Sang M. Han finds the right chemistry as new leader of his department

Transitions and Achievements

Sang M. Han Lydia Tapia Mark Stone Mark Gilmore Andrew Schuler

New Faculty

The following faculty members joined the School of Engineering in the 2022–23 academic year:

Eric J. Lang, assistant professor of nuclear engineering. Lang joins UNM from a postdoctoral position at Sandia National Laboratories. His research focuses are in electronic microscopy and spectroscopy techniques; plasma-material interactions; ultra-high vacuum technology; and metallurgy and material fabrication.

Heng Zuo, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Zuo was previously at the Space Nanotechnology Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her areas of research interest are in fabrication and correction of astronomical optics, and space optics development and applications.

Lisa Lorena Losada-Rojas, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. in civil engineering from Purdue University in May. Her concentrations are in transportation and infrastructure systems engineering.

New Leadership

The School of Engineering is welcoming several new leaders this academic year:

Professor Sang M. Han is beginning a four-year term as chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Professor Lydia Tapia is beginning a two-year interim chair appointment in the Department of Computer Science.

Mark Stone, a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is serving as acting associate dean of academic affairs and community engagement during the fall 2022 semester.

Professor Mark Gilmore is serving as acting chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for the fall 2022 semester.

Andrew Schuler, professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is director of the Center for Water and the Environment .

Brian Zufelt is interim director of COSMIAC.

Matthias Pleil is director of the Manufacturing Engineering Program.

Nathan Jackson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is the director of the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering Program.

Faculty Achievements

Nick Carroll, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been selected as part of the 2021 Class of Influential Researchers by the American Chemical Society journal, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Keeping up with the people in the School of Engineering

Nick Carroll Sakineh Chabi Natalie Gayoso Christine Gleicher Khandakar Nusrat Islam

David G. Whitten, distinguished professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and associate director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering, has been inducted into the National Academy of Inventors.

Sakineh Chabi, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected as a Vebleo Fellow in recognition of her contributions to the organization. Vebleo is an international scientific organization working to encourage researchers, scientists and companies in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

Christos Christodoulou, Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing, received the IEEE Rudolph E. Henning Distinguished Mentoring Award.

Abdullah Mueen, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, received the ACM SIGKDD Test of Time Award. The award honors research that is at least 10 years old and has been recognized as having a sustained influence over the years since its publication. ACM SIGKDD stands for the Association of Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in Knowledge Discovery in Data.

Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the general chair of the 2023 IEEE 24th International Conference on High-Performance Switching and Routing (IEEE HPSR 2023), which will be held in Albuquerque June 5-7. HPSR is the flagship conference of the Communications Switching and Routing Technical Committee of IEEE Communications Society. Mohamed El-Genk, a Distinguished and Regents’ Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, received the 2021 American Nuclear Society Reactor Technology Award.

Student Achievements

Natalie Gayoso, a master’s student in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, won a national award for her presentation at the American Water Works Association ACE22 conference, held June 12-15 in San Antonio, Texas. She presented “Techno-Economic Analysis of Condensation-Based Atmospheric Water Harvesting” at the Fresh Ideas poster session and received second place. Gayoso is studying with assistant professor Anjali Mulchandani.

Christine Gleicher, a student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, was selected as a 2022-23 Goldwater Scholar.

Khandakar Nusrat Islam, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the 2022 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Igor Alexeff Award as Outstanding Student in Plasma Science.

Elijah Wyckoff, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received the Air Force Research Laboratory Outstanding Scholar Award for his work on augmented reality for real-time telepresence and control of robotics.