Faculty

Faculty

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z
Dr. John D. Abbitt Instructional Associate Professor
(352) 392-7557

Education
Ph.D, 1991, University of Virginia,
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member

Dr. Katerina E. Aifantis Associate Professor and MAE Faculty Fellow
(352) 392-6227

After obtaining my Bachelor’s in Engineering in 2002 with a minor in Mathematics, at the age of 19, I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship with which I obtained my Master’s from the University of Cambridge in 2004 and my PhD at the University of Groningen in 2005 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest PhD in The Netherlands.…

Dr. Jessica Allen Assistant Professor
352-294-0435

Dr. Allen’s research focuses on identifying biomechanical targets that can guide interventional decisions in rehabilitation and device design for individuals with ambulatory impairments. This work leverages musculoskeletal modeling and machine learning techniques to identify deficits in lower-extremity biomechanics and to predict how different interventions or devices will improve ambulatory function. Dr. Allen and collaborators have recently identified several potential biomechanical targets for reducing fall risk and improving mobility in older adults and stroke survivors that her group is following up in NSF and NIH funded projects.…

Dr. Thomas E. Angelini Professor
(352) 392-6438

Professor Angelini received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of Illinois. His research interests include collective cell motion, mechanical instabilities in tissue cell assemblies, bacterial biofilm physics, soft matter physics, biomolecular self-assembly, and tribology of soft matter interfaces.
Education
Ph.D., 2005, University of Illinois
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Physical Society, Member
Society of Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Soft Biological Mechanics, Soft Tissue Mechanics, Data Measurement and Analysis, Vibrations.…

Dr. Nagaraj K. Arakere Professor
(352) 273-2849

Professor Arakere received his Ph.D. in 1988 from Arizona State University. His research interests include Damage mechanics of structural materials subjected to monotonic and fatigue loading, Fatigue life evaluation, Rolling contact fatigue, Spall propagation, Superalloys, Foams, Related constitutive and finite element model development, and Dynamics of rotor-bearing systems.
Education
Ph.D, 1988, Arizona State University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2005
Society of Automotive Engineers, Member
Society of Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Failure of materials in design, Fatigue, Fracture mechanics, Contact mechanics, Vibrations, Rotor dynamics
Research Interests
Fatigue, fracture, microstructure-sensitive design, monotonic and cyclic deformation response, Ultra-high strength bearing steels, Single crystal nickel-base superalloys, contact mechanics, fatigue spall propagation, and related constitutive and finite element model development.…

Dr. S. “Bala” Balachandar Newton C. Ebaugh Professor, Distinguished Professor
(352) 392-8909

Education
PhD, 1988, Brown University,
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Fellow 2006
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2008
American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Computational fluid science (aka CFD), Large scale simulation of complex flows, transition and turbulence, multiphase flows, environmental flows

Dr. Simon Barke Research Assistant Scientist
3523923159

Simon Barke was born in Germany where he studied physics. For a while, he lived in Moshi, Tanzania, and worked at different local schools and universities. Over the last decade, he has had the privilege to be involved in a number of exciting projects. He was a scientific monitor at the LIGO gravitational wave detector in Livingston, Louisiana.…

Dr. Jonathan T. Brooks Senior Lecturer
(352) 294-0472

Education
B.S., 2012, University of Florida,M.S., 2013, University of Florida,Ph.D., 2017, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
Teaching Interests
Numerical methods, control systems, and optimization.

Dr. Cristian Cardenas-Lailhacar Engineer
(352) 392-5425

Additional Roles
Assistant Director of the Industrial Assessment Center, and Assistant Director of the Mobile Energy Laboratory at the University of Florida. He is also an Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Latin American Studies
Education
BS, University of Chile, 1989
Ph.D. University of Florida, 1998
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
Association of Energy Engineers, Member
Research Interests
Industrial energy management and productivity, energy efficiency and optimization, energy policy, new energy sources and materials, chemical reactivity and structure optimization at molecular level.…

Dr. Bruce F. Carroll Associate Professor
(352) 392-4943

Education
Ph.D., 1988, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Research Interests

My current research interests center on engineering education with emphasis on peer mentoring and advising processes, incorporation of AI augmented recommender systems in academic and career mentoring, and factors affecting matriculation of students from undergraduate to graduate study.…

Dr. Youping Chen Professor
(352) 392-8494

Dr. Chen received her Ph.D from the Georgia Washington University in 2003 and jointed University of Florida in 2006. She was a recipient of DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2010 for “Predicting materials properties from their microstructural architecture”, DOE Early Career Award in 2011 for “Prediction of thermal transport properties of materials with microstructural complexity”, and nine US National Science Foundation Awards for multiscale studies of mechanics of advanced materials and thermal transport in heterostructures from 2009 to 2023.…

Dr. Jacob N. Chung Andrew H. Hines, Jr./Florida Progress Corporation Eminent Scholar
(352) 392-9607

Dr. Chung is currently the Andrew H. Hines, Jr./Progress Energy Eminent Scholar Chair Professor at the University of Florida. He joined the University of Florida in 1998 after 19 years on the faculty at the Washington State University. Dr. Chung holds both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear Engineering and had spent 6 years working as a nuclear reactor safety engineer in the industry before receiving his Ph.D.…

Dr. John W. Conklin Professor
(352) 392-0614

John Conklin is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He joined the UF faculty in 2012 after a three-year research associateship at the W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory at Stanford. He received his BS and MEng degrees from Cornell and PhD from Stanford in 2009. In 2011, John was the Fulbright Junior Lecturer at the University of Trento in Italy.…

Dr. Kerry Costello Assistant Professor
352-392-0800

Dr. Costello’s research focuses on understanding the role of movement biomechanics and physical activity in musculoskeletal health, with an emphasis on knee osteoarthritis. This work utilizes motion capture, wearable sensors and machine learning to examine how time-varying, multidimensional joint loads experienced during human movement contribute to disease progression.

Dr. Costello joins us from a NIH F32 & T32 funded postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training at Boston University and the Section of Rheumatology at the Boston University School of Medicine.…

Dr. Carl D. Crane, III Professor
(352) 392-9461

Carl D. Crane is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics (CIMAR) at the University of Florida.  He received his B.S. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1978 and 1979.  Following this he spent five years as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers.…

Dr. Dan Dickrell Instructional Associate Professor
(352) 392-1196

Education
Ph.D., 2006, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society for Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Engineering Mechanics (statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials)
Engineering Design
Computer Programming for Engineers (LabVIEW and Matlab)
Research Interests
Computational image analysis
Electrical contact mechanics
Tribology
Engineering education methods for very-large enrollment courses

Dr. Warren Dixon Distinguished Professor, Dean’s Leadership Professor, and Department Chair
(352) 846-1463

Prof. Warren Dixon received his Ph.D. in 2000 from Clemson University. He worked as a research staff member and Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) until 2004, when he joined the University of Florida in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, where he is now a Distinguished Professor, Dean’s Leadership Professor, and Department Chair.…

Dr. Ting Dong Instructional Assistant Professor
(352) 392-0961

Education
Ph.D., 2020, University of Florida
Research Interests
Prognostics and health management, maintenance of aircraft structure
Teaching Interests

  • Capstone Senior Design classes: Mechanical Engineering Design III, Aerospace Design I (Spacecraft Design), and Aerospace Design II (Aircraft Design).
  • Solid Mechanics classes: Finite Element Analysis and Design, Mechanics of Materials, Aerospace Structures, and Mechanical Engineering Design I.
Dr. Alison C. Dunn Robert and Jill Peterson Associate Professor
(352) 392-0039

Education

  • PhD Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2013
  • MS Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2006
  • BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2004
Dr. James Fairbanks Assistant Professor

Dr. James Fairbanks’ work specializes in the areas of Computational Science and Engineering, Computational Mathematics, numerical methods, and high-performance computing (HPC). He aims to utilize applied category theory, and algebraic techniques for designing and developing software for technical computing problems. In the realm of Computational Mathematics, his research focuses on using mathematical modeling and numerical methods to address challenges in scientific computing and data-driven engineering.…

Dr. Z. Hugh Fan Distinguished Professor
(352) 846-3021

Professor Fan joined UF in 2003.  His research focus is to develop microfluidics and BioMEMS technologies and apply them to biomedical applications.  Microfluidics involves device fabrication and manufacturing, study of fluid behavior in microscale, and exploiting the devices for a variety of applications including point-of-care testing, environmental monitoring, and detection of pathogens in the field.
Education
Ph.…

Dr. Norman G. Fitz-coy Associate Professor
(352) 392-1029

Education
Ph.D., 1990, Auburn University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Research Interests
Dynamics and control of multibody systems, game theory, orbital dynamics, flight mechanics.

Dr. Hitomi Yamaguchi Greenslet Professor and Graduate Coordinator
(352) 392-0812

Professor Greenslet received her Ph.D. in 1996 from Utsunomiya University in Japan. Her research interests include Magnetic field-assisted finishing; Surface functionalization and characterization; Ultra-precision surface finishing of optics; Surface and edge finishing of capillary tubes, catheter shafts and stents; and Medical device development.
Education
Ph.D., 1996, Utsunomiya University, Japan
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
CIRP (International Academy for Production Engineering), Fellow 2023
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2015
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Fellow 2016
SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics), Member
Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Manufacturing engineering, Fundamentals of production engineering, Nontraditional manufacturing engineering.…

Dr. Mike Griffis Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Coordinator
(352) 392-9473

After 20 years in the robotics industry, Mike came back to UF to teach the design courses.
Education
1991 Ph.D. University of Florida
1988 MSME University of Florida
1985 BSME University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Design, Kinematics, Statics, Numerical Methods
Research Interests
Kinematics, Statics, Screw Theory

Dr. Dan Guralnik Research Assistant Scientist
(352) 294-1191

Dan Guralnik received his Ph.D. from the Technion-IIT Mathematics department in 2005, specializing in Geometric Group Theory. After post-doctoral appointments at Vanderbilt University and University of Oklahoma, where he worked on asymptotic geometry and boundary dynamics of discrete groups, he moved in 2011 to a post-doctoral appointment at KodLab, the legged locomotion laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, to start work on applications of topology and category theory to problems of knowledge representation in the context of navigation and control.…

Dr. Ryan W. Houim Associate Professor
(352) 392-7164

Ryan Houim received his BSME from North Dakota State University and his MS and Ph.D. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University.  He was a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland prior to joining the University of Florida.  His research is focused on understanding the dynamics of multiphase and chemically reactive flows using numerical simulation techniques.  …

Larry Howard Adjunct Instructional Assistant Professor
Dr. Yong Huang Professor
(352) 392-5520

Dr. Yong Huang is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. His research interests are two-fold: 1) processing of biological and engineering materials for healthcare/energy applications, and 2) understanding of dynamic material behavior during manufacturing and process-induced damage or defect structures. He served as the Technical Program Chair for the 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (ASME MSEC 2010) and the 2012 International Symposium on Flexible Automation (ISFA 2012).…

Dr. Peter G. Ifju MAE Excellence Term Professor
(352) 392-6744

Education
Ph.D., 1992, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Research Interests
Experimental mechanics, moire interferometry, compositie materials, micro air vehicles.
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Member

Rushikesh Kamalapurkar Associate Professor
352-294-3597

Rushikesh Kamalapurkar received his M.S. and his Ph.D. degrees in 2011 and 2014 from the Department of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. After working for a year as a postdoctoral researcher, he was
appointed as the 2015-16 MAE postdoctoral teaching fellow. From 2016 to 2024 he served as a member of the faculty
of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Oklahoma State University.…

Dr. Nam-Ho Kim Professor
(352) 846-0665

Dr. Nam-Ho Kim is presently a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He graduated with a Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1999 and worked at the Center for Computer-Aided Design as a postdoctoral associate until 2001. He is an Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and an Associate Editor of Journal of Mechanical Design and Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization.…

Dr. Ashok V. Kumar Instructional Professor
(352) 392-0816

Education
Ph.D., 1993, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Research Interests
Multifunctional structures, Finite Element Method, Geometric Modeling, Design Optimization and Rapid Prototyping.

Dr. Richard C. Lind Associate Professor
(352) 392-6745

Education
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, 1995, University of Minnesota
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Research Interests
aeroservoelasticity, morphing, controls, flight testing

Dr. Renwei Mei Professor
(352) 392-0888

Education
Ph.D., 1990, University of Illinois
Research Interests
Two-phase flow, turbulence, computational fluid mechanics.

Dr. Amor A. Menezes Associate Professor
(352) 294-0470

Amor A. Menezes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, an affiliate of the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, an affiliate of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and a member of the Institute for Cell & Tissue Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. His group applies dynamical systems theory and control engineering methods in the fields of systems biology and synthetic biology.…

Dr. Steven A. E. Miller Associate Professor
(352) 392-0886

Prof. Steven A. E. Miller, Ph.D., conducts research in theoretical fluid dynamics, theoretical aeroacoustics, and related disciplines. He joined the University of Florida Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in August of 2016. For seven years he was a United States government civil servant and was appointed to the position of theoretical aeroacoustician (research aerospace engineer) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Langley Research Center, Aeroacoustics Branch.…

Dr. Saeed Moghaddam William F. Powers Professor
(352) 392-0889

Education
Ph.D., 2006, University of Maryland
Research Interests
Micro/nanoscale transport and nanotechnology for energy science and health applications; nanoengineering of functionalized membranes for energy conversion and storage and filtration/separation applications; heat and mass transfer in micro/nanostructures; microfluidic reactor platforms for fundamental energy research and reaction engineering; portable power
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Member
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2020
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member

Dr. Kamran Mohseni Professor
(352) 273-1834

Professor Mohseni received his Ph.D. in 2000 from California Institute of Technology. After a year as a Postdoc in Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech he joined the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at the University of Colorado in Boulder as an Assistant Professor. Professor Mohseni joined the University of Florida as W. P. Bushnell Endowed Professor in MAE and ECE departments in 2011.…

Austin Moss Adjunct Instructional Assistant Professor
Dr. Patrick Musgrave Assistant Professor
352-392-6230

Dr. Patrick Musgrave received his PhD from Virginia Tech in 2018 and BSc & BSE from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012. Dr. Musgrave’s research focuses on adaptive and morphing systems operating in fluidic environments, in particular systems subject to dynamic fluid-structure interactions. These systems are inherently multi-physical and sit at the intersection of structures, hydro/aerodynamics, mechatronics, smart materials, and controls.…

Dr. Sean R. Niemi Senior Lecturer
(352) 294-3381

Dr. Sean Niemi received his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida in 2018.
Education
Ph.D., 2018, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
Society of Automotive Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Engineering Design, Precision Engineering, Tribology, Metrology, Quality and Manufacturing Engineering

Dr. Jing Pan Assistant Professor
(352) 294-6869

Jing Pan received his PhD from Purdue University in 2017. His research focuses on developing nanoscale machineries for biotechnology applications. He conducted his postdoctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he demonstrated translational impact of his work in novel biosensors and molecular diagnostics.

Education
Postdoc, 2019 Stanford University
Ph.D, 2017 Purdue University
B.S, 2011 Xi’an Jiaotong University

Teaching Interests
Heat and Mass Transfer; Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics; Modern Optics and Imaging System Engineering; Biodesign

Research Interests
Macromolecular Machines; Directed Evolution; Self-assembly and self-organization; Bio-nanotechnology; Synthetic Biology; Medical Technology.

Dr. Umesh Persad Instructional Associate Professor
352-392-6743

Dr. Umesh Persad obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering Design from The University of Cambridge (Cambridge Engineering Design Centre), with a special focus on Inclusive and Healthcare Design. His areas of interest include Engineering Design and Product Development, Applied Artificial Intelligence, Educational Innovation and Technology, and Academic Strategy and Leadership. Dr. Persad previously held the position of Associate Professor and Head of Department of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship (MME) Department at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), West Indies.…

Dr. Alicia Petersen Assistant Professor
(352) 392-3496

Alicia Petersen is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the University of Florida. Through data analysis, instrumentation and modeling, Dr. Petersen researches the kinetic physics, magnetism and dynamics at play during the transit and interaction of space weather phenomena in the inner solar system, their impacts on spacecraft, and strategies for mitigating the impacts of space weather.…

Dr. Christopher “Chrispy” Petersen Assistant Professor
(352) 273-2004

Dr. Christopher “Chrispy” Petersen is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department at the University of Florida. His research interests lie in anything related to space guidance, navigation, control, and autonomy, with particular focus of making techniques real-time implementable and usable for operators. While all of space interests him, his research mostly is concerned with Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) and any satellite in the eXtra Geostationary (XGEO) regime (above geostationary orbit, to the Moon, and beyond).…

Dr. Humberto Ramos Research Assistant Scientist
(850) 833-9350 ext 250

Humberto Ramos was born in Zacatecas, Mexico where he obtained his Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering. From 2010 to 2012 he served as engineering director at a mining company where he led the development of electronic consoles for explosive detonation sequences. In 2012 he returned to academia as a professor of controls and mechatronic design. In 2020 he obtained his Ph.D.…

Dr. Anil V. Rao University Term Professor
(352) 392-5523

Professor Rao earned his Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University, his M.S.E. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, and his B.S. in mechanical engineering and A.B. in mathematics from Cornell University.  Professor Rao’s research interests lie in the area of control and optimization of space and air vehicles and combine the development of new computational methods for optimal control with novel applications including space mission planning, performance optimization of atmospheric flight vehicles, and other vehicular control problems (for example, high performance ground and underwater vehicles). …

Prof. Shannon Ridgeway Instructional Assistant Professor
Dr. Subrata Roy Professor
(352) 392-9823

Professor Subrata Roy studies ionized gas physics and its various applications: (1) Atmospheric plasma actuators for flow mixing, propulsion, and turbulent flow control; (2) Hypersonic flows; (3) Space propulsion; and (4) Hydrodynamic models for micro and nanofluidics by incorporating Knudsen’s theory. Prof. Roy is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the ASME, and an Associated Fellow of the AIAA.…

Dr. Andres Rubiano Instructional Assistant Professor
352-273-2823

Andrés Rubiano (PhD, University of Florida; MSc, Universidad de los Andes) is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He currently teaches Mechanical Engineering Design 1 and 3 (Capstone Design). He has over 12 years of combined experience in teaching high school Physics and Calculus, GRE and GMAT prep courses (Quantitative Reasoning sections), and mechanical engineering undergraduate and graduate courses, including Advanced Heat Transfer, Combustion, Computer Aided Design, Mechanics of Materials, Fluid Mechanics, and Mech Design.…

Dr. Malisa Sarntinoranont Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs
(352) 392-8404

Dr. Sarntinoranont grew up in Starke, Clermont and Gainesville, FL. Her degrees are in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Bioengineering. Dr.S’s research is driven by a vision to develop engineering tools for patient-specific drug therapy. Her lab is developing image-based computational models that predict flows and transport within the brain, spinal cord, tumors and bioreactors.…

Dr. Jonathan R. Scheffe Associate Professor
(352) 392-0839

Jonathan Scheffe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. Prof. Scheffe’s research is focused on the conversion and storage of solar energy in the form of renewable fuels/electricity through thermochemical routes. He is the former chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Solar Energy Division and has co-authored more than 35 peer received publications in the field of solar thermal energy conversion.…

Dr. John K. Schueller Professor
(352) 392-0822

Prof. John K. Schueller received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1983. He is a generalist with some concentration in manufacturing and in off-highway vehicles and equipment. He is a Fellow of ASABE, IAABE, and SAE and holds Founder, Life, and/or Senior Member status in ASME, EurAgEng, IEEE, ISAE, and SME. Prof. Schueller is the Chair Editor-in-Chief of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and serves on the Management Committee of the Club of Bologna.…

Dr. Kurt Schulze Instructional Assistant Professor
(352) 392-9929

Education
Ph.D., 2014, University of Florida
Teaching Interests
HVAC Systems, Energy Management

Dr. Thomas Schwarze Research Assistant Scientist
(352) 294-7089

Thomas Schwarze received his Master’s degree in physics in 2013 from the Leibniz University Hannover. In the same year, he worked as an FPGA engineer in Denmark and as a research visitor at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

He then conducted his Ph.D. research at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in collaboration with the Leibniz University Hannover, focusing on the development of a laser-optical metrology system to characterize technology for the space-borne Gravitational Wave Observatory LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), and receiving his Ph.D.…

Dr. Corin Segal Professor
(352) 392-6132

Education
Ph.D., 1991, University of Virginia
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Combustion Institute, Member
Research Interests
Combustion, fluid diagnostics, Fluid mechanics, aircraft design.

Dr. Mark Sheplak Professor
(352) 392-3983

Mark Sheplak is currently a Professor holding joint appointments in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. Prior to joining UF in 1998, he was a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories, Cambridge, MA from 1995-1998.…

Dr. S.A. Sherif MAE Excellence Term Professor
(352) 392-7821

Education
Ph.D., 1985, Iowa State University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Associate Fellow 2002
American Society for Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Fellow 2002
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2000
Royal Aeronautical Society, Fellow 2017
American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers, Fellow 2023
International Association for Hydrogen Energy, Member
International Institute of Refrigeration, Member
International Solar Energy Society, Member
Research Interests
Heat and Mass Transfer, Thermodynamics, Thermal System Design and Optimization, Refrigeration and Cryogenics, HVAC, Solar and Hydrogen Energy
Links

Dr. Jingjing Shi Assistant Professor
(352) 294-1193

Dr. Jingjing Shi’s research focuses on understanding energy transport and conversion to solve thermal challenges in different systems, with an emphasis on wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor devices for future power and radio-frequency applications. Her work utilizes multiscale modeling and experimental methods to understand effects of different mechanisms like atomistic structures and defects on energy transport in materials and at interfaces.…

Dr. Jane Jaejeong Shin Assistant Professor
352-392-3140

Jane Shin is an assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Florida. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and the B.S. degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from Seoul National University.
During her PhD, she closely collaborated with the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Panama City (NSWC PCD) on developing novel information-driven sensor path planning algorithms for underwater multi-target classification using side-scan sonar sensors.…

Dr. Youngsup Song Assistant Professor

Youngsup Song is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he investigated multiphase heat transfer. Following his graduate work, he trained as a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining the University of Florida.…

Dr. Douglas E. Spearot Newton C. Ebaugh Professor and Graduate Coordinator
(352) 392-6747

Professor Spearot received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research broadly includes the use of atomistic and mesoscale simulation techniques to study the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of materials, with particular focus on the behavior of interfaces. He was awarded the NSF CAREER Award in 2010 and was named 2020 Teacher of the Year in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.…

Dr. Ghatu Subhash Newton C. Ebaugh Professor
+ 1 352-727-8662

Professor Ghatu Subhash obtained his PhD from University of California San Diego in 1991 and conducted his post-doctoral research at California Institute of Technology. His research focusses on multiaxial behavior of advanced ceramics, metals, composites, gels and biological materials. He has developed novel experimental methods which have been patented and widely used. He has co-authored 205 peer reviewed journal articles (8400 citations in Google Scholar, h-index=48), 85 conference proceedings, 2-books, and 6 patents.…

Dr. Xin Tang Assistant Professor
(352) 294-1194

Professor Xin Tang received his Post-doctoral training from Harvard University and Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include cell and molecular mechanics in cancer development and metastasis, cardiovascular system, and neurons; unconventional mechano-electrophysiology; quantitative in vivo/vitro functional bio-imaging; bio-nanotechnology; and development of new biophysical tools to probe biological function/structure. His research is supported by NIH, NSF, AFOSR/DoD, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Opportunity Funds, and etc.…

Dr. Curtis R. Taylor Associate Professor
(352) 392-4440

Dr. Curtis R. Taylor, Ph.D. directs the nanomechanics research lab at UF. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in solid mechanics. Nanomechanics deals with the study and application of fundamental mechanical properties of physical systems at the nanoscale, like elastic, thermal, and kinetic. The application of this research seeks to develop new technologies that utilize the unique properties of nano- and bio-materials.…

Dr. James A. Trainham Professor and Associate Chair for Industry Relations
(352) 392-0826

Professor Trainham’s research interests are in renewable energy.  Before joining UF, Trainham spent most of his professional career in industry: four years as chief technology officer JDC Phosphate, four years as vice president,      distinguished fellow and director of the Research Triangle Solar Fuels Institute at RTI International, senior vice    president of Sundrop Fuels (a solar fuel company), served as global vice president of Science and Technology at PPG Industries, and had a 25-year career at the DuPont Company.…

Dr. Matthew J. Traum Instructional Associate Professor
(352) 294-6897

Dr. Matthew J. Traum is an experienced educator, administrator, fund raiser, and researcher serving the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida as an instructional faculty member. Traum serves as Principle Investigator of UF’s GatorKits Laboratory focused on pedagogical research and best practices for hands-on kit-centered STEM instruction. A serial entrepreneur and inventor in the Ed Tech, Energy Tech, and Bio Tech industries, Dr.…

Dr. Lawrence S. Ukeiley Professor and Associate Chair of Academic Programs
(352) 392-9459

Lawrence Ukeiley is currently a Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Florida. His primary research interests are in experimental fluid dynamics and turbulence as related to flow control, aeroacoustics, fluid structure interactions and the development of low order models. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Alfred University in 1989 and his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University in 1992 and 1996 respectively.…

Dr. Yu Wang Assistant Professor
352-846-3599

Yu Wang is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida (UF) and the Group Lead of Autonomous and Connected Vehicles of the UF Transportation Institute. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S.…

Dr. Peter Wass Research Scientist
(352) 392-6746

Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Physical Society, Member