Faculty Directory

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Elodie Adida (Goodman) , Assistant Professor; Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. Prof. Adida has worked on mathematical modeling and nonlinear dynamic optimization under uncertainty and competition. She has applied game theoretic models and robust optimization to dynamic pricing and inventory control. Her research is currently focused on stochastic and deterministic optimization models for decision-making problems applied to revenue management and pricing. She is also interested in dynamic games and equilibriums that arise in competition settings.

Suresh K. Aggarwal, Professor, Ph.D., Georgia Tech, 1979. Combustion, fluid mechanics, multiphase flows, molecular dynamics simulations of two-phase flows, mathematical modeling and computational methods, turbulent sprays, unsteady flames, emission control. Associate Editor, AIAA Journal; Associate Fellow, AIAA; University Scholar (University of Illinois); UIC Teaching Recognition Program Award; UIC-College of Engineering Faculty Research Award; Member of the Editorial Committee of the Combustion Institute; Fellow, Stanford/NASA Center for Turbulence Research; Navy Senior Summer Fellow; Technical Program Chairman, Propellants and Combustion, 1989 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting; Served on several Review Panels for DOE and NSF.

Farid M. L. Amirouche, Professor; Ph.D., Cincinnati, 1984. Multibody dynamics, CAD/CAE, spine mechanics, biomechanics, human body vibration, computational mechanics, vibration isolation and active suspension control of vehicles,mechatronics and medical devices, impact analysis, ER/MR fluid applications. Editor, ASEE Mechanics Division Newsletter, 1986-89; DOE Fellow, 1987; G7-NRC Fellow, 1993-94; SAE Ralph R.Teetor Award, 1994; SAE Toptec Organizer 1998, Member ASME Vehicle Design Committee, Member ASME Solid Mechanics Committee; International Editorial Board, Technology and Health Care.

Prashant Banerjee, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1990. Virtual manufacturing; local and telecollaborative virtual reality-based design models; haptics applications; avatar representations; immersive learning effectiveness and display interfaces; and linear and non-linear design optimization models; optimization of manufacturing systems, facilities planning. Fellow of ASME, UIC Research Award, 2000; US Army Summer Fellowship, 2000; ASME Best Technical Paper Award 1999; Served as Department Editor, IIE Transactions; Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Robotics & Automation.

Rodica Baranescu, Professor; Ph.D., “Politehnica” University, Bucharest – Romania, 1970. Research and development activities in low emission diesel engines for truck applications, simulation and modeling of combustion, emissions, fuels, processes and systems in diesel engines, evaluation and development of alternative fuels for heavy-duty engines. She has been a public speaker in USA and worldwide and has authored papers on technology issues related to the mobility technology, environmental issues and control, fuels and energy. Currently, she is the Chair of the Fluids Group (Fuels, Lubricants, Alternative Fuels, and Coolants) in the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA). She is the first woman president of SAE International, the largest automotive society in the world.

Kenneth Brezinsky, Professor, Ph.D., The City University of New York, 1978. High temperature gas phase chemical kinetics related to combustion processes with special emphasis on environmental impact; combustion synthesis of non-oxide refractory materials. Chairman, Host Committee for the 30th International Symposium on Combustion, 2004; Chairman, Host Committee for the 3rd Joint Meeting of the U.S. Sections of the Combustion Institute, 2003; UIC College of Engineering Faculty Research Award, 2002; Fellowship Awardee as Foreign Researcher of Distinction, Minister of Research and Technology, France; Phi Beta Kappa.

Elisa Budyn, Assistant Professor; Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2004. Prof. Budyn has worked on numerical models for fracture mechanics and biomechanics. She has applied the eXtended Finite Element Method to model multiple crack growth in unit cells to represent the failure of various brittle homogeneous and heterogeneous materials such as glass, steel or ceramics. She has also developed a multiple scale approach applied to biological materials such as cortical bone using a Finite Element Method to model the local and global mechanical behavior of representative volume element (RVE) of healthy and osteoporotic tissue. Her research is currently focused on multi-scale numerical models developed to characterize the mechanics of materials and biomaterials with multi-phase complex microstructure. The modes of failure of these microstructures though damage and fracture processes are studied over the micro and nano scales and modeled through FEM and X-FEM approaches.

Sabri Cetinkunt, Professor; Ph.D., Georgia Tech, 1987. Mechatronics, automatic control, robotics, automation, CAD/CAM, microprocessor applications, expert systems, artificial intelligence, motion control, electrohydraulic systems and applications in construction equipment industry, nano positioning systems. UIC Research Award, 2000-2001; NSF/NIST Research Fellow, 1991-1992; GE Fellowship in Graduate Studies, 1986; Editorial Board of International Journal of Mechatronics.

Soyoung S. Cha, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1980. Laser experimentation and instrumentation for fluid flow, heat/mass transfer and combustion three-dimensional multi-component velocimetry; holography/interferometry-based techniques; light scattering, spectroscopy, radiative heat transfer and laser machining/processing. Photomechanics including nondestructive evaluation. Numerical investigation of experimental phenomena. Program Chair, International Society for Optical Engineering; Fellow, International Society for Optical Engineering; Laureate of American Biographical Institute; Chair of Many National and International Conferences; Guest Editor, Optics and Lasers in Engineering; DOE Research Fellow; NASA Research Fellow; Air Force Fellow.

Houshang Darabi, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers, 2000. Supervisory control of discrete event systems, manufacturing information systems, computer control of production systems, computer integrated manufacturing, supply chain networks, control and design of medical and service information systems. Associate Member of IEEE, Member of IIE, ISA and INFORMS.

David M. France, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1969. Multiphase flow and heat transfer, including liquid-vapor boiling and condensing flows, solid-gas flow suspensions, and solid-liquid ice-slurry flows; heat transfer augmentation and small channel conditions including refrigerant systems, large-scale steam generators, internal combustion engine thermal management, and development of unique facilities for experimentation in internal and external boiling flows. DOE International Exchange Team, 1978; DOE Technical Review Team, 1988; Tau Beta Pi, Student Honorary Society, Outstanding Advisor, 1996; UIC Teaching Recognition Program Award 1997.

Krishna C. Gupta, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Stanford, 1974. Robotics, mechanism synthesis, cam dynamics, design optimization. ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award (2002); Best Paper Awards - 1978 (ASME Mechanisms Conf.) and 1991 (ASME Computers in Eng. Conf.); ASME Henry Hess Award, 1979; South Pointing Chariot Award, AM&R Conf. Series, 1989; Fellow, ASME, 1993- ; George N. Sandor Award, AM&R Conf. Series, 1997. Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 1981-82; Editorial Advisory Board, ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews,1985-92; Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Applied Mechanisms and Robotics, 1993-2000; Associate Editor, Mechanism and Machine Theory, 1998-2004; Editor, ASME Design Division Newsletter, 2000 & 2001. General Conference Chairman, 1990 ASME Design Technical Conference (Chicago); Conference Chairman, 1990 ASME Mechanisms Conference (Chicago). ASME Mechanisms Committee, Member 1981-86, Chairman 1989-90; ASME Design Division Executive Committee, Member 2001-07; Division Chairman, 2005-06.

David He, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Iowa, 1994. Failure and Reliability Analysis of Manufacturing Systems, Equipment and Process Diagnosis and Prognosis, Statistical Process Control, Agile Manufacturing Systems, Scheduling and Control for Agile Production and Manufacturing, Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing

Lawrence A. Kennedy, Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1964. Combustion, nonequilibrium processes, emission control, fluid mechanics, optical methods, heat transfer. Ralph Coats Roe Award, Fellow ASME, Fellow AIAA, Fellow, AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), R. W. Kurtz Distinguished Professor at OSU, AT&T Foundation Award, Senior Fellow in Science--NATO, R. W. Teator Award, NSF Science Faculty Fellow; Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Experimental Methods in Thermal & Fluid Sciences; Editor, 22nd International Symposium on Combustion.

Carmen Lilley , Assistant Professor; Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Northwestern University in 2003. Prof. Lilley has worked on mechanical characterization of thin films using photo-acoustics (laser ultrasonics) for designing Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). Her research is currently focused on mechanical characterization of thin films and nondestructive evaluation of MEMS integrated/non-integrated test structures for MEMS design and reliability. Test methods for mechanical characterization include using acoustics, resonance, and bulge tests to examine mechanical properties such as elastic properties, stress, and failure mechanisms. Her other research interests include design of microsystems for biomedical applications, such as biosensors made using biocompatible materials and standard photolithography techniques.

Faydor L. Litvin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Director, Gear Research Center; Doc.Tech.Sc., Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, 1954. Gear theory, generation, simulation, meshing, and contact; manipulators, spatial linkages. Silver Medal for Professional Work, USSR, 1971; Inventor of the USSR, 1978; Excellence and Distinction in Professional Work, USSR, 1978; Best Paper Award, 1990 ASME Mechanism Conference; Fellow, ASME, 1992; Member, Honorary Editorial Advisory Board, Mechanism and Machine Theory; Associate Editor, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 1995-2000; Honorable Dr. Degree from Miskolz University, Hungary, 1999; UIC Inventor of the Year, 2001; 12 NASA TECH-BRIEF awards; the Thomas Bernard Hall Prize 2001, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, UK.

Francis Loth, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Georgia Tech, 1993. Current research directed towards determining the fluid dynamics parameters (velocity, turbulence levels, and wall shear stress) which are present in vivo using experimental and numerical techniques. These parameters are correlated with biological information about the disease progression. The overall goal is better understanding of disease for improved treatment and diagnosis. Specific areas of research include: the development of CFD tools to predict blood flow patterns based on MRI measurements and experimental/numerical investigation of the importance of turbulence in arterio-venous graft failure. Research is also being conducted in the area of the fluid dynamics of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This fluid resides within cranial and spinal cavities and moves in a pulsatile fashion to and from the cranial cavity. This motion can be measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and may be of clinical importance in the diagnosis of several brain-related disorders such as hydrocephalus, Chiari malformation, and syringomyelia. Associate Member ASME; Whitaker Research Grant Award, 2001; Nominated for the Harold A. Simon Award (2002 & 2003) and nominated for the Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching (2002,2003, & 2004).

Farzad Mashayek, Professor and Associate Head, Director of Graduate Studies; Ph.D., SUNY/Buffalo, 1994. Research interests are primarily in mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of complex flows laden with a dispersed phase of solid particles or liquid droplets. More specifically, active research is conducted in the areas of turbulence, combustion, plasma, two-phase, free-surface flow, and computational fluid dynamics. Whereas a number of applications can be considered in these areas, the current focus of our group is mainly on “liquid-fuel combustor” and “non-equilibrium plasma for nanoparticle coating.” A variety of modeling and simulation approaches are pursued to tackle these problems. Turbulent flows are simulated by direct numerical simulation (DNS), large-eddy simulation (LES), and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods. The dispersed phase is modeled, as necessary, through stochastic and probabilistic modeling approaches leading to both Lagrangian and Eulerian treatments. The behavior of single droplets is also investigated by developing and implementing interface-tracking techniques. Plasma simulations are conducted using the direct method of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation, where plasma particles are tracked in a Lagrangian frame, as well as the continuum approach involving the solution of “fluid” equations for plasma particles. The nanoparticles in the plasma flow move under various forces and are exposed to a precursor gas for coating. The reactions leading to nanoparticle coating occur in both the gas phase and at the surface of the nanoparticle. Awards: Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, 1999; National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 1999; UIC College of Engineering Faculty Research Award, 2004; Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2002.

Constantine M. Megaridis, Professor; Ph.D., Brown, 1987. Current research focus is on fluid/particle transport and interfacial phenomena relevant to micro and nanotechnologies. Specific projects use advanced experimental diagnostics and high-resolution electron microscopy techniques to investigate fluid behavior in nanoenclosures, droplet dispensing and deposition, nanoparticle formation in high temperature flows, and nanoparticle colloidal suspensions. Dr. Megaridis has published over 70 research articles in peer reviewed technical journals, and more than 140 papers in scientific conferences and workshops. His research programs have attracted grant support from the US Air Force, DARPA, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, Motorola and several other industrial firms. Awards: UIC College of Engineering Bronze Faculty Research Award, 2006; Visiting Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2003; Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2003; UIC College of Engineering Faculty Research Award, 2003; UIC Teaching Recognition Award, 2000; Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 1999; Kenneth T. Whitby Award of the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR), 1997; NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Fellow, 1994 and 1995; NSF Research Initiation Award, 1991.

W. J. Minkowycz, James P. Hartnett Professor; Ph.D., Minnesota, 1965. Fellow of the ASME (1986). Heat transfer; porous media flows: Non-Newtonian flow, two-phase flow, turbulence modeling; computational modeling in heat transfer. Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer; Editor-in-Chief, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer; Editor-in-Chief, Numerical Heat Transfer; Senior Editor, Wiley Handbook of Numerical Heat Transfer; Senior Editor, Taylor and Francis Book Series in Computational and Physical Processes in Mechanics and Thermal Sciences; Senior Editor, Taylor and Francis Advances in Numerical Heat Transfer. Awards: ASEE Ralph Coats Roe National Award (1988); ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (1993); 2006 ASME Classic Paper Award in Heat Transfer. Teaching Awards: The Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching (1975, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1990, 1994); The Harold A. Simon College of Engineering Award for Excellence in Teaching (1986); The University Distinguished Teacher Award (1989).

Thomas J. Royston, Professor ; Ph.D., Ohio State, 1995. Biomedical engineering focus: medical diagnostics based on vibration and acoustics (development of novel sonic / ultrasonic techniques), tissue response to vibro-acoustic energy, piezoelectric transducers. Vibrations, acoustics and dynamic systems area: structural acoustics and vibration, hysteresis, nonlinear dynamics, smart material systems & structures, musical instrument acoustics, nondestructive evaluation based on vibration and acoustics, vibration isolation of high-precision facilities and instrumentation. Awards: The Acoustical Society of America: R. Bruce Lindsay Award, 2002; University of Illinois at Chicago College of Engineering Faculty Research Award, 2002; National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career (CAREER) Development Award, 1998.

Laxman Saggere, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 1998. Professor Saggere's primary research interests are in the areas of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), BioMEMS, and micro-compliant mechanisms with a focus on novel and efficient ways to transduce energy and motion of solids and fluids at small-scales. His research exploits the synthesis of MEMS technology with synergistic enabling technologies such as active materials and microfluidics and design approaches such as compliant mechanisms and biomimetics to advance their applications in engineering and biomedical fields. The scope of his research encompasses both theoretical and applied investigations including conceptualization, design, modeling and simulation, prototyping, and testing of microsystems. Examples of his current research projects include the development of hybrid micro-actuators, microfluidic devices, and micro-scale mechanisms and manipulators for potential applications in implantable prostheses, drug delivery systems, micromanipulation, micro assembly, and micro-robotics.

Michael J. Scott, Associate Professor; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1999. Design theory and methodology, computer-aided design, formal models for design decision-making, multidisciplinary design and optimization, set-based methods, mechanical compilation, multi-resolution modeling.

Ahmed A. Shabana, Richard and Loan Hill Professor of Engineering; Ph.D., Iowa, 1982. Dynamic systems, computational mechanics, vehicle dynamics, vibrations, finite-element method. 2002-2003; Fellow, ASME; Honorary Doctorate Degree (Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland), 2004, Humboldt Prize, Germany, 1995; Fulbright Research Scholar Award, 1997, The UIC Award for Excellence in Teaching; Editorial Board, Journal of Multibody System Dynamics, Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics, IMeche Journal of Multibody Dynamics; ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics.

William M. Worek, Professor and Department Head, and Director Energy Resources Center; Ph.D., IIT, 1980. Advanced energy component and systems, heat transfer and mass transfer processes, optical techiques, sorption processes in liquids and solids. Director, Heat & Mass Transfer Laboratory, Technical Committee; American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Chairman; ASHRAE's Sorption and Desiccant Technologies Committee; American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow, 2000; Energy Resources Board Energy Committee; Vice President of Energy Resources, 2002.

Alexander L. Yarin, Professor; PhD 1980, DSc 1989, USSR Acad. Sci., Moscow. Fluid mechanics, free liquid jets and films, drop splashing, acoustic levitation, rheology, non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, nanotechnology, electrospinning of nanofibers, nanoparticles, heat and mass transfer, combustion, elasticity and plasticity. Dr. Yarin published 2 books, more than 155 research articles in technical journals and 5 review articles. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of "Experiments in Fluids", member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of the Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Science, co-editor of "Springer Handbook of Experimental Fluid Mechanics". Guastalla Fellow- Rashi Foundation ( France) and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Gutwirth Award 1999 (American Technion Society), Prize for Technological Development for Defense against Terror 2003 (AmericanTechnion Society), Hershel Rich Prize – Technion Innovation Award (American Technion Society), Eduard Pestel Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Technion). Chairman of the paper review committee of the 26th Israel conference on Mechanical Engineering (1995-1996), Chairman of the 27th Israel Conference on echanical Engineering (1997-1998), Co-Chair of the Pre-nominated Session "Complex and smart fluids"- The 21 st International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM) 2004.