pengjie Wang
Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2018, Peking University
Research interests: Condensed matter experiment; quantum phase transition; topological quantum physics; strongly correlated quantum physics

Want to learn more about our expert faculty members? Explore all Grainger Engineering faculty alphabetically or by department.


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This story was published September 25, 2024.