Returning to MechSE as new faculty, Correa’s industry experience informs his teaching

Teaching Assistant Professor Jorge E. Correa Panesso (MSME 2013, PhD ME 2017) joined MechSE’s faculty this semester. The new role marks a continuation of Correa’s relationship with MechSE, which first began when he came to campus as a graduate student advised by Tungchao Julia Lu Professor Placid Ferreira.

As an undergraduate student at EAFIT University in his native Colombia, Correa had a research mentor who was a MechSE alum.

“He shared with me what a great institution the University of Illinois was and the impact that Illinois had had in engineering,” Correa recalled. “It made me fall in love with the idea to come to the U.S., and particularly to Illinois.”

For his master’s thesis, Correa focused on designing machine-tool elements and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for precision motion engineering and nano-manufacturing applications. During his PhD, he investigated methods for interconnecting manufacturing machines to the internet to create architectures for an industrial Internet of Things.

“I think one of the most powerful situations that I experienced was participating in a class with top students from all over the world with professors who were experts in their fields,” Correa said of his time as a student. “When I came here and saw that the professors were polished and owned their topics, and that my peers were top-notch students who could easily understand those topics, it was very exciting and humbling at the same time.”

Following his graduation, Correa continued collaborating with Ferreira for nearly two years as a postdoctoral researcher. He then branched into industry, returning to Colombia to found startups including the software solutions firm Cohesive Manufacturing. He also worked as a consultant on topics related to technology implementation for transportation strategies and policies.

Correa later came back to campus as an adjunct lecturer for Mechanical Design I (ME 370) and Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (ME 451)—courses he’d taught as a teaching assistant in graduate school.

“I needed to grow in my experience and my ability to develop technological projects and to lead others,” he explained. “Once I’d gone into industry, I had a different sense of how to teach people in a way that reflected actual experience. The second time that I came [to Illinois], it felt more natural for me to be in a classroom, giving away that knowledge.”

Correa currently teaches ME 370 and 451 and plans to teach 370 and 455 (Micromanufacturing Process & Automation) in the spring. He is also collaborating with Ferreria, Professor Sameh Tawfick, and industry partner Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited (FIT) to redesign machinery for optimal insertion processes—which happen in microelectronics and connector-based electronics.

In his long-term vision for teaching at Illinois, Correa hopes to collaborate with fellow faculty to align manufacturing courses into a cohesive learning pathway and create a foundation for a master’s degree program in digital manufacturing.

“I want to broaden the spectrum of students who are interested in a career in design and manufacturing, and to teach in a way that bridges the gap between those two topics,” he said.