Engineering Technology Professors to Know

In 2012, Dr. Sabah Abro was the recipient of the Faculty of the Year Award at Lawrence Technological University. He is an internationally educated scholar with a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Universite Catholique De Louvain of Belgium. He joined Lawrence Technological University in 1997 and currently serves as a professor in the Engineering Technology department. He is also the program manager for Focus: HOPE—a committee for manufacturing engineering education. Notably, Dr. Abro is the director of the master’s program in engineering technology and actively holds various prestigious memberships, including founder and president of the Mesopotamian American Graduate Association.

Since 2001, Dr. Abul Azad has served as a professor and Fulbright scholar in the Department of Technology at Northern Illinois University. Prior to joining Northern Illinois University, Dr. Azad joined the faculty at the University of Portsmouth and the University of Sheffield in the UK. Dr. Azad has received millions of dollars in grants for his research and is the author of over 100 scholarly papers. He has also held various roles within professional membership societies, including serving as a program evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Currently, he’s the editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Online Engineering. His teaching and research areas of expertise are related to the Internet of Things (IoT), focusing on cyberphysical systems, cyberlearning, embedded systems, and mobile robotics.

Dr. Ken Burbank began his tenure at Purdue University in 2011 and currently serves as a professor and head of Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Engineering Technology. He has been an educator in engineering and engineering technology for more than 20 years and his research centers on the optical and electrical properties of compound semiconductors. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Brown University.

At Oklahoma State University, Dr. Young Bae Chang serves as Interim Head for Engineering Technology and has been a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology since 2000. Prior to joining the faculty at Oklahoma State University, he served the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Dr. Chang’s areas of expertise and research are in vibration of nuclear fuel rods; flow-induced vibration of heat exchangers and ocean structures; flutter of thin films; air-flotation and guidance of thin films and glass; and protective gears and garments.

A noteworthy professor and magician, Kenneth J. Cook is the chair of the Department of Engineering Technology at Lawrence Technological University. Professor Cook is a certified clinical engineer and registered professional engineer, and has served Lawrence Technology University as an adjunct professor since 1965. His areas of expertise are engineering design, engineering management, and technical marketing. For over 40 years he is the recipient of 25 patents and has helped numerous students develop their own. Most recently, Professor Cook served as vice president and chief engineer for Vultron/Trans Industries.

At Ferris State University, Debbie Dawson serves as an associate professor within the College of Engineering Technology. Professor Dawson is a professional engineer and received her MS in electrical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Ferris, she served as the dean of business and advanced technology at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where Professor Dawson initiated the state’s first wind energy technician program. Her areas of interest include the green energy revolution. Professor Dawson was awarded a patent for her work with film scanners and she has been actively involved in various professional societies such as the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE).

Dr. Yalcin Ertekin is an associate professor at Drexel University where he developed two online graduate courses and conducts research in machine processes; accuracy and enhancement; non-invasive surgical tool design; and bio-materials applications. Dr. Ertekin received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. His areas of expertise include quality control, manufacturing processes machine design with CAE methods, rapid prototyping and CAD/CAM. He has also worked for the Toyota Motor Corporation and is a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

At the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Dr. Lin Huang serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology. Since 2010, Dr. Huang has served as the editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Machine Learning and Computing. She is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE) and her areas of expertise include integrated circuit design, computer vision, pattern recognition, signal processing, biometrics and embedded system design.

Dr. Gregg Johnson serves as an associate professor and is the chair of the Department of Natural Sciences and Engineering Technology at Point Park University. Dr. Johnson is the recipient of seven patents to date and has more than 50 academic publications in physics and engineering journals. He most recently was the manager of hardware engineering at Cisco Systems. His areas of expertise include communication electronics; non-linear dynamics and chaos; structural monitoring; and optical fiber sensors and instrumentation.

David Luneau serves as an associate professor and program coordinator for the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He began teaching at UALR in 1991 and earned his MS in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech University. Professor Luneau’s research areas include remote cameras—specifically related to the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker—alternative energy; solar-powered boats (solarsplash.com); and information technology.

Dr. Luna Magpili is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Engineering and Technology Management at Washington State University. She received her PhD in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, where her research focused on service systems planning and methods to aid infrastructure and capital investments. Dr. Magpili serves various academic journals and programs at the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the United States Department of Defense. She also has served Philippine manufacturing and export enterprises as an industrial engineer and consultant.

Dr. Seifollah Nasrazadani serves as professor and associate chair in the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of North Texas, where he developed a scanning electron microscopy lab. His areas of research include diamond thin film deposition using hot filament chemical vapor deposition; corrosion in nuclear power plants; and field emission display materials characterization. He received his PhD in engineering science from Louisiana State University and is currently a reviewer for the International Journal of Engineering Education.

Dr. Demba Ndiaye serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology within the Willam State Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Ndiaye received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Montreal, Canada, and his areas of research include energy efficiency and conservation; fluid mechanics; HVAC systems design; refrigeration; sustainable buildings; and thermal engineering, among others. He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional and a Building Energy Modeling Professional. His research has been published in many scholarly journals, including the International Journal of Refrigeration.

University of North Alabama’s founding director and department chair in the engineering technology is Dr. Peter Rim. Prior to joining the University of North Alabama, Dr. Rim served at Virginia Tech and Honeywell-Performance Fibers. He’s published over 20 technical papers and has 12 patents. His areas of expertise include modern business strategies, product development processes, customer relations, and quality improvement and control. At Virginia Tech, Dr. Rim mentored the Chem-E-Car team which is currently ranked 4th among universities worldwide. 

Dr. Russ Rosmait has been with Pittsburg State University since 1987. He currently serves as a professor in the Department of Engineering Technology. In addition to working at Pittsburg State University for 30 years, he has also served as an assistant director for the American Foundry Society and as an engineer for the Marathon Electric Manufacturing Corporation. His research focuses on manufacturing engineering technology and he received his Doctor of Education in aviation and space education from Oklahoma State University.

Dr. MD Sarder is a newly appointed professor and the chair of engineering technologies at Bowling Green State University. He previously worked with the US Air Force Academy and was an associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Sarder’s research areas include logistics, trade, and transportation. He has published over 80 scholarly articles, four book chapters, and three books, including Managing Design Knowledge: Ontology Modeling in Product and Process Design (2007). He’s been awarded grants from the NSF and the US Department of Transportation for his work. He is a member of various professional societies and has occupied prestigious roles, including serving as the editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Logistics and Transportation Research.

Dr. Vedaraman Sriraman is a Piper professor and university distinguished professor of engineering Technology at Texas State University, where he has also served as the associate director of the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research. Dr. Sriraman's degrees are in mechanical and industrial engineering. His research interests are in engineering education, sustainability, and applied statistics. In the past, he has implemented several grants from the NSF, NASA, and SME-EF. Dr. Sriraman has worked as the faculty supervisor to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the American Foundry Society, and the Society of Women Engineers, and he served as a Foundry Educational Foundation key professor. He has received several teaching awards at Texas State University, where he currently is the associate vice president for academic affairs.

At East Tennessee State University’s Department of Engineering Technology, Dr. Mohammad Moin Uddin serves as an assistant professor. Dr. Uddin is also a Professional Engineer who received his PhD in civil engineering (construction) from the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on the development of energy models for campus building structures and data integration. He is also interested in developing and implementing innovative pedagogy methods to improve engineering technology student engagement and retention. In 2015, he was awarded the College of Business and Technology Outstanding Researcher Award and the Sustainability Leadership Award.

At Wayne State University, Dr. Ece Yaprak serves as a professor and chair of the engineering technology division in the College of Engineering. Dr. Yaprak conducts research in computer networks and communications, wireless communications, and wireless sensor networks. Her research has been published in scholarly engineering journals, including the IEEE Transactions on Communications and the International Journal of Modeling and Simulation. She has also received various grants for her research. Since 2002, she has served ABET in various roles, including as an IEEE/ETAC commissioner. Additionally, she was the program director at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education.