DEAN’S REPORT
DEAN’S MESSAGE
As we close the chapter on another academic year, I can’t help but look back and be extremely proud of all that our students, faculty, staff and alumni have accomplished.
In February, we received the exciting news that our own Alice E. Smith, the Joe W. Forehand Jr. Distinguished Professor of industrial and systems engineering, was elected for induction into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). She is the first full-time engineering faculty member at Auburn University to be inducted into the NAE, and is being recognized for her advancements in computational intelligence as applied to modeling and optimization of complex systems. Her work in this area ranks among the best in the world, so her election into the NAE comes as no surprise to those who work alongside her every day. Her career has been filled with accomplishments as a researcher, author and educator, and she has been a catalyst in helping the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering continue its upward trajectory as one of the best in America.
In March, Auburn University was re-designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R) by the National Security Agency, making Auburn one of only 11 institutions nationally to hold CAE designations for cyber operations, cyber defense and cyber research.
Our presence in Huntsville, which has played a huge role in our recent CAE designation, will continue to grow as the university’s board of trustees recently approved the expansion of the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus with plans for a new facility in Cummings Research Park intended to accommodate new partnerships between the Auburn University Applied Research Institute and the Department of Defense.
OUR VISION
The 50,000-square-foot building will include flexible laboratory and office space. It will also accommodate the operation of a Big Area Additive Manufacturing printer in the integration of mission command capabilities into projects such as developing custom augmentations for the Polaris MRZR Alpha 4 ultralight tactical vehicle. But the main feature will be a 30,000-square-foot high bay laboratory allowing for critical radiation-hardening testing that ensures the resilience of electronics in the harsh radiation environments encountered in space.
This year, we once again had record enrollment, scholarships and research, including more than $117.7 million in new awards and grants.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading about all the great things happening around the college and we look forward to an even more successful 2025-26 academic year!
War Eagle!
Mario R. Eden
To be the best student-centered engineering experience in America!
To provide leading research that improves the quality of life and fosters economic competitiveness.
To be a dynamic faculty and staff that exemplifies excellence and innovation.
LEADERSHIP
AUBURN ALUMNI ENGINEERING COUNCIL 2024-25 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Gerald Pouncey Chair
Larry Monroe Vice Chair/Treasurer
Beverly Banister Cultivating the Auburn Creed
Shirley Boulware At Large
Pam Boyd At Large
Brad Christopher Immediate Past Chair
Jim Cooper At Large
Nicole Faulk Nominating
Maury Gaston Government Affairs
Melissa Herkt Young Alumni Council Liaison
Bobby Keith Advancement
Kenneth Kelly Second Past Chair
Mark Miller Research
Ashley Robinett At Large
Steven Speaks Academics and Student Experience
Jeff Stone Capital Campaign K-Rob Thomas Public Relations
Mario Eden Dean
Allan David Associate Dean for Research
Maria Auad Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Faculty Development
Dean Hendrix Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Program Assessment
Janet Moore Assistant Dean for Student Services
Brian Thurow Aerospace Engineering Chair
Oladiran Fasina Biosystems Engineering Department Head
Selen Cremaschi Chemical Engineering Chair
David Timm Civil and Environmental Engineering Chair
Hari Narayanan Computer Science and Software Engineering Chair
Mark Nelms Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair
Gregory Harris Industrial and Systems Engineering Chair
Jeff Suhling Mechanical Engineering Chair
FELLOWS IN THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AEROSPACE
Imon Chakraborty
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
John Cochran AIAA
Roy Hartfield
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Joe Majdalani AIAA
BIOSYSTEMS
William Batchelor
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)
Oladiran Fasina ASABE
Steven Taylor ASABE
CHEMICAL
Harry Cullinan
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry
Virginia Davis
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Mario Eden
AIChE
Thomas Hanley
AIChE
Elizabeth Lipke
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
Joseph Shaeiwitz
AIChE; American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)
Bruce Tatarchuk
National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
Robert Barnes
American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Xing Fang
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); Environmental and Water Resources Institute
Andrzej Nowak
ASCE; ACI, International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering; Precast/ Prestressed Concrete Institute (PPCI)
Anton Schindler
ACI; ASCE
Huaguo Zhou Institute of Transportation Engineers
Daniela Marghitu
Society for Design and Process Science
Levent Yilmaz
Society for Modeling and Simulation International
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER
Prathima Agrawal
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Vishwani Agrawal
IEEE
Charlie Gross
IEEE
Mark Halpin
IEEE
John Hung
IEEE
Dave Irwin
IEEE; NAI
Dick Jaeger
IEEE
Hulya Kirkici
IEEE
Shiwen Mao
IEEE
Mark Nelms
IEEE
Adit Singh
IEEE
Jitendra Tugnait
IEEE
Dan Wilamowski
IEEE
John Wu
IEEE
INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS
John Evans
Luminary, Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA)
Sean Gallagher
American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Chan Park
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
Jeff Smith IISE
Alice Smith
IISE; IEEE; Institute for Operations Research and Management Science
Rob Thomas AIHA
MECHANICAL
Mehmet Arik NAI
Bryan A. Chin
ASM International; American Nuclear Society; American Welding Society; Electrochemical Society
Malcolm Crocker
Acoustical Society of India; Acoustical Society of America
George Flowers ASME
Rob Jackson ASME
Jay Khodadadi
Associate AIAA; ASME
Pradeep Lall
Alabama Academy of Sciences; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; ASME; NextFlex
P. K. Raju
ASME; American Society of Engineering Education; Acoustical Society of India; The Institution of Engineers, India
Subhash Sinha
ASME; Associate AIAA
Jeffrey Suhling ASME
Hareesh Tippur Society of Experimental Mechanics; ASME
BY THE NUMBERS
NATIONAL RANKINGS
30 th undergraduate program among public universities1
31 st
graduate engineering program among public universities1
20 th
graduate online program among all engineering colleges1
40 th
best online program for veterans1 in undergraduate degrees awarded to women2
15 th
30 th in number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded2
1 st online computer science bachelor’s program3
31st
undergraduate enrollment among public universities2
13 th
best online master’s in engineering program1
5,516
1,184
GRADUATE STUDENTS BY PROGRAM UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY PROGRAM
6,700
1 Includes African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students or students of two or more races, per the National Science Foundation
FRESHMAN CLASS SNAPSHOT Fall 2024
1,361 first-time students 29.2 average ACT 223 transfer students 4.16 average high school GPA GRADUATE SNAPSHOT 23% female students UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT
507 master’s 642 doctoral 35 certificate
Cybersecurity
Resilient
Energy
Biomedical
HIGH PROFILE RESEARCH AREAS
Funding awarded in 2024
Advanced and Additive Manufacturing: $18,430,000
Applied Research: $16,490,000
Cybersecurity and Intelligent Systems: $11,100,000
Transportation and Resilient Infrastructure: $32,457,000
Biomedical and Health Systems Engineering: $6,900,000
Advanced Communications and Electronics: $9,081,000
$10,000,000 $10,250,000
$8,901,958
Alabama Department of Transportation Accelerated performance testing on the 2024 NCAT Pavement Test Track with MnROAD research partnership Nathan Moore (National Center for Asphalt Technology)
U.S. Department of Energy Model regional operations center to enhance the cyber security of the U.S. electricity sector Frank Cilluffo and James Goosby (McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security)
Advanced Technology International Lightweight, advanced manufacturing of metallic, polymer, and composite structures for aviation and missile weapon systems Nima Shamsaei and Shaui Shao (mechanical engineering)
$6,228,000
Advanced Technology International Manufacturing technology stitching maturation Brock Birdsong (Applied Research Center)
$3,945,000
Advanced Technology International PB-free solder performance and reliability
Sa’d Hamasha, Jeff Suhling and Haneen Ali (industrial and systems engineering)
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS AND DEGREES
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering
Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Biosystems Engineering
Bachelor of Biosystems Engineering
Ecological Engineering Option
Bachelor of Biosystems Engineering
Forest Engineering Option
Bachelor of Biosystems Engineering
Bioprocess Engineering Option
Master of Science in Biosystems Engineering
Ph.D. in Biosystems Engineering
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Civil Engineering
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Master of Civil Engineering
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Computer Science
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Bachelor of Software Engineering
Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence Engineering
Master of Science in Computer Science and Software Engineering
Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering
Ph.D. in Computer Science and Software Engineering
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering
Bachelor of Computer Engineering
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering
Master of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Master of Engineering Management
Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering
MATERIALS ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Materials Engineering
Master of Science in Materials Engineering
Ph.D. in Materials Engineering
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
INTERDEPARTMENTAL PROGRAMS
Master of Engineering
Master of Science in Polymer and Fiber Engineering
Master of Science in Data Science and Engineering – Interdisciplinary
Ph.D. in Polymer and Fiber Engineering
Ph.D. in Earth System Science – Interdisciplinary
DAVID named ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH
BY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
Allan David was named associate dean for research for Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, according to Mario Eden, dean of engineering.
David, the John W. Brown professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, assumed the position June 1, 2024.
He has served as acting associate dean for research since June 1, 2022, when former dean Chris Roberts moved on to become Auburn’s 21st president and then-associate dean for research, Steve Taylor, became interim dean of the college.
“Dr. David has done a tremendous job during the past two years in his role as acting dean of research for the college, and I am thrilled to continue working with him in this permanent role moving forward,” Eden said. “As a college, we have huge aspirations related to our research enterprise, and Dr. David has demonstrated that he has the leadership and forethought to help pave the way to get us there.”
As associate dean for research, David will assist with the college’s strategic planning, budget development, facilities oversight and administration.
In collaboration with the dean, David will promote a vibrant research culture by working with department chairs, institute directors and center directors to improve each of their teams’ contribution to the mission of research and scholarship.
He will also provide leadership to ensure that processes function effectively for submission of proposals to external sponsors while mentoring, assisting and reviewing proposal development and assisting with technology commercialization activities.
Additionally, David will develop and manage researchrelated policies, research centers and transdisciplinary research within the college, across campus and into industry. He will also play an integral part in developing and implementing the college’s research programs at the Auburn Research Park, the Auburn University Research
and Innovation Campus in Huntsville and the soon-to-bebuilt Gulf Coast Engineering Research Station in Orange Beach.
“The past two years serving as acting associate dean of research has been two of the most rewarding years of my career,” David said. “It opened my eyes to just how truly special this college is, and the impact it is making on the world is immense. Our college is made up of faculty and students who are entrepreneurs, groundbreaking researchers and some of the brightest minds in the world who are dedicated to hard work.
“I look forward to us all working together on innovations and discoveries that will chart our path for the next century.”
David joined the Auburn faculty in 2012, and in 2018 he co-founded Nanoxort — a company that engineers novel contrast agents to equip physicians with the tools to make more accurate disease diagnoses and provide patients with more personalized, effective treatments.
He has served as an assistant professor, associate professor and was recently promoted to the rank of full professor.
GINN
HENDRIX named ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES AND PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
BY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
Dean Hendrix was named associate dean for undergraduate studies and program assessment for Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, according to Mario Eden, dean of engineering.
Hendrix, who served as associate professor and associate department chair of computer science and software engineering, assumed the role Aug. 1.
He also serves as the department’s director of undergraduate programs and will continue to serve as the director of the college’s Engineering Global Programs.
“Dr. Hendrix brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and he has demonstrated excellent leadership and great passion for supporting undergraduate students and continuous improvement in our academic programs,” Eden said. “I am very grateful that he has agreed to take on this vital role.”
As associate dean, Hendrix leads the formulation of academic policies and procedures, oversees the approval process for curricular materials, and adjudicates course substitutions and exceptions to university academic and student affairs policies. He also serves on the university Academic Affairs Committee and other committees related to undergraduate education.
He supervises the assistant dean and director of Student Services; the director of Recruiting, Outreach and Scholarships; the director of the Center for Inspiring Engineering Excellence; the director of the Design and Innovation Center; the student initiatives administrator; and the manager of the Brown-Kopel Center. He coordinates with other offices, including Career Development and Corporate Relations, to enhance both curricular and high-impact extracurricular experiences. He also serves as the college’s focal point for best practices and research in
undergraduate education and curricular innovation.
On the program assessment side, Hendrix coordinates improvement efforts for academic programs. He leads preparation for ABET and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaccreditation and represents the college on the University Assessment Committee. He also oversees assessment and evaluation of progress toward meeting the college’s strategic goals.
“It is truly an honor to be selected to serve Auburn University and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in this role,” Hendrix said. “As a doctoral student and then a member of the computer science and software engineering faculty, Auburn has been home to my family for more than 30 years. I could not be more excited about this new chapter. The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering truly is the best studentcentered engineering experience in America, and I look forward to building onto that legacy.”
Hendrix joined the Auburn faculty in 1996 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2001.
WILSON named SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT
BY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
Jon Wilson was named senior director of development for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, according to an announcement by Mario Eden, dean of engineering.
Wilson, who previously served as senior director of athletics development for the university, began in July 2024.
In his new role, he is responsible for leading the college’s development and fundraising efforts, including managing, mentoring and coaching development officers and coordinators; implementing strategic stewardship and engagement plans; and working with the dean to ensure the college’s fundraising goals are met. Wilson will also serve as a major gift fundraiser.
“We are thrilled to have Jon back in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, now serving as senior director of development,” Eden said. “Through his years in the college and, most recently, with Auburn Athletics, Jon has built great relationships with our alumni and understands the importance of maintaining those bonds.”
Wilson joined Auburn University in 2012 as a development officer in the College of Engineering, helping generate record levels of support.
He then moved to Tigers Unlimited as a development officer before assuming his most recent role as senior director of athletics development, where he was responsible for securing major philanthropic gifts in support of student-athletes and Auburn Athletics.
Before joining Auburn, he worked in the private sector in sales and logistics.
“Working with Auburn Athletics was a dream come true, and I’m blessed to have built so many relationships with alumni who care deeply about this university we all love,” Wilson said. “While I treasured my time
in athletics, there was only one job I would have left for, and it’s this one in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
“I’ve seen firsthand the passion and commitment our alumni have for this beloved college, and it feels good to be home.”
Margaret Arnold, the college’s former senior director of development who was recently promoted to the university’s associate vice president of philanthropy, said Wilson’s experience, longevity at Auburn, familiarity with the College of Engineering and his success across multiple campus units made him the perfect fit.
“Jon isn’t just passionate about alumni engagement, he’s passionate about Auburn,” Arnold said. “While it was the hardest decision of my life to leave the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, I can rest easy knowing that the college’s alumni, who have turned out to be my lifelong friends, are in great hands with Jon.”
SAMUEL GINN
PETTUS named EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AUBURN UNIVERSITY APPLIED RESEARCH INSTITUTE
BY JONATHAN CULLUM
Auburn University’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development has named Jonathan Pettus executive director of the Auburn University Applied Research Institute (AUARI) in Huntsville on Feb. 1.
Pettus previously spent 27 years at NASA, where he held several executive leadership roles, including chief information officer and associate director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
He most recently retired from Dynetics/Leidos, where he led a business unit that supported programs in space, hypersonics and cybersecurity solutions.
Pettus began his career as a high school mathematics teacher and basketball coach.
“I’ve always been intrigued and enthusiastic about space and technology,” he said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to help with the overall strategic goal of continuing to grow Auburn’s impact in applied research.
“There’s great opportunity at AUARI to expand efforts aimed at solving real-world problems.”
“The Applied Research Institute will be in capable hands with Jonathan Pettus as its executive director,” said Steve Taylor, senior vice president for research and economic development. “He brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and experience in the aerospace, defense and advanced technology sectors.
“I’m confident he will help us expand critical applied research efforts that address key challenges from our government and industry partners.”
The Auburn University Applied Research Institute operates within the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, near Redstone Arsenal—a 38,000-acre federal research, development, test and engineering center.
The institute brings together Auburn faculty, research professionals and students to conduct cuttingedge applied research across a range of technology readiness levels, helping customers overcome challenges in aerospace, defense, national security and biotechnology.
AWARDS
The State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame inducted eight individuals — including one Auburn University alumnus and an Auburn chemical engineering professor — and one corporation during a ceremony Feb. 22 at the Renaissance Birmingham at Ross Bridge.
BY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
Class of 2025 inductees associated with the university included Kenny Mitchell, ’65 mechanical engineering, and Bruce Tatarchuk, the Charles E. Gavin III Chair of chemical engineering.
Kenny Mitchell '65 / Mechanical Engineering
Kenny Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1965. Upon graduation, he went to work at the Marshall Space Flight Center under Wernher von Braun, contributing to the monumental goal of putting the first humans on the moon. He was an engineer on Saturn I — the first U.S. mediumlift launch vehicle to send payloads of up to 20,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. This was followed by Saturn IB, which increased payloads to 35,000 pounds, setting the stage for Saturn V, which put men on the moon in 1969.
One of Mitchell’s key responsibilities at Marshall was ensuring the Saturn V did not explode during launch or reentry. His expertise in thermal control systems led to the development of heat shields capable of withstanding the high temperatures faced during these critical phases. Following his work on the Saturn V, Mitchell contributed to the Skylab program — America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space.
His efforts were instrumental in designing a passive habitable system that allowed astronauts to work in extreme environments. He also worked on the thermal control systems for the Apollo Telescope Mount, the most powerful solar telescope in orbit during the 1970s.
His next major project was Spacelab, a reusable space laboratory flown by the space shuttle in collaboration with the European Space Agency, where he served as
environmental control life support system branch chief.
In his final years at NASA, Mitchell served as the project manager for all of the Italian Space Agency, which provided modules on the International Space Station that were critical to logistics supply and docking ports for visiting vehicles. Mitchell’s last act at NASA was as the deputy program manager for the Discovery and New Frontiers Program, working on solar system exploration.
Bruce Tatarchuk Professor / Chemical Engineering
Bruce Tatarchuk graduated from the University of Illinois in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and went on to earn his doctorate in the same discipline from the University of Wisconsin. He began his career in 1982 at Auburn University as an assistant professor and currently serves as the Charles E. Gavin III Chair of chemical engineering and director of the Center for Microfibrous Materials Manufacturing.
Tatarchuk’s engineering career includes the development and commercialization of technology that can be found on virtually every aircraft flying within the U.S. and Europe. He is a widely recognized expert in heterogeneous reactive systems and process intensification and has been the principal investigator on more than $70 million of competitively awarded extramural research contracts to Auburn University and double that amount as a co-investigator. His pioneering work in new materials has seen applications in various fields, from catalysis to energy storage. In addition, he has an extensive publication and presentation record which includes more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, numerous reviewed proceedings and technical abstracts, four book chapters, 110 invited and plenary
lectures and more than 600 technical presentations to esteemed societies in the U.S. and abroad.
Tatarchuk and his Auburn University team are widely recognized for the new class of high performance structured chemical reactor materials based on the microfibrous entrapment of highly reactive solids allowing them to operate chemical reactors at much higher steady-state volumetric rates than any group or technology in the world. Their work has inspired companion applications and impact opportunities for a variety of battery and electrochemical systems.
Today, Tatarchuk’s company — IntraMicron — is one of only five global producers of micron diameter metal fibers. The patent portfolio in IntraMicron technology was formally recognized in 2014 with his induction as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors.
For his achievements, he received the 2016 Auburn University Research Advisory Board Advancement of Research and Scholarship Achievement Award, the 2015 SEC Auburn University Faculty Achievement Award, the 2014 Auburn University Excellence in Innovation Award, the 2006 and 1999 Auburn
Engineering Senior Research Award for Excellence, the 2003 Auburn University Creative Research Award, the Fluor Corporation Young Faculty Award from 1984-88 and the Olin Research Award for work in Heterogeneous Catalysis and Surface Chemistry in 1975.
The State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame was chartered by the governor in 1987 to honor those individuals, corporations and projects associated with the state that have brought credit to the engineering profession. Approximately 200 engineers, 50 projects and 35 firms have been recognized by the hall. These inductees span from border to border, across all industries, and personify the impact engineering has played on the economy, quality of life and standard of living for the people of Alabama.
The Hall of Fame is overseen by engineering colleges and schools at Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama.
State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductees Bruce Tatarchuk, left, and Kenny Mitchell.
EMBODYING THE MISSION
RESEARCH
BY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
AUBURN ENGINEERING SECURES RECORD $117.7 MILLION IN NEW RESEARCH AWARDS AND CONTRACTS FOR FY24
Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has set a college record for new research awards and contracts for a fiscal year, closing FY24 with $117.7 million.
The amount is also a record for any college in Auburn University’s history.
Auburn Engineering has now increased its annual new research awards and contracts by more than 300% since 2018, when the college brought in $29 million. The college also set a new record with engineering faculty members submitting 544 proposals requesting $458 million in research funding.
“In recent years, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has generated record-breaking levels of funding in new research awards and contracts, alumni support and student enrollment,” said Mario Eden, dean of engineering. “Our vision is to provide research that improves quality of life and fosters economic
competitiveness, and that’s exactly what our dynamic faculty and students are doing as part of one of the elite public engineering institutions in the nation.”
In 2017, the college began a strategic hiring initiative that resulted in an increase of nearly 50 faculty members.
In turn, this has increased the number of research proposals and funding amounts for each request.
“Our faculty members are not only setting a standard in the classroom, they are also doing so as part of the university’s research enterprise,” said Allan David, the college’s associate dean of research. “Whether it’s related to transportation, health, advanced and additive manufacturing, cybersecurity or the environment, our faculty members are conducting cutting-edge research that is improving the quality of life, driving our economy and making us safer both here at home and across the globe.”
OUTREACH
BY DUSTIN DUNCAN
CEE PROFESSOR HELPS INSTALL NEW CROSSWALKS NEAR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN ALABAMA
Jeff LaMondia, a civil and environmental engineering professor, is once again helping Alabama communities address distinctive local active transportation needs.
In collaboration with Alabama Extension at Auburn University, LaMondia worked with community members and city leaders in Eutaw to install new crosswalks and restripe parking spots near Eutaw Primary School in Greene County.
Through the Live Well Alabama Thriving Communities program, LaMondia teams with Katie Funderburk, assistant director for federal nutrition programs; Ruth Brock, Thriving Communities program coordinator; and Mitch Carter, Thriving Communities specialist.
The program is supported by a five-year, $4.4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve access to safe and accessible physical activity. It empowers community coalitions to lead the charge for change.
In Eutaw, LaMondia collaborated with the community coalition for several months on an active transportation action plan to promote safe walking and bicycling through short-, medium- and long-term improvements.
He said creating safer routes for students and parents on their way to school was among the community’s top priorities.
“We’re doing a lot of work with students, parents, school administrators, local leadership and community engineers to focus on improving routes for students to get to school safely by walking,” LaMondia said. “Most parents just drop their kids off now, but we’d like to flip that and encourage more walking and bicycling. However, one of the first steps is making it safe and inviting for residents to do so.”
LaMondia also used his background in transportation engineering to provide training on the importance of sidewalks and their impact on communities.
TEACHING
BY OLIVIA BALLARD
AUBURN ENGINEERING FACULTY REMEMBER THEIR ROOTS WHILE SHAPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENGINEERS
For Molly Hughes, civil and environmental senior lecturer emerita, teaching at Auburn has been more than a career — it’s been a defining and transformative journey.
Having grown up in Auburn and devoted more than 22 years to teaching, Hughes credits the university for her professional and personal growth and the opportunity that changed her life.
“I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be a lecturer at Auburn. Auburn has shaped me deeply, both as a professor and as a person,” Hughes said. “The close-knit community, unwavering support and encouragement from professors, colleagues and administrators have been extraordinary.
“Auburn embodies the meaning of family, and that foundation inspires me to grow and strive for improvement every day.”
That same spirit of growth and mentorship continues in the basement of Wiggins Hall, where Jordan Roberts, mechanical engineering senior lecturer, carries on the legacy of one of his former professors. The name B.J. Stephens may not mean much to most, but in the Design and Manufacturing Lab, or DML, it carries weight. Stephens’ influence helped shape Roberts’ path and how he teaches today.
“B.J. — he wouldn’t let us call him Dr. Stephens — was a professor of mine while I was an undergrad at UAB,” Roberts said. “His influence on me was profound. He showed me the impact of genuinely caring about the students you teach. I don’t think I’m as smart as he was, but I’ve done my best to care as much as he did since day one.”
Roberts came to Auburn in 2004 for postgraduate work, teaching measurements while earning his master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering.
“For 12 years, I taught that course every fall, summer and spring semester,” he said. “I graduated with my doctorate on a Sunday and began full-time teaching on Wednesday.”
In late 2019, he took the reins of the newly renovated DML — home base for Auburn’s unique approach to advanced manufacturing education.
“The DML allows us to provide our undergrads with a hands-on manufacturing education no other four-year institution comes close to,” Roberts said. “To see those light bulbs go off, to see your efforts instill a love for learning and a love for what engineering is at its heart? That’s what I know drove B.J. to teach. That’s what
drives me to teach.”
While Roberts found his inspiration in a mentor, Hughes found hers in her students. She’s taught everyone from first-year students to graduate researchers, and her favorite memories come from seeing them thrive.
“The most inspiring part of being a professor is seeing the students grow from unfamiliarity to mastering concepts for their futures,” Hughes said. “I feel fulfilled seeing the accomplishments of my students and hearing their success stories. Knowing that I was able to play a part in their growth is incredibly gratifying and humbling. It reminds me why I do what I do.”
Seokhee Han, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, works in the anechoic chamber in Broun Hall. The chamber is a specialized facility designed to absorb reflections of sound or electromagnetic waves. The chamber supports research, development, and testing in areas such as radio frequencies, acoustics and electromagnetic compatibility
AEROSPACE
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR TO STUDY FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATIONS OF 3D STRUCTURES
BY DUSTIN DUNCAN
Nek Sharan
Assistant Professor 334-844-6812
nzs0089@auburn.edu
Nek Sharan, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, seeks to understand how 3D geometries vibrate when exposed to fluid flows.
Through his $300,000 National Science Foundation project, “Three-dimensional Geometry Effects on Flowinduced Vibrations,” Sharan will conduct simulations to investigate 3D structural vibrations, identify links between shapes and vibration behaviors and develop methods to modify shapes for vibration control.
“There is growing interest in drones delivering packages in urban areas, where environments are often chaotic due to buildings, cars and other disturbances,” Sharan said. “These aerial vehicles
must withstand severe winds and gusts. So, what geometric modifications can enhance their stability and robustness?”
Sharan’s research can improve the design of structures vulnerable to vibration from wind or precipitation and enhance energy harvesting technologies that convert unstable vibrations — such as ocean waves — into electricity.
The groundbreaking aspect of Sharan’s work is a new computational method to accurately simulate flow over moving 3D geometries.
While 2D structures like circular cylinders have been well studied, 3D geometries remain underexplored due to high computational costs and limited simulation accuracy.
“Typically, thousands of processors are needed to run these simulations, often taking days or weeks, making them cost-prohibitive,” Sharan said. “We’ve developed high-order methods that can handle complex geometries at a much lower computational cost.”
BIOSYSTEMS
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF NATURAL LIGHT ON CHICKEN PRODUCTION
BY ADAM CLETZER
John Linhoss
Assistant Professor 334-844-3534
jel0296@auburn.edu
Researchers at Auburn University are studying the effects of natural light in broiler houses on bird performance and welfare.
The team, including agricultural engineers, animal scientists and extension specialists, received a $300,000 USDA grant to investigate how natural light impacts commercial broiler flocks’ growth and welfare. They will also develop methods to measure the environmental impact of using natural light and prepare presentations for Alabama poultry producers.
“In the past decade, there’s been a push to include more animal welfare measures in broiler production,” said John Linhoss, assistant professor of biosystems
engineering and grant team leader. “We aim to provide science to guide producers’ decisions.”
Most broiler houses currently use LED lighting with no windows for energy efficiency and to avoid uneven lighting, which can cause varied chicken activity and growth.
However, growing consumer concerns about food production have led some poultry processors to require natural light under animal welfare guidelines, such as those by the Global Animal Partnership.
This first-of-its-kind experiment will continuously measure light intensity and duration in two setups — one with natural light and one with traditional LED light. Researchers will map light and temperature patterns and compare bird behaviors, feed intake, growth and mortality.
Alabama is the second-largest broiler producer in the U.S., with broilers accounting for 59% of its agricultural output. Linhoss’s research could help producers adapt to shifting demands by optimizing natural light use.
CHEMICAL
TWO ASSISTANT PROFESSORS EARN NSF CAREER AWARDS FOR RESEARCH
BY JOE MCADORY
Jean-Francois Louf
Assistant Professor
334-844-2211
jzl0297@auburn.edu
Michael Howard
Assistant Professor
334-844-2008
mph0043@auburn.edu
Two assistant professors in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Jean-Francois Louf and Michael Howard, earned National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards for their respective research.
Louf received a three-year, $843,000 NSF grant for his study, “Mechanisms of Acoustic Signal Processing for Increased Nectar Sugar Concentration in Flowers,” which examines how plants translate mechanical vibrations into biochemical changes.
Howard’s project, “Multiscale modeling for self-assembly of colloidal-particle coatings with gradient compositions,” resulted in a five-year, $500,000 grant. In this study, Howard offers a computer-modeling approach to engineer the drying-induced assembly of colloidal-particle coatings, such as paint. This method could streamline production, saving time and reducing resource consumption.
Selen Cremaschi, chemical engineering department chair, praised her award-winning junior faculty members.
“We are incredibly proud of Drs. Louf and Howard for their award-winning, groundbreaking research, which exemplifies the innovative spirit of our faculty,” she said. “Dr. Howard’s work on computer modeling approaches to colloidal-particle coatings and Dr. Louf’s research on acoustic signal processing are remarkable contributions that can impact industry and society.”
Louf’s team is determined to understand how flowers detect and respond to the sound of pollinators — potentially increasing nectar sugar concentration and improving crop yields.
Declining bee populations have significantly reduced pollination, affecting both biodiversity and global food production. His research takes a novel approach to address the problem by using sound to stimulate plants and enhance their ability to attract pollinators.
His team will study how plant cell walls and membranes respond to sound waves using advanced techniques to observe cell vibrations, track sugar movement, visualize sugar metabolism and examine molecule movement.
“If we can understand how plants respond to
specific acoustic frequencies, we could develop new agricultural techniques that optimize nectar production and improve pollination efficiency,” Louf said. “This could help breeders engineer crops to be more responsive to specific pollinators, ultimately contributing to improved global food security.”
Howard’s team will use a modeling approach to predict the composition of colloidal-particle coatings.
For best accuracy, they will utilize a combination of 1) a physics-based continuum model with realistic particle interactions and hydrodynamics, 2) a machine-learned model, trained from particle-based simulations, to refine the physics-based model and 3) a surrogate model to relate particle properties and processing conditions to composition.
“My long-term research goal is to computationally design nanomaterials and processing strategies for making functional soft materials using my unique background in statistical thermodynamics, transport and high-performance computing,” Howard said. “Achieving the objective of this project will position me not only to design coatings but also to apply similar techniques to other nanomaterials and processes.”
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AWARDED FEDERAL GRANT TO RESEARCH GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED WETLANDS
BY OLIVIA BALLARD
Frances O’Donnell
Associate Professor 334-844-7168
fco0002@auburn.edu
Frances O’Donnell, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, is partnering with NASA to study geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) and their environmental impacts.
GIWs — wetlands not connected to major bodies of water and abundant in the southeast coastal plains — provide benefits such as flood prevention, wildlife habitat and water quality improvements.
However, since GIWs are not protected by the Clean Water Act, it is difficult to monitor water levels over time sufficiently.
This is where O’Donnell comes in.
O’Donnell will collaborate with NASA’s Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to gather satellite data for monitoring water management in GIWs and extend the information to different U.S. regions to
compare the impact of climate on hydrology.
The research has four objectives: verifying SWOT’s GIW data accuracy, comparing and scaling the data, developing methods to monitor water storage and management and applying the technique to GIWs in various regions.
O’Donnell will determine how water resources managers can use SWOT satellite data in practice to extend the life of the mission.
“The goal is to use this data in ways that will benefit society and scientific understanding so that NASA can keep the satellite running, and we can keep collecting data,” O’Donnell said.
But with success comes struggle. One challenge the team faces is monitoring throughout wet and dry cycles, each of which can last up to three years — the typical time before a grant expires.
The cycles cause data gaps, leaving the team with insufficient results.
Long-term SWOT data can combat this. If the SWOT satellite continues operating, it will produce decades of data for O’Donnell and her team to produce results on how GIWs change throughout climate cycles.
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SOFTWARE
SOFTWARE DEVELOPED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BEING USED IN BREAKTHROUGH TECHNIQUE TO IDENTIFY LEUKEMIA CELLS
BY JOE MCADORY
Haynes Heaton
Assistant Professor 334-844-6337
haynesheaton@auburn.edu
Haynes Heaton, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has developed software likely to change the standard of care for leukemia patients undergoing bone marrow transplants.
By using his software, “cellector,” Dr. Heaton and fellow researchers hope to replace current diagnostics for post-bone marrow transplant relapse monitoring with single-cell RNA sequencing.
Dr. Heaton and collaborators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center at the University of Washington were awarded a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for their project, “A Compass for Those With Relapsed Leukemia After Transplants.”
Single-cell RNA sequencing, created by biotechnology company 10x Genomics, is a technology revolutionizing biology.
Genomics sequences RNA from each cell—attaching a DNA barcode to indicate its origin.
“It allows us to study what genes the cell is expressing, how they interact and the differentiation process,” Heaton said.
“So far, single-cell RNA sequencing has been primarily used in research, but our study aims to bring this technology to the clinic as a diagnostic for leukemia cells after treatment.”
However, this data is sparse, requiring a new computational tool to accurately assign cells to individuals. Enter cellector, which makes statistical distributions from thousands of data points.
Using a beta-binomial iterative anomaly detection system, cellector accurately distinguishes donor bone marrow cells from user cells among transplant recipients to within 0.05%. Previous methods, Dr. Heaton said, struggled to do so within 2%, making clinical decisions difficult.
“This is important because if a patient’s blood is being generated from his or her own bone marrow — their own genotype — then that person very well might be having a leukemia relapse, which is highly deadly,” Heaton said.
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR REVOLUTIONIZES CHIPLET DESIGNS, EARNS NSF CAREER AWARD
BY JOE MCADORY
Mehdi Sadi
Assistant Professor 334-844-1860
mehdi.sadi@auburn.edu
Traditional monolithic chip designs in everyday devices such as cellphones and laptops face significant limitations due to high manufacturing costs and size constraints.
Mehdi Sadi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is addressing these challenges posed by modern artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, which demand large silicon areas for optimal performance.
His project, “Optimizing the Next Frontiers of Chipletbased Designs in Advanced Packaging,” develops AI/ machine learning-assisted co-design methodologies to enhance the power, performance, reliability and
cost-efficiency of next-generation AI hardware using multi-tier chiplet architectures, while also creating educational resources and fostering a skilled workforce.
The result: smaller chips with greater performance and energy efficiency — at a reduced cost.
For his work, Sadi earned a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early CAREER Award, drawing $512,000 over the course of five years for his research.
As described by the NSF, the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers the foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
“As always, CAREER awards are very competitive,” said Sadi. “The research tasks must address an important and timely problem worthy of long-term research investment and effort.”
INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS PROFESSORS RECEIVE $400K NSF GRANT FOR LEAN MANUFACTURING EDUCATION
BY CARLA NELSON
Tom Devall Director, Auto Manufacturing Initiatives
334-740-3905
tld0017@auburn.edu
Three Auburn University professors have been awarded a nearly $400K grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance Lean Manufacturing education.
Over the next three years, Tom Devall, Tiger Motors Lab director, Jorge Valenzuela, Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Chih-hsuan Wang, professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology in the College of Education, will lead this project.
The goal of the project is to expand access to experiential training beyond campus to the Tiger Motors Lab, often referred to as the Lego Lab. The
lab provides students with hands-on experience in a 4,000-square-foot integrated manufacturing facility, which simulates high-volume automotive manufacturing environments like those used by Toyota and Honda.
“We know we’ve got something special in that lab,” Devall said. “I have conducted research that shows the lab’s impact on students helps them perform better. It’s more effective than classroom lectures alone, so we wanted to make this experience available to distance learners.”
Currently, online students observe lab production runs but cannot actively participate. The NSF project aims to change that by developing immersive 360-degree video modules that allow students to walk through the lab virtually and complete assignments based on real data collection.
“If done well, it will feel as though they’re physically in the lab,” Devall said. “This opens the lab to anyone in the world, bringing credibility to our program as it impacts both industry and academia.”
MATERIALS
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AWARDS $1.9M TOWARD AUBURN ENGINEERING’S TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH INTO RAPID IMMUNODIAGNOSTICS
BY JEREMY HENDERSON
Pengyu Chen Francis Family Associate Professor 334-844-4913 pzc0026@auburn.edu
Pengyu Chen, the Francis Family Associate Professor and Ginn Faculty Achievement Fellow in the Department of Materials Engineering, believes he’ll soon be able to immediately unlock the secrets of your immune system with the prick of a finger. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) continues to believe it, too.
The NIH recently awarded Chen $1.9 million to continue his groundbreaking research on immune system analysis. The five-year grant is an extension of a 2019 NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for the same amount.
Chen’s research team will continue to develop cuttingedge technologies that combine nanomaterial-based
sensors with advanced computer algorithms to measure, with just a single drop of blood, key immune proteins and track how immune cells behave and communicate. The innovative approach promises to provide critical insights that could transform the diagnosis and treatment of immune-related diseases like cancer, autoimmune disorders and infections.
“While this grant builds on the foundation of our 2019 MIRA, it is more than an extension,” Chen said. “We are broadening the scope of our work, incorporating AIassisted technology and novel biosensing platforms to enhance immune profiling and monitoring.”
A key motivation for the project? Accessibility for all, Chen says, “regardless of their geographical or economic situation.”
“By leveraging AI with our nanoplasmonic biosensing platforms, we aim to provide rapid, real-time and highly personalized immune diagnostics at the point of care,” he explains. “This technology could have massive implications—enabling precise, accessible healthcare solutions for populations that are often underserved.”
MECHANICAL
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR EARNS NSF CAREER AWARD FOR TELEREHABILITATION RESEARCH
BY JEREMY HENDERSON
Brendon Allen
Assistant Professor 334-844-3368
bca0027@auburn.edu
Brendon Allen has some exoskeletons in his closet, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) wants to find out more about them.
The NSF recently tapped the assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering for a five-year $588,408 NSF CAREER Award aimed at increasing access to rehabilitation for individuals with movement disorders through a deep learning control framework for home-based hybrid exoskeletons.
“These devices combine functional electrical stimulation (FES) with actuated robots to provide personalized therapy,” Allen said. “Shifting the computational demand from individual homes to
clinicians’ offices can, I believe, reduce the cost of telerehabilitation significantly.”
He also feels it can enhance the benefits.
“The dynamics of hybrid exoskeletons are inherently uncertain and nonlinear, and even in 2024, communication delays between the clinician’s computer and the exoskeleton continue to complicate telerehabilitation,” Allen said. “Those delays equal destabilization.”
Allen feels that destabilization can be drastically decreased utilizing novel delay compensation and deep neural network–based methods to enable the remote control of the exoskeleton.
“Successful completion of this project could transform the rehabilitation industry,” Allen said. “Not only will it make rehabilitation more accessible and affordable, but the control developments in this work will also improve centralized network control systems, impacting fields such as manufacturing, power grid automation, reconnaissance and search and rescue operations.”
WIRELESS
DIRECTOR OF WIRELESS ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER EARNS
$300K NSF GRANT TO REVOLUTIONIZE FUTURE 6G SYSTEMS
BY KAT BADER
Shiwen Mao Director, Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center 334-844-1845 smao@auburn.edu
Wireless technology is consistently evolving, and Auburn University is on the forefront of developing new opportunities for 6G wireless networks through using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Shiwen Mao, director of the Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center at Auburn University, has recently received a three-year, $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to investigate how to integrate drone localization, millimeter wave communications, wireless sensing and security with artificial intelligence and machine learning for future 6G systems.
“UAVs can enhance the flexibility, coverage
and efficiency of 6G networks, making them a crucial component in the evolution of wireless communication,” said Mao, Professor and Earle C. Williams Eminent Scholar. “It can serve as aerial base stations, providing coverage in remote or underserved areas where traditional infrastructure is lacking.”
Additionally, Mao said it allows for quick deployment of a dynamic network, allowing for flexible network configurations that can adapt to changing conditions or demand.
“This is especially useful for emergency response,” he said. “Since the UAVs are in the air, they usually provide line-of-sight communications to users with enhanced signal quality and reliability.”
In traditional terrestrial communication systems, wireless signals are usually blocked by obstacles with reduced quality, Mao said. However, when UAVs are equipped with sensors, they can gather real-time data on network performance, user density and environmental conditions, which can be used to optimize network management.
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS
David Bevly, the McNair Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the principal investigator on a $100,000 grant from Integrated Solutions for Systems (IS4S). Under Bevly’s direction, the Autonomous Tiger Racing Team won the Tier 1 Time Trial at the latest Indy Autonomous Challenge held Jan. 13 in Las Vegas. Jake Ward, a Ph.D. student advised by Bevly, won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Automotive and Transportation Systems Technical Committee Award at the 2024 Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference.
Ben Bowers, the McCartneyChase Highway Engineering Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, earned a $167,631 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation to study the resilience of full-depth reclamation pavement mixtures to flood inundation.
for sharing ideas and building capacity in informal STEM education to support Auburn’s mission and Alabama’s workforce development needs. Davis is also principal investigator on a three-year $500K USDA NIFA Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy program grant titled “Project FARM: Fostering Agricultural Research and Mentoring” with co-PIs Jessica Gilpin and Ewald from COSAM, Eve Brantley, professor and extension specialist (water resources) in the College of Agriculture, and Becky Barlow, associate dean for extension and assistant director for agriculture, forestry and natural resource extension programs in the College of Agriculture.
Greg Harris, Chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, was elected this past fall into the Society of Manufacturing Engineers College of Fellows.
Pengyu Chen, the Francis Family Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded $1.9 million by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his five-year study, “Machine LearningAssisted Integrated Optofluidic Nano-plasmonic Biosensing for Precision Immune Profiling and Monitoring Source of Support.” This renewal application aims to advance the next generation of immune biosensing by integrating machine learning to enable precision immune profiling and monitoring for better patient care.
Virginia Davis, the Daniel F. and Josephine Breeden Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, cofounded the Auburn I-STEM Connectory with Mary Lou Ewald, director of outreach at the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM). This center will be a hub
Peter He and a team of Auburn researchers were awarded $3.16 million by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for their project, “Intensified and Energy Efficient Cultivation, Processing, and Conversion of Flue Gas Produced Algal Biomass to Aquafeed.” Part of a multiuniversity and industry DOE initiative aimed at advancing mixed algae developments for low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts, He is joined by co-PIs Jin Wang, the Woltosz Professor of Chemical Engineering, Zhihua Jiang, the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Allen Davis, professor at the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences.
Zhihua Jiang, the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the Alabama Center for Paper
and Bioresource Engineering, is the principal investigator on a $1.88 million U.S. Department of Energy project designed to develop a process for the conversion of carbon dioxide to polyethylene using flue gas from the pulp and paper industry. Researchers will produce low-cost biocarbon from paper mill sludge and produce ethylene, which will replace petroleum-based ethylene to synthesize polyethylene.
Auburn University LASE-END lab, was elected as associate editor of the Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering and earned a $270,000 National Science Foundation grant for his collaborative research, “Effect of Twist Angle on the Interfacial Thermal Conductance of Homo/Heterojunctions.”
Allison Ledford, assistant research professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is lead inventor of a new patent co-owned between Auburn University and the U.S. Army – “Physical Components Using Data Element Mapping and Analysis (DEMA),” which is a new approach to identify, isolate, document, and improve digital threads in data and information systems. There are currently projects with DoD, DOE and industry partners to use Data Element Mapping and Analysis to identify data threads for digital thread realization and improve the flow of data and information that support major systems and operations. Ledford and her Auburn teammates also have a follow-on patent pending for eliminating waste in data and information flows. Ledford was also featured by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ “Women Advancing Manufacturing” article in its January publication of Smart Manufacturing.”
Elizabeth Lipke, the George E. and Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut Endowed Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is a co-principal investigator on a one-year, $350,000 Phase I National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grant, “VivoSpheres: Tissue-Engineered Spheroidal Models for HighThroughput Screening.”
Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the
Scott Martin, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is co-principal investigator on a $100,000 grant from Integrated Solutions for Systems.
Yazhou Tu, assistant professor in computer science and software engineering, received the Distinguished Paper Award at the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, California, in May. He serves as the publicity chair and travel grant coordinator for SmartSP 2024/2nd European Alliance for Innovation International Conference on Security and Privacy in Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Vehicles.
Adriana Vargas-Nordbeck, associate research professor at the National Center for Asphalt Technology, was awarded $400,000 from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program to develop a field test to determine chip seal aggregate embedment. She was also part of a $1.7 million pooled research fund led by the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the project “National Partnership to Improve the Quality of Preventive Maintenance Treatment Construction & Data Collection Practices.” She was awarded $120,000 by the National Road Research Alliance to investigate the feasibility of using recycled materials in pavement preservation.
NEW FACULTY MEMBERS
NICOLETTA FALA | Purdue University
Assistant Professor | Aerospace Engineering
My research focuses on human factors and systems engineering to enhance training, human performance and aviation safety. It aims to bridge the gap between design and user experience. Current projects include using virtual reality for flight simulation skill transfer and assessing human performance through physiological measurements.
EFFAT FARHANA | North Carolina State University/Vanderbilt University
Assistant Professor | Computer Science and Software Engineering
My research interests include artificial intelligence, especially applied to education and healthcare domains, empirical software engineering and natural language processing.
SHUAI HUANG | Johns Hokpins University
Assistant Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering
My research develops artificial intelligence methods that analyze MRI brain images to detect structural, compositional and functional changes associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
FARIBOZ KARGAR | University of California, Riverside
Assistant Professor | Mechanical Engineering
My research interests focus on the development and application of BrillouinMandelstam and Raman spectroscopies to study phonons and magnons in lowdimensional quantum and advanced nanostructured materials.
JILLIAN MAXCY-BROWN | University of Alabama
Assistant Professor | Civil and Environmental Engineering
My research focuses on developing long-term affordable and sustainable solutions for water and wastewater management in small communities to improve communities’ health physically, environmentally, socially and economically.
JAMES MICHAEL | Princeton University
Associate Professor | Aerospace Engineering
My research team develops advanced laser spectroscopy techniques to study high-speed, chemically reacting aerodynamic and propulsion environments. These environments often experience thermo-chemical non-equilibrium due to rapid timescales. Their laser-based methods enable real-time measurements of gas species and molecular energy distributions in reacting flows.
REZA MOLAEI | University of Memphis
Assistant Professor | Mechanical Engineering
My research interests include multiaxial fatigue, fracture mechanics, additive manufacturing, porous structures and finite element analysis.
MISSIE SMITH | Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor | Industrial and Systems Engineering
My research interests include immersive technology theory, perception and performance of augmented reality users and designing technology for different contexts.
CLINT SNIDER | University of Florida
Assistant Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering
My research interests are in computational electromagnetics with emphasis on interference control in electronics.
SIMERJEET VIRK | University of Georgia
Associate Professor | Biosystems Engineering
My research focuses on evaluating precision technologies in agricultural machinery to enhance field performance and crop yields.
STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
Yeonjin Baek, doctoral student in materials engineering, won the grand prize in Japanese research technology company JEOL’s annual scanning electron microscope image contest. Baek’s submission, a scan of atomic sheets 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair, was enhanced with Photoshop to resemble a floral design.
Manish Sakhakarmy, doctoral student in biosystems engineering, won first place in the oral and poster competition at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
Owen Strength, Logan Bolton and Luke Robinson, undergraduates in computer science and software engineering, were recognized by the Computer Research Association (CRA), earning the 202425 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award honorable mentions.
Jada Neal, senior in bioprocess engineering, was chosen as one of Auburn University’s 13 inaugural Matthews Scholars Program fellows and the only fellow representing Auburn Engineering.
Daniel Yahya, doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, was awarded the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Fellowship.
Onyedika Mbelu, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, was awarded the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Fellowship.
Segun Osibodu, doctoral student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was awarded a 2024-2025 fellowship for the American Concrete Institute.
Nora Lopez Rivera, doctoral student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was honored with a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award.
Emma Signor, master’s student in aerospace engineering, won first place in the Southeastern Regional Student Conference hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for the Region II undergraduate category and Undergraduate of the Year award from the AIAA Greater Huntsville Section.
Anthony Brenes-Calderon, a doctoral student working with Auburn University’s National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), was awarded the Asphalt Institute Foundation Kirk Scholarship.
Matthew Hooks, a master’s student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, was awarded a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Kwaghtaver Samuel Desongu, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, earned second place at the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers’ collaborative spring conference poster competition in 2024.
Adekanmi Adeyinka, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, was awarded the prestigious SAE Doctoral Engineering Scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Justin Littlefield, senior in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, received the 2024 Astronaut Scholarship Foundation award.
Corey McDaniels, a master’s student in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has been awarded the 2024 Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship by the Federal Highway Administration.
Jada Neal, a senior working toward a degree in bioprocess engineering, served as an undergraduate research fellow while exploring potential skin care solutions.
AUBURN ENGINEERING STUDENTS SOLVING WATER ISSUES DOMESTICALLY AND ABROAD
BY JOE MCADORY
A community in south central Tennessee has a water crisis and Auburn engineers are digging for a solution.
The water infrastructure in unincorporated Westpoint, located roughly an hour north of Florence, was installed more than 60 years ago and has not received a fullscale update.
“The pump area at the main water tower has been abandoned and is pretty much out of commission,” said Joel Young, a junior in chemical engineering and team lead for Auburn University’s Engineers Without Borders’ domestic project. “The residents, about 250 of them, must instead receive their water from nearby Loretto — and the infrastructure in place to receive that water isn’t great either. Loretto has its own water needs. Whenever there is a water issue in Loretto, Westpoint receives no water. It’s a quantity issue.”
Bathing, washing clothes, flushing toilets, etc., are problematic without running water.
In case of a fire, hydrants in the center of the community are flushed. What happens then? Residents in the higher-elevated outskirts of town lose water.
“That encapsulates the whole issue. There just isn’t enough water to go around,” Young said.
Christian Brodbeck, an EWB faculty advisor and director of engineering research operations, said it’s difficult to envision that there are communities here in the U.S. that don’t have access to reliable, clean water.
Resolving water issues in rural Tennessee is just one of three Engineers Without Borders (EWB) projects for 2025.
This past May, a team of 10 students and advisors reviewed recently completed work in Xeo, Guatemala, and assessed a future project in the nearby Quiche Region. In August, eight students and advisors will continue efforts in Bolivia, by repairing water transmission lines and design an irrigation system.
“The work we do is incredibly rewarding, but it’s equally as rewarding to watch out students grow through the organization and do the work,” Brodbeck said. “We’ve watched students come in as freshmen and grow through the program.
“The student-engineers receive fantastic experience through EWB, gaining a better understanding of project management, designing, building, installing … all the stuff that goes into what we do. Then they get to experience the communities they are helping — seeing their hard work laid into place.”
AUBURN TEAM CLAIMS AUTONOMOUS RACING VICTORY AT 163.6
BY JEREMY HENDERSON
MPH
Auburn’s autonomous driving research shows no signs of slowing down. Quite the opposite.
Operating out of the GPS and Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory (GAVLAB), the university’s Autonomous Tiger Racing (ATR) recently topped the Tier 1 speed competition at the latest iteration of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) held in January at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in conjunction with the annual Consumer Electronics Show.
Begun in 2021 to push the boundaries of autonomous technology and elevate consumer confidence in autonomous vehicles, the international autonomous vehicle competition requires teams to design a software stack integrating data from sensors like LiDAR, GPS-INS, computer vision cameras and radar well enough to maneuver driverless Dallara AV-24 Indy Lights cars at speeds in excess of 150 mph.
ATR was the first to run a Dallara AV-21 autonomous race car around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading up to the first IAC event, held at the famed 2.5-mile oval in October 2021.
This go-round, they nearly made history again. ATR claimed victory in the 10-minute time trials with a 163.6 mph lap, beating out teams from Indiana University
and the California Institute of Technology; during earlier testing, in much better weather, they logged the second-fastest autonomous lap speed ever — 170 mph, only 2 mph behind the world record set by Italian race team PoliMove in 2022.
“We are a vehicle dynamics lab, so going fast should be our specialty,” said David Bevly, the Bill and Lana McNair Distinguished Professor and GAVLAB’s founder and co-director.
However, the work behind that specialization isn’t just about bragging rights for fastest laps; it’s about closing technological gaps.
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently partnered with IAC to evaluate the deep reinforcement learning research necessary for consistently effective autonomous navigation in challenging environments. That’s a wheel Bevly, one of the foremost minds in autonomous research, has been behind for years.
In 2004, student researchers under Bevly placed 7th out of 45 competitors in the inaugural DARPA Grand Challenge, a now legendary DOD-funded driverless vehicle race in the Mojave Desert that kickstarted the modern era of autonomous vehicle development.
ENSURING ENGINEERING’S FUTURE
The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering is committed to providing the best student-centered engineering experience in America. Our Keystone Society donors are a strategic part of this vision, providing much-needed annual funds to the college. These funds enhance engineering education and allow the college to remain nimble and tackle any unexpected challenges.
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP TEAM
The Strategic Leadership Team exists to help move the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering’s highestlevel strategic priorities forward. Since it was established, the team has contributed more than $189 million to propel these priorities.
2,338 DONORS gave 5,900 GIFTS in fiscal year 2024, for a total of $36.2 MILLION funds raised 23% 77% of all funds raised were spendable of all funds raised were endowed
LARGEST AREAS OF SUPPORT
Scholarships:
The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering provides more than $5.9 million in engineering scholarships in the 2024-25 academic year, supporting a total of 1,594 students.
74.5% of funds received went to scholarship — a total of $27.8 million raised toward the total endowment.
Programmatic:
The college raised $7.5 million for programmatic support. These funds are mostly unrestricted Funds for Excellence, which allow the deans and department chairs to meet priority goals for the college.
WHO ARE AUBURN ENGINEERING’S DONORS?
THE BEST STUDENT-CENTERED ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA
Why do students choose Auburn Engineering?
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Opportunities abound for students to gain experience in Auburn Engineering’s many cutting-edge research facilities. Students are able to conduct undergraduate research while collaboratively working with faculty, graduate students and fellow undergraduate students.
CENTER FOR INSPIRING ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
The Center for Inspiring Engineering Excellence is an academic support and professional development program for engineering students. This program works toward increasing the recruitment and enhancing the retention of all engineering students.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Student organizations offer a variety of fun and educational opportunities — from student chapters of professional groups and honor societies to student competition teams and campus-wide organizations such as band, intramural sports and student government.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND CORPORATE RELATIONS
From resume enrichment to assistance with interviewing skills, negotiating a job offer and everything in between, the Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations is staffed with career professionals ready to help students gain real engineering work experience before graduation and beyond.
ENGINEERING GLOBAL PROGRAMS
Auburn Engineering offers a wide range of facultyled global programs, exchange programs and service learning such as Engineers Without Borders, which provides deeply meaningful opportunities to students wanting to use their engineering skills to help developing communities in Bolivia and Guatemala meet basic human needs. Another example? The Biomechanics and Engineering in the Arts program in Italy teaches the biomechanical roots of ballet, the
symphony, opera and even painting by exploring the engineering influence of Renaissance artists.
SUPPORT FOR WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
The college supports the advancement and success of female engineers in a variety of ways. The Society of Women Engineers and Alpha Omega Epsilon are organizations that empower women to succeed and advance in the field by offering speakers and networking opportunities at monthly meetings. In addition, the college’s 100+ Women Strong program seeks to recruit, retain and reward female engineering students. The 100+ Women Strong program is made up of alumni and friends of the college who recognize the importance of connecting with the next generation of female engineers.
K-12 OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
From hands-on activities and summer camps to E-Day, the college’s annual engineering open house, the Office of Recruitment, Outreach and Scholarship employs exciting and engaging programming year round that exposes K-12 students to the world of engineering.
RESEARCH CENTERS
AUBURN ESTABLISHES ELECTRONICS PACKAGING RESEARCH INSTITUTE
BY JEREMY HENDERSON
Auburn University’s seminal work on semiconductor packaging has new packaging of its own — the Auburn University Electronics Packaging Research Institute (EPRI).
The institute’s recent establishment marks a significant new emphasis on the semiconductor packaging research conducted through Auburn’s Center of Advanced Vehicle and Extreme Environment Electronics, or CAVE3.
The institute was founded in 1999 through funding from the National Science Foundation and support from select companies focusing primarily on automotive electronics.
Pradeep Lall, the John and Anne MacFarlane Endowed Distinguished Professor and Alumni Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has directed the center since 2008. He will continue to serve as director of EPRI.
“Our need for domestic capability in manufacturing, research and development for semiconductor packaging has really entered the national conversation with the recent establishment of the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program under the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act,” Lall said.
In June 2021, the White House identified four key product areas of vulnerability, with semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging topping the list.
The report recognized the role of semiconductor packaging as an important avenue for innovation in the density and size of electronic products; the U.S. global share of semiconductor production has dropped from 37 percent in 1990 to only 12 percent today.
“In this current environment, we’re realizing the criticality of electronics in general and semiconductor packaging in particular for securing the supply chain and enabling advanced system functionality both in the U.S. and Europe,” Lall said.
Under Lall’s leadership, Auburn’s work along these lines has grown exponentially, especially over the past decade.
In 2015, he led the Auburn team contributing to the winning proposal that resulted in the foundation of the NextFlex National Manufacturing Institute.
Auburn is a tier-1 founding member of NextFlex, whose mission is to advance U.S. manufacturing of flexible hybrid electronics.
Lall serves on the NextFlex technical council and has previously served on the governing council of the institute.
“Growing CAVE3 into the Auburn University Electronics Packaging Research Institute was the logical next step for our activities in this important area of research,” said Mario Eden, dean of engineering. “It’s recognition of its broadened focus, breadth of sponsored research, as well as its international standing.”
NEW AUBURN ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER COMBINES EXPERTISE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, CYBERSECURITY
BY JOE MCADORY
Auburn Engineering’s newest research center is strategically positioned at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.
The Auburn University Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Engineering (AU-CAICE), housed within the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE), is dedicated to uncovering pioneering advancements in AI-driven cybersecurity solutions and tackling the most pressing challenges in the digital age.
“In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the need for groundbreaking research in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity has never been more critical,” said Allan David, associate dean for research. “The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering is thrilled to continue its role as a leader in emerging technologies, driving innovation and fostering collaboration to address the complex challenges of our time. This new research center embodies our commitment to shaping a safer, more secure future through cutting-edge advancement.”
Gerry Dozier, the center’s first director and the Charles D. McCrary Eminent Chair Professor in CSSE, said researchers will not just focus on AI and cybersecurity, but also three hybrids of AI and cybersecurity: SecureAI, CyberAI and SecureCyberAI.
“This is based off the two strengths of our department — cybersecurity and artificial intelligence,” said Dozier, who also serves as the Auburn University AI@ AU technical lead. “For years, we’ve been working in AI for security (CyberAI), as well as in security for AI (SecureAI).
“SecureAI applies security measures to protect an AI
system from adversarial attacks. CyberAI applies AI to the area of cybersecurity, and SecureCyberAI will be best served by security measures that are real-time, self-healing, anti-fragile arms race systems for securing an AI system.”
The AU-CAICE will build upon the foundation laid by the former Auburn Cyber Research Center (ACRC) and advance the legacy of ACRC’s pioneering work.
“The center continues to honor ACRC’s commitment to cybersecurity excellence while expanding its reach and impact, ensuring that Auburn remains at the forefront of cybersecurity research and education,” David said. “The dedication and achievements of ACRC have paved the way for AU-CAICE to thrive and lead in this critical field.”
“Over the past four years, ACRC has increasingly been focusing on the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, and renaming it as AU-CAICE with all of AI and cybersecurity as its scope, is the logical next step,” said CSSE associate professor Daniel Tauritz, who served in the role of ACRC interim director from June 2020 through December 2024, and continues in his duties as Auburn University’s Director for National Laboratory Relationships.
Dozier said 27 faculty members, representing engineering, business and other disciplines, are already part of the center.
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