The Grainger College of Engineering is proud to introduce our newest spring and fall 2025 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
Sean Kearney
Professor
Director of the Center for Hypersonics & Entry Systems Studies and Plasmatron X
Ph.D. 1999, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Combustion and Propulsion, Experimental Fluid Mechanics, Hypersonics
Professor
Director of the Center for Hypersonics & Entry Systems Studies and Plasmatron X
Ph.D. 1999, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Combustion and Propulsion, Experimental Fluid Mechanics, Hypersonics
Joseph F. Gonzalez
Associate Professor of Practice
Ph.D. 2015, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Aerospace Systems Design and Simulation, Combustion and Propulsion, Small Satellites and Space Systems
Associate Professor of Practice
Ph.D. 2015, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Aerospace Systems Design and Simulation, Combustion and Propulsion, Small Satellites and Space Systems
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Christopher Burcham
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 1998, Princeton University
Research interests: Pharmaceutical process engineering, computational modeling and data science, batch and continuous crystallization processes
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 1998, Princeton University
Research interests: Pharmaceutical process engineering, computational modeling and data science, batch and continuous crystallization processes
Siebel School of Computing and Data Science
Emily Fox
Teaching Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2013, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Algorithms and theory; computational geometry and topology; graph algorithms
Teaching Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2013, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Algorithms and theory; computational geometry and topology; graph algorithms
Daniel Gonzalez Cedre
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2025, University of Notre Dame
Research interests: Theory; explainable machine learning & computer vision
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2025, University of Notre Dame
Research interests: Theory; explainable machine learning & computer vision
Dominic Kao
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2018, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Research interests: Games research; virtual reality & human-computer interaction
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2018, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Research interests: Games research; virtual reality & human-computer interaction
Ram Kesavan
Clinical Associate Professor
Ph.D. 1998, The Ohio State University
Research interests: Storage systems & distributed systems
Clinical Associate Professor
Ph.D. 1998, The Ohio State University
Research interests: Storage systems & distributed systems
Xiaojing Liao
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2017, Georgia Institute of Technology
Research interests: Cybersecurity
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2017, Georgia Institute of Technology
Research interests: Cybersecurity
Livingston McPherson
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, University of California, Berkeley
Research interests: Computer education; interaction; robotics; human-centered automation; statistical machine learning
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, University of California, Berkeley
Research interests: Computer education; interaction; robotics; human-centered automation; statistical machine learning
Mohammod Mashfiqui Rabbi Shuvo
Research Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2016, Cornell University
Research interests: Personalization; just-in-time adaptive interventions; mobile health; mobile sensing; reinforcement learning; human-computer interaction
Research Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2016, Cornell University
Research interests: Personalization; just-in-time adaptive interventions; mobile health; mobile sensing; reinforcement learning; human-computer interaction
Jerry Talton, III
Research Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2011, Stanford University
Research interests: Computer graphics; machine learning; human-computer interaction
Research Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2011, Stanford University
Research interests: Computer graphics; machine learning; human-computer interaction
Harsha Srimath Tirumala
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2023, Rutgers University
Research interests: Meta complexity theory
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2023, Rutgers University
Research interests: Meta complexity theory
Ge (Tiffany) Wang
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2024, University of Oxford
Research interests: Human-computer interaction; human-centered artificial intelligence; usable security & privacy
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2024, University of Oxford
Research interests: Human-computer interaction; human-centered artificial intelligence; usable security & privacy
Luyi Xing
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2017, Indiana University Bloomington
Research interests: Cybersecurity; security & privacy-compliance; AI systems; formal methods
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2017, Indiana University Bloomington
Research interests: Cybersecurity; security & privacy-compliance; AI systems; formal methods
Francis Yan
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2020, Stanford University
Research interests: Systems & learning; machine learning algorithms
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2020, Stanford University
Research interests: Systems & learning; machine learning algorithms
Shuang Zhao
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2014, Cornell University
Research interests: Computer graphics; scientific computing
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2014, Cornell University
Research interests: Computer graphics; scientific computing
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Daniel Alabi
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, Harvard University
Research interests: Algorithms; privacy; databases; quantum information; machine learning
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, Harvard University
Research interests: Algorithms; privacy; databases; quantum information; machine learning
Rongming Chu
Professor
Ph.D. 2008, University of California, Santa Barbara
Research interests: Semiconductor devices and integration with a particular emphasis on applications in high-speed, high-power, and harsh-environment electronics.
Professor
Ph.D. 2008, University of California, Santa Barbara
Research interests: Semiconductor devices and integration with a particular emphasis on applications in high-speed, high-power, and harsh-environment electronics.
Rainer Engelken
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2017, University of Göttingen
Research interests: Computational models with complex biological and engineered systems, stability and structure in network architectures, and nonlinear network dynamics, bridging learning theories in neuroscience with the design of robust and adaptive computational systems.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2017, University of Göttingen
Research interests: Computational models with complex biological and engineered systems, stability and structure in network architectures, and nonlinear network dynamics, bridging learning theories in neuroscience with the design of robust and adaptive computational systems.
Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering
Yiwen Dong
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2024, Stanford University
Cluster Hire: AI for Community Health
Research interests: Smart buildings and intelligent infrastructure, Structures and vibration, Machine Learning
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2024, Stanford University
Cluster Hire: AI for Community Health
Research interests: Smart buildings and intelligent infrastructure, Structures and vibration, Machine Learning
Roshanak Khaleghi
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2020, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Data Analytics, Finance & Healthcare
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2020, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Data Analytics, Finance & Healthcare
Behrouz Touri
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2011, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Optimization, Distributed Decision Architectures, Probability Theory
Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2011, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research interests: Optimization, Distributed Decision Architectures, Probability Theory
Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering
Syed Baha Alam
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2018, University of Cambridge
Research interests: Nuclear Systems, Explainable Machine Learning, Computational Materials
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2018, University of Cambridge
Research interests: Nuclear Systems, Explainable Machine Learning, Computational Materials
Leon Liebenberg
Teaching Professor
Ph.D. 2003, University of Johannesburg
Research interests: Development of industrial energy-efficient technologies and cancer therapies using energy restriction methods
Teaching Professor
Ph.D. 2003, University of Johannesburg
Research interests: Development of industrial energy-efficient technologies and cancer therapies using energy restriction methods
Physics
Tanner Trickle
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, Caltech
Research interests: High energy theory, phenomenology, Dark Matter phenomenology, associate member, North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav)
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2022, Caltech
Research interests: High energy theory, phenomenology, Dark Matter phenomenology, associate member, North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav)
Christian Farina
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2023, University of Pittsburgh
Research interests: Particle theory, focusing on QCD
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2023, University of Pittsburgh
Research interests: Particle theory, focusing on QCD
Hyun Youk
Professor
Ph.D. 2010, MIT
Research interests: Intersection of physics, systems biology, and quantitative biology, with a focus on the fundamental limits of cellular viability, dormancy, and collective self-organization
Professor
Ph.D. 2010, MIT
Research interests: Intersection of physics, systems biology, and quantitative biology, with a focus on the fundamental limits of cellular viability, dormancy, and collective self-organization
Irina Burkova
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2001, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
Research interests: CME, superconducting qubits based on nanobridges, nano-capacitors for energy storage
Teaching Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2001, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
Research interests: CME, superconducting qubits based on nanobridges, nano-capacitors for energy storage
Want to learn more about our expert faculty members? Explore all Grainger Engineering faculty alphabetically or by department.