The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) would like to congratulate the five faculty members who were recently promoted by the Board of Trustees! 

Four of the faculty members were promoted to associate professor with tenure, including Dr. James Chagdes, Dr. Giancarlo Corti, Dr. Matthew Stephan and Dr. Muhammad Jahan. The fifth faculty member, Dr. Andrew Sommers, was promoted to full professor. 

Read below for more information about each of the professors and their work: 

Dr. James Chagdes, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME)

Dr. Chagdes is an expert in biomechanics and nonlinear systems. His research is very human-oriented, examining the interaction of the neural, muscular and mechanical systems to develop safe, balanced and skillful movement. With a research background in the areas of biomechanics, nonlinear dynamical systems and controls, he teaches a variety of courses such as statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, system modeling and control, control systems, mechanical vibrations, nonlinear systems and biomechanics. Both undergraduate and graduate students regularly participate in his research activities and have published numerous papers as co-authors. He is also a director of the Miami University Center for Assistive Technology which works on interdisciplinary areas to develop engineering solutions by engaging students to improve the quality of life of individuals. 

He has published 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and 27 conference papers. Since coming to Miami in 2015, he has published eight archival journal articles (including one in press) and 16 peer-reviewed conference papers. Three of his journal articles were invited papers, one of his conference papers that won the American Society of Mechanical Engineering Multibody Systems Nonlinear Dynamics and Control (ASME MSNDC) student paper competition. His work has 216 citations, an h-index of 7, and an i10-index of 6. MME students have co-authored 10 articles with Dr. Chagdes. He has published papers in leading journals in his area as well as presented at high quality international conferences. 

Dr. Chagdes is doing pioneering work in the theory, development and application of nonlinear dynamics to human balance and postural control with intention to develop assistive devices has a potential to be of lasting impact.  

Dr. Giancarlo Corti, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Dr. Corti is an expert in nano-manufacturing and his research and scholarship activities based on experimental activities to develop scalable nano-manufacturing technologies. These are used to create advanced composite materials based on silica nanosprings. Additionally, characterization of the mechanical, thermal and chemical properties of these nano-spring materials, as well as application of the nano-springs for biomaterials and heat transfer systems, are part of his research expertise and agenda.

He has published 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and 10 conference papers. Since coming to Miami in 2015, he has published five archival journal articles (including one in press) and 3 peer-reviewed conference papers. Three of those journal papers are in publications with very high impact factors. His h-index is 11, and the i10-index is 13. MME students have co-authored 7 articles with Dr. Corti. 

Dr. Corti is conducting groundbreaking work in the scalable nano-manufacturing technology to develop advanced composite materials for various structural and thermal applications. This has a potential to be game changing on how materials are developed for future applications in years to come.  

Dr. Matthew Stephan, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSE)

Dr. Stephen has brought a strong work ethic and positive attitude to CSE. As an instructor, he fosters critical thinking through Socratic teaching methods. He is constantly asking the students questions and giving examples. It is not uncommon for students to comment (in senior exit interviews and other conversations) in favorable terms about his organization, thoroughness, toughness, fairness and sense of humor. 

He is widely recognized for his work related to Model Driven Software Engineering and, in particular, model clone detection. The department has been so impressed by his growing research resume that he has been nominated for the CEC Outstanding Research Award two times as well as the university’s Junior Faculty Scholar Award. Outside the classroom, Dr. Stephan has freely given his time to work closely with students as a faculty advisor to student organizations.

Dr. Muhammad Jahan, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Dr. Jahan is an expert in sustainable manufacturing and his research and scholarship activities are based in sustainable machining of titanium alloy, surface modification of titanium alloy for biocompatibility, and sustainable machining of composites. He also studies the surface integrity, microstructure, mechanical properties and biocompatibility of aerospace and biomedical materials that are difficult to machine as part of his research expertise and agenda.

He has published 12 book chapters (including 3 accepted), 18 peer-reviewed journal articles (including 2 accepted) and 30 conference papers since coming to Miami in 2016. This is a very impressive record, as many of these publications are in high quality venues in the field. Dr. Jahan’s papers have nearly 1588 citations, and his h-index is 20, and the i10-index is 29. Impressively, most of his publications include MME student co-authors (undergraduate or graduate student, or both). 

Dr. Jahan’s work in sustainable manufacturing is groundbreaking and has a potential to be game changing on how manufacturing technology continues to evolve in future.  

Dr. Andrew Sommers, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Dr. Sommers is a national expert in the area of multi-phase heat transfer and with applications in surface wettability design, condensate management, frost property modification, fin surface micro-patterning, heat exchanger design, ferrofluids/nanofluids and vapor-compression system modeling. He has developed sustainable means for supporting his research while maintaining a strong student-centered focus at Miami and produced a high volume of top-quality publications. 

In recognition of his excellent achievements in the area of research and scholarship, Dr. Sommers received the CEC Outstanding Faculty Research Award in 2020, making him one of the few members of CEC faculty to have received both teaching and research awards. He has co-authored 35 articles in refereed archival journals of which 18 were published since 2013. He has also published 34 peer-reviewed papers in conference proceedings which includes 14 papers since 2013. Dr. Sommers has published 19 journal articles with students as co-authored as well as 18 refereed conference papers that include student co-authors. Additionally, 14 students presented their research findings in national and international conferences.

The global impact of his research is evident by ~2000 citations of his papers as well as a very high h-index of 20 and i-index of 28. He has published papers in leading journals in his area as well as presented at high quality international conferences. The number of student co-authors on his papers is a highly desirable aspect of his research program.

Written by Dr. Amit Shukla and Dr. Eric Bachmann 

Formatted by Maggie Peña, CEC Reporter