9/8/2025
Three Grainger researchers plan to become professors one day. A fellowship from Purdue University aims to help them, and many other Ph.D. candidates and postdocs across the nation, achieve that goal.
Investing in the Future: Fellowship prepares researchers for faculty careers
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Investing in the Future: Fellowship prepares researchers for faculty careers
Three Grainger researchers plan to become professors one day. A fellowship from Purdue University aims to help them, and many other Ph.D. candidates and postdocs across the nation, achieve that goal.
Written by Lauren Laws
What comes to mind when you think of an engineer? Someone who designs and builds solutions for modern day problems? A researcher working away in a clean room or lab? Or how about a mentor guiding the engineers of tomorrow?
An engineer can be all of this and more. For one fellowship, it's a requirement.
Three researchers from The Grainger College of Engineering were named fellows of Purdue University’s Trailblazers in Engineering program, an initiative to increase both the number and success of engineering faculty across the nation. Postdoctoral researcher Hossein Kabir from the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Ph.D. candidate Lama Abufares from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and postdoctoral fellow Jongwon Lim from the Department of Bioengineering plan to one day hold the title of 'Professor.' As part of their fellowship, they attended a four-day workshop focused on careers in academia, networking, and more.
Trailblazers are selected for their outstanding scholarly achievements and their potential impact in broadening participation in engineering. It's expected that the fellows will one day blaze new trails with discoveries, innovations, and social impact, and serve as role models for the next generation of engineers.
Hossein Kabir
Postdoctoral Researcher, Mechanical Science & Engineering
Hossein Kabir is a postdoctoral researcher for mechanical science and engineering professor Bill King. His current research lies at the intersection of advanced manufacturing and computer vision, focusing on high-precision inspection and automation. However, his work has already been influential in his field. For his dissertation, he developed computer vision-based systems that reduced multi-day concrete absorption tests to minutes and published this breakthrough as a first author in Nature Communications. He also created the Ultra-Rapid Reactivity test, a five-minute assay to quantify the reactivity of emerging low-carbon cements that already has yielded a provisional U.S. patent. Both tools are under consideration for field deployment in construction research and practice.
Kabir is already planning for his future research which will target three interlinked challenges — intelligent manufacturing, sustainable construction, and infrastructure longevity — and will incorporate sensing, modeling, and data-driven decision making. He has already helped draft guidance on integrating AI into construction practice as a voting member of the American Concrete Institute Committee on Emerging Technologies.
As a professor, he said he will treat every classroom and lab as an investigative newsroom where students gather evidence, question assumptions, and publish discoveries. His teaching methods have already earned him accolades as teaching evaluations placed him on the 2023 "List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent." To assist others in their research, he is developing an open-source, low-cost durability testing kit so resource-constrained labs can perform state-of-the-art measurements without expensive equipment.
How has the Trailblazer Fellowship impacted you?
I am honored to share how the Trailblazers in Engineering workshop at Purdue unfolded. Over four dynamic days, we took part in a thoughtfully crafted program featuring Dean Andrew Alleyne’s inspiring keynote, “Why on Earth Would You Want to Be a Professor?”, and Dean Viola Acoff’s leadership keynote, “Lessons Learned on the Journey to Becoming an Engineering Leader in Academia.” The department-head panels offered deep insights into building competitive application packages and negotiating start-up terms, while expert-led sessions with representatives from NSF, AFOSR, and ONR provided crucial strategies for securing early-career research funding. The Fellows Poster Session, combined with a CARES Hub presentation on student support, grounded these insights with practical tools for inclusive mentoring. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Prof. David Bahr, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty at Purdue’s College of Engineering, for organizing this outstanding event.
How has your time at Illinois influenced you?
Building on the momentum and inspiration from the Trailblazers workshop, my experiences at Illinois have played a significant role in shaping my growth as both a researcher and mentor. Collaborating across multiple laboratories and accessing state-of-the-art facilities has enabled me to refine my research direction and expand my scientific perspective. The mentorship and guidance I have received from my former Ph.D. advisor, Professor Nishant Garg in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and my current postdoctoral advisor, Professor William P. King in Mechanical Science and Engineering, have been instrumental in shaping my ambitions. Their leadership and support have truly grounded my commitment to both discovery and mentorship.
Lama Abufares
Ph.D. Candidate, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Lama Abufares is a Ph.D. candidate under civil and environmental engineering professor Imad Al-Qadi. She specializes in the automation and nondestructive testing of pavement infrastructure through sensing technologies and data-driven methods like optimization and machine learning. She has also served as a Grainger Engineering Diversity Ambassador, co-led the weekly Kent Seminar Series in which top transportation experts share their latest research, and served on several student and professional executive boards such as ASCE T&DI, EGSAC, and APSE.
Her innovative work, under the supervision of Prof. Al-Qadi and the help of Illinois Center for Transportation researchers, has led to filing a U.S. patent for a newly developed Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) setup that monitors asphalt pavement quality during construction. She developed advanced GPR signal analysis techniques, conducted material testing in the laboratory, and led its installation on several field compactors for technology demonstration. The team is currently developing a marketing and commercialization plan for this technology.
As a future faculty member, she hopes to further contribute to these emerging areas, which she believes could transform the future of infrastructure management and offer significant opportunities for advancement in policy, standards, decision making, and forensic analysis. Abufares also looks forward to designing new courses in her interdisciplinary field, which she views as widely unrepresented in current civil engineering curricula. She also intends to actively bridge her research and teaching by incorporating case studies, hands-on labs, and student-led research projects.
How has the Trailblazer Fellowship impacted you?
A phrase I heard during the Trailblazers in Engineering workshop at Purdue has stayed with me: ‘Opportunities walk on two legs.’ It reminded me that, while we dedicate ourselves to research in graduate school, we may underinvest in sharing our work with those who can truly appreciate it. People themselves are our opportunities.
The 4-day workshop provided invaluable and enlightening discussions on various topics critical to early faculty careers: writing faculty job applications and conducting interviews, negotiating startup packages, and navigating early-career expectations. A session I found especially compelling addressed common pitfalls encountered by new faculty and methods to avoid them. I left the workshop with reinforced commitment to pursue a faculty role, along with an actionable roadmap to achieve it.
How has your time at Illinois influenced you?
Since beginning graduate studies at Illinois in 2020, I have been fortunate to collaborate with remarkable faculty members through both coursework and research. Their diverse teaching styles and research methodologies have enriched my academic journey and equipped me with a versatile toolkit that will serve me well in future endeavors. As I approach graduation, I look forward to carrying the spirit of Illinois with me, wherever my path leads.
Jongwon Lim
Postdoctoral Fellow, Bioengineering
Lim has earned several accolades through his academic career so far. In 2024, he was selected from 7,000 international conference attendees for the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Innovation Award — making him only the fourth student in SLAS history to receive the award. At Illinois he has participated in the Mavis Future Faculty Fellows Program and the Rising Stars Workshop, and he was a 2024 fellow of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies-Salzburg Global Leadership Initiative and a 2022 Baxter Young Investigator Awardee. He is currently a Professor Joe Greene Postdoctoral Fellow.
Lim believes the ability to engage beyond disciplinary boundaries is essential for faculty. As a professor, he said he will use a blend of interactive lectures, hands-on labs, and project-based learning to connect theory with application, and he will empower students to think critically, design experiments thoughtfully, and embrace challenges as learning opportunities.
How has the Trailblazer Fellowship impacted you?
I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Trailblazers in Engineering program at Purdue University College of Engineering. It felt like having a direct neural link to decades of faculty experience—absorbing their knowledge, wisdom, and practical advice for navigating academia. This program has already had a direct impact: I’ve significantly revised my CV and cover letter for this faculty job cycle, informed by the guidance and mentorship I received. It was also wonderful to connect with peers, mentors, and Purdue faculty, and I’m excited to carry forward these lessons and pay them forward to the next generation of researchers.
How has your time at Illinois influenced you?
Both the Professor Joe Greene Postdoctoral Fellowship and my time at Illinois have been instrumental in my academic growth. The fellowship provided the flexibility and resources to pursue high‑risk, high‑reward projects, while the Illinois environment offered invaluable mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities. Together, they really helped me reach this stage in my career. I am especially grateful to my advisor, Dean Rashid Bashir, whose unwavering support, guidance, and encouragement have been pivotal in shaping my career.
Bill King is an Illinois Grainger Engineering professor of mechanical science and engineering in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He is also co-director of the Illinois Advanced Manufacturing Institute. King is affiliated with the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Materials Research Lab, Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Lab, Information Trust Institute, and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He holds the Ralph A. Andersen Endowed Chair appointment.
Imad Al-Qadi is an Illinois Grainger Engineering professor of civil engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is also the director of the Illinois Center for Transportation. Al-Qadi holds the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering.
Rashid Bashir is the Dean of The Grainger College of Engineering and is a professor of bioengineering in the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the Materials Research Laboratory and the University of Illinois Holonyak Micro + Nanotechnology Laboratory. Bashir holds the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering.