Record number of nearly 60 faculty join Grainger Engineering

The Grainger College of Engineering has hired a record number of faculty members this year as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen the college’s legacy of excellence. Grainger Engineering’s strategic hiring plan aims to recruit tenure track and specialized faculty, particularly in microelectronics, quantum science and information, nuclear and hydrogen energy systems, AI and computing, electrification and hypersonics. The nearly 60 new additions to our faculty come from diverse backgrounds, bringing with them a wealth of experience, expertise and fresh perspectives in these areas.

“We are thrilled to share the news of our growth that will undoubtedly help shape the future of Grainger Engineering and elevate the quality of education and research we offer,” said Rashid Bashir, Dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. “These recent hires are an investment, reflecting our commitment to advancing engineering and computer science education, building cross-disciplinary collaborations and delivering advanced innovation.”

Tenure-track Faculty Hires

Aerospace Engineering
Matthew Clarke, Assistant Professor
Fabien Evrard, Assistant Professor
Xin Ning, Assistant Professor
Jordan Smart, Assistant Professor
Hiroyasu Tsukamoto, Assistant Professor

Bioengineering
Min Jee Jang, Assistant Professor
Yuan Yang, (Q appointment, Associate Professor w/no tenure)

Civil & Environmental Engineering
John Riley Edwards, Assistant Professor
Houtan Jebelli, Assistant Professor

Computer Science
Tal August, Assistant Professor
Fernando Granha Jeronimo, Assistant Professor
Fan Lai, Assistant Professor
Ge Liu, Assistant Professor
William Moses, Assistant Professor
Jim Rehg, Professor
Koustuv Saha, Assistant Professor
Sharifa Sultana, Assistant Professor
Jiaxuan You, Assistant Professor
Minjia Zhang, Assistant Professor
Tong Zhang, Professor

Electrical & Computer Engineering
Hyunseok Kim, Assistant Professor
Craig Schultz, Assistant Professor
Huan Zhang, Assistant Professor
Yupeng Zhang, Assistant Professor

Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering
Bhaskar Chaudhury, Assistant Professor
Caroline Cao, Professor
Roy Dong, Assistant Professor
Grani Hanususanto, Associate Professor
Jim Rehg, Professor
Yunzong Xu, Assistant Professor

Materials Science & Engineering
Christopher Anderson, Assistant Professor
Yuecheng (Peter) Zhou, Assistant Professor

Mechanical Science & Engineering
Varda Faghir Hagh, Assistant Professor
Siyi Xu, Assistant Professor

Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering
April Novak, Assistant Professor
Syed Alam, Assistant Professor
Lorenzo Vergari, Assistant Professor
Jianqi Xi, Assistant Professor

Physics
Jong Yeon Lee, Assistant Professor
Pengjie Wang, Assistant Professor

Specialized Faculty Hires

Aerospace Engineering
Wayne Chang, Teaching Assistant Professor

Agricultural and Biomolecular Engineering
John Reid, Research Professor

Bioengineering
Ali Ansari, Teaching Assistant Professor
Megan Griebel, Teaching Assistant Professor
Ashok Samuel, Research Associate Professor

Computer Science
David Dalpiaz, Teaching Associate Professor
Livingston McPherson, Teaching Assistant Professor
John Reid, Research Professor
Pablo Robles-Granda, Teaching Assistant Professor
Jule Schatz, Teaching Assistant Professor

Electrical & Computer Engineering
Hyungsoo Choi, Research Professor
Dong Kai Wang, Teaching Assistant Professor
Nickvash Kani, Teaching Assistant Professor
Abhishek Kumar Umrawal, Teaching Assistant Professor
Olga Mironenko, Teaching Assistant Professor

Mechanical Science & Engineering
Mickey Clemon, Teaching Assistant Professor
Thomas Golecki, Teaching Assistant Professor
Ke Tang, Teaching Assistant Professor

Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering
Leon Liebenberg, Teaching Professor

Physics
Antonios Tsokaros, Research Assistant Professor

Technology Entrepreneur Center
Marc Bivona, Clinical Associate Professor
Mark Karasek, Clinical Associate Professor