Photograph: Clockwise: Raid Al-Aomar, Ph.D., Marwan Al-Haik, Ph.D., Abdullah Al Mamun, Ph.D., Sujatha Alla, Ph.D., Jan Azarov, Ph.D., Hicham Chaoui, Ph.D., Adel El-Shahat, Ph.D., Temitope Idowu, Ph.D., Hyun Dong Kim, Ph.D., Isaac Kumi, Ph.D., Thong Le, Ph.D., Jae Ho (Mike) Lee, Ph.D., Ertunga Cem Ozelkan, Ph.D., Mohamadmahdi (Mehdi) Samandari, Ph.D., Katie Smith, Ph.D., Qianqian Su, Ph.D.
With 16 of 20 new faculty already on campus, the Batten College of Engineering and Technology is starting the semester with experts in areas such as data science, machine learning, smart manufacturing, renewable energy, transportation systems, and supply chain management. Their work also spans coastal protection, heart health, computer modeling of biological systems, nanotechnology, and new medical treatments.
Together, they bring fresh ideas, practical knowledge, and cutting-edge research that will not only help students learn but also drive solutions to real-world problems.
Meet the faculty members joining the College this fall:
RAID AL-AOMAR, Ph.D., master lecturer in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.
Research: Operations research, simulation-based optimization, operations and supply chain management, quality engineering and management and Lean Six Sigma systems.
Education: Ph.D. in industrial engineering/operations research, Wayne State University.
MARWAN AL-HAIK, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Research: Dr. Al-Haik’s primary research areas are solid mechanics, composites, manufacturing and nanomaterials. His teaching background is in materials, solid mechanics and structures.
Learn more about Dr. Al-Haik’s .
Education: Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, Florida State University.
ABDULLAH AL MAMUN, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, joins 98ÌÃ from the University of North Alabama.
Research: Advanced manufacturing systems with applications spanning smart manufacturing, data-driven artificial intelligence and sustainable manufacturing.
Learn more about .
Teaching: Design of Experiments, Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Ergonomics and Industrial Safety, Fluid Power Systems, Industrial Automation, Manufacturing Processes, Production Control Systems, Programmable Logic Controllers, Probability and Statistics, Project Management and Six Sigma.
Education: Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering, Mississippi State University; M.S. in manufacturing engineering, Minnesota State University; B.S. in textile technology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Fun fact: His hobbies include traveling, fishing and playing soccer and cricket.
SUJATHA ALLA, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, transitioned from a graduate research and teaching assistant position at 98ÌÃ.
Research: AI-driven autonomous systems and their applications in the healthcare domain. Dr. Alla’s specific research interest is in nano-surgical robots’ path planning optimization, real-time sensing, and uncertainty quantification. Her teaching emphasizes the integration of AI, data science, and engineering principles, preparing students to solve complex problems at the intersection of technology and engineering.
Education: Ph.D. in engineering management, 98ÌÃ; M.S. in engineering management, 98ÌÃ; M.S. in pure physics, Andhra University, India; B.S. in computer science, Andhra University, India.
Fun fact: Dr. Alla volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
JAN AZAROV, Ph.D., research associate professor at the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics, joins 98ÌÃ from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russia.
Research: Dr. Azarov’s research focuses on cardiac electrophysiology. He strives to find new therapeutic tools to prevent and treat cardiac arrhythmias, including ventricular fibrillation, which frequently complicates cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and constitutes the major cause of sudden cardiac death.
Education: Ph.D. in physiology.
HICHAM CHAOUI, Ph.D., Batten Endowed Chair and inaugural director of the Institute for Autonomous and Connected Systems (IACS), joins 98ÌÃ from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His career has spanned both academia and industry in the field of control and energy systems. From 2007 to 2014, he held various engineering and management positions in Canadian industry.
Education: Ph.D. in electrical engineering, University of Quebec, Canada.
ADEL EL-SHAHAT, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, joins 98ÌÃ from Purdue University.
Research: Dr. El-Shahat, director of the Electric Machinery and Power Systems Lab, specializes in power systems, renewable energy systems, smart nano and micro-grids, electric vehicles and wireless charging, power electronics and electric machines, deep learning in energy systems, thermoelectric generation, engineering education and workforce development.
Education: Ph.D. in electrical engineering (power and machines engineering), joint program between Zagazig University, Egypt, and Ohio State University; M.S. in electrical engineering, Zagazig University; B.S. in electrical engineering, Zagazig University.
TEMITOPE IDOWU, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from a postdoctoral position at the University of Delaware.
Research: Dr. Idowu’s research and teaching interests include sustainability and resilience of coastal environments and cities, flood risk mapping and modeling, the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques to coastal and environmental challenges, and the advancement of data-driven and machine-learning techniques for coastal environmental modeling and assessments.
Education: Ph.D. in civil engineering (coastal engineering), University of Delaware; M.S. in civil and environmental engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya; B.S. in civil engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
HYUN DONG KIM, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from the University of Florida.
Research: Dr. Kim studies how waves, currents, and storms shape coasts and ports, and how nature-based solutions such as wetlands and seagrass reduce flooding and erosion. Using experiments, field data, AI, and numerical simulations, he designs resilient shorelines and harbors. He teaches coastal processes, fluid mechanics, and data/modeling for coastal engineering.
Learn more about .
Education: Ph.D. in coastal and oceanographic engineering, University of Florida; Ph.D. in civil engineering, Osaka University, Japan; M.S. in civil and environmental engineering, University of Delaware; B.S. in civil and environmental engineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
Fun fact: Dr. Kim has lived in four countries and over ten cities.
ISAAC KUMI, Ph.D., lecturer in the Division of Engineering Fundamentals, recently completed his doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering at 98ÌÃ.
Research: Dr. Kumi’s research and teaching interests include modeling and simulation, biomechanics, and engineering education.
Education: Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering, 98ÌÃ; M.S. in mechanical engineering, 98ÌÃ; B.S. in biomedical engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.
Fun fact: Dr. Kumi speaks three languages.
THONG LE, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering Technology, joins 98ÌÃ from Norfolk State University.
Research: Microcontrollers and embedded systems, micro/nano-scale devices and semiconductor fabrication, cleanroom instrumentation and processes and nanowires for GMR sensing and quantum sensors.
Education: Ph.D. in electrical and electronics engineering, University of Arkansas; M.S. in physics, Ho Chi Minh City University of Science, Vietnam; B.S. in electrical engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam.
JAE HO (MIKE) LEE, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he was a research scientist. He previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
Research: Developing high-fidelity computational models to simulate and predict complex physiological systems in health and disease. Dr. Lee’s goal is to advance digital twins for various physiological systems to support biomedical innovation (therapies and medical devices), clinical and educational applications, and regulatory science.
Education: Ph.D. in mathematics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.S. in applied mathematics, University of California, Berkeley.
Fun fact: In his spare time, Dr. Lee enjoys cooking, spending time with his family and occasionally playing sports and music.
ERTUNGA CEM OZELKAN, Ph.D., chair and professor of the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Research/Teaching: Flexible production planning under uncertainty, supply chain pricing, and optimal group purchasing mechanisms. Dr. Ozelkan’s interests include AI-based supply chain management. Teaching includes production planning, supply chain management, decision and risk analysis, system optimization, design of experiments and Lean Six Sigma.
Education: Ph.D. in systems and industrial engineering, University of Arizona; M.S. in systems engineering, University of Arizona; B.S. in civil engineering, Bogazici University, Turkey.
Fun fact: Ozelkan spends his spare time playing guitar and tennis and enjoys riding his motorcycle.
MOHAMADMAHDI (MEHDI) SAMANDARI, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from the University of Connecticut Health Center where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a research faculty member. During his Ph.D., he conducted biomedical engineering research at Harvard Medical School and Imperial College London.
Research: Dr. Samandari’s research is at the intersection of computational and experimental approaches in biomechanics, biofabrication, and drug delivery strategies for regenerative medicine and cancer management.
Learn more about Dr. Samandari’s .
Education: Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, University of Tehran, Iran; M.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Tehran; B.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Tabriz, Iran.
KATIE SMITH, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, has been a faculty member at 98ÌÃ since 2011. She began as a lecturer and senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and later as a research associate and research assistant professor for the Virginia Digital Maritime Center under the Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation.
Research: Dr. Smith uses data and technology to solve real-world problems in maritime and supply chains. Her work focuses on making learning more engaging and accessible through game-based methods and helping organizations make smarter decisions with data.
Learn more about .
Education: Ph.D. in modeling and simulation engineering, 98ÌÃ; M.S. in computational and applied mathematics, 98ÌÃ; B.S. in applied mathematics and B.S. in mechanical engineering, 98ÌÃ.
Fun fact: Dr. Smith loves Legos and building things!
QIANQIAN SU, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, joins 98ÌÃ from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Research: Developing large-scale particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation codes for the design and optimization of plasma-based accelerators. More broadly, she applies advanced numerical methods and machine learning to improve beam diagnostics and to support the design of next-generation linear colliders.
Education: Ph.D. candidate in electrical and computer engineering, University of California, Los Angeles; M.S. in engineering physics and accelerator physics, Tsinghua University, China; B.S. in engineering physics, Tsinghua University.