Richard D. Sisson, Jr.
George F. Fuller Professor
Director of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering
George F. Fuller Professor Mechanical Engineering
Office: Washburn Shops 246B
Phone: +1-508-831-5335
Richard D. Sisson, Jr. is the George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering at WPI. He is also the principal investigator (PI) for several projects in WPI’s Center for Heat Treating Excellence. Professor Sisson has been with WPI for 40 years. In addition, he has taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has been a research metallurgist with DuPont Savannah Laboratory and a staff engineer with Exxon Chemical Company. ... View Profile
Diran Apelian
Alcoa-Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Founding Dir., Metal Processing Institute, Director Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC)
Metal Processing Institute
Email: dapelian@wpi.edu
Office: Washburn Shops 326
Phone: +1-508-831-6008, +1-508-831-5992
Dr. Apelian received his BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Drexel University (1968) and his Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT (1972). After graduating from MIT, he joined Bethlehem Steel’s Homer Research Laboratories where he co-developed the Ultra-Form series of high strength low alloy steels. He joined Drexel University in 1976 and held various positions at Drexel, including professor, Head of the Department of Materials Engineering, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, and subsequently Vice-Provost of the University. ... View Profile
My favorite activities involve guiding students in projects and research. I like to give them independence and to learn from their work. I enjoy challenging them and myself to find better answers, explanations, and solutions. I am very interested in socio-technical systems, such as the healthcare system or the energy delivery system. Over the past years, my research has focused on developing models in support of an improved healthcare delivery system. ... View Profile
Chris Brown has been on the WPI faculty since 1989. In 1983 he completed his doctoral work on machining at the University of Vermont, where he also worked in orthopedics and studied ski injuries. As an undergraduate, he was Vermont’s only walk-on All-American skier. He raced and coached there during the longest regular season undefeated streak in NCAA history and is a member of UVM’s athletic hall of fame. ... View Profile
Danielle Cote
Assistant Professor
Director, Center for Materials Data Processing
Office: Washburn 315
Phone: 508-831-6020
Dr. Cote is an Assistant Professor in Materials Science & Engineering at WPI. She received her B.S. from the University of New Hampshire in Chemical Engineering and M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from WPI. She also worked as a research engineer at Saint-Gobain High Performance Materials in the Polymer Characterization research group. ... View Profile
Chrysanthe Demetry
Associate Professor
Director, Morgan Teaching and Learning Center
Co-Director, Camp Reach
Office: Gordon Library 302
Phone: +1-508-831-5195
As a college professor, I have the opportunity not only to excite students about my field of materials science and engineering, but to help them develop holistically as critical thinkers, lifelong learners, innovators, and effective and ethical communicators during an important formative period in their personal and professional lives. I was an undergraduate at WPI and really valued the project-based learning, the Global Projects Program, and the extent of contact I had with my professors. Those same values drew me back to WPI as a faculty member. ... View Profile
Diana A. Lados
Professor
Milton Prince Higgins II Distinguished Professorship
Office: Washburn Shops 319
Phone: +1-508-831-6168
Teaching is my way of sharing my enthusiasm for Science and Engineering. I believe that these are great professions because they give us the ability to effect real and positive change in this world. I particularly enjoy hearing the varied and interesting contributions of the students in class, and the collaborative environment of WPI as a whole. View Profile
Jianyu Liang
Professor
Co-Director, Center for Global Public Safety
Office: Washburn Labs 311A
Phone: +1-508-831-6649
Professor Liang’s research explores the physics of interfaces between the nanometer and micron scales. Her team responds to the challenging interdisciplinary nature of their research endeavor through successful collaboration with colleagues with expertise in metrology, physics, bioscience, medical science, chemistry, and fire protection engineering. Her educational effort includes novel approaches to project-based learning and global centers for science and engineering. ... View Profile
Makhlouf M. Makhlouf is professor of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He was Director of the Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC) between 1992 and 2015. ACRC is a collaboration between the academic and industrial sectors focusing on issues that benefit the global foundry industry. It brings fundamental understanding to existing processes, develops new methods, and addresses management-technology interface matters. ... View Profile
Brajendra Mishra
K.G. Merriam Prof. & Director, Metal Processing Institute
Director of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Resource Recovery & Recycling (CR3)
Office: Washburn Shops 326
Phone: +1-508-831-5711, +1-508-831-5992
Dr. Mishra is the Kenneth G. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Metal Processing Institute at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute [WPI]. Dr. Mishra is the Director of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Resource Recovery & Recycling – the first National Center of its kind. Brajendra received his Bachelor of Technology [1981] degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India and his M.S. [1983] and Ph.D. ... View Profile
As an active researcher in the field of Additive Manufacturing (AM), Sneha Prabha Narra explores novel applications in AM by utilizing interdisciplinary knowledge from mechanical engineering, materials science, and data analytics, with a particular focus on alloys. Her research investigates microstructure and porosity control in alloys using AM processes, additive manufacturing of non-standard materials and powders, and how data analytics and physics-based knowledge of a process can be combined to reduce the need for experimentation in engineering problems. ... View Profile
Adam C. Powell, IV is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering department who joined the WPI faculty in August 2018. His field is materials processing, and research focuses on validated mathematical modeling of metal process development for clean energy and energy efficiency. His research group is developing new projects whose goals are to reduce vehicle body weight, lower solar cell manufacturing cost with improved safety, reduce or eliminate environmental impact of aerospace emissions, and improve grid stability with up to 100% renewables. ... View Profile
My research is aimed at the challenge of meeting the growing energy needs of society and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources. The first thrust of my research focuses on creating materials that will be the building blocks of economical, large-scale, clean energy technologies of the future. The key to creating effective energy conversion materials is controlling the flow of energy, electricity and matter at the nanoscale by careful design of the shape, size and composition of materials at the same scale. ... View Profile
Rita Shilansky
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-5633
Prior to joining WPI, Dr. Soboyejo was a Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University for approximately 17 years. He is a materials scientist whose research focuses on biomaterials and the use of nanoparticles for the detection and treatment of disease, the mechanical properties of materials, and the use of materials science to promote global development. ... View Profile
Yan Wang
Associate Professor
William Smith Foundation Dean's Professor
Office: Washburn Shops 311b
Phone: +1-508-831-5453
I am William Smith Foundation Dean's Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Here at WPI, my main responsibilities are teaching and research. I have taught Introduction to Materials Science, materials processing and materials for electrochemical energy system. I enjoy teaching and interacting with students because I like to impart my knowledge/experience to the students. At the same time, I can also absorb different knowledge and culture from the students. ... View Profile
Dr. Yu Zhong joined WPI as an Associate Professor. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State (2005). After a short-term working as Research Associate, he joined Saint-Gobain High Performance Research Center in Northborough, MA. He had spent his 8-year career there working as internal technical consultant focusing on the application of thermodynamics and kinetics to various materials R&D projects. In 2013, He moved to Florida International University (FIU) as Assistant Professor. ... View Profile