Faculty
Jamal Yagoobi
George I. Alden Professor
Department Head
Director of Multi-Scale Heat Transfer Laboratory
Director of the National Science Foundation's Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Advanced Research in Drying
Office: Higgins Labs 134
Phone: +1-508-831-5236, +1-508-831-5759
I enjoy teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Teaching is very rewarding, and it allows me to interact with the students. My teaching portfolio includes undergraduate and graduate level courses in the areas of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, liquid/vapor phase change, thermodynamics, and design of thermal systems. I am very active in research. My research has been actively supported by NSF, NASA, AFOSR, SBA, ASHRAE and various companies. ... View Profile
John M. Sullivan
Professor
Associate Department Head
Office: Higgins Labs 111
Phone: +1-508-831-5199, +1-508-831-5236
Teaching is the most important aspect of my profession. I have strived to teach the full spectrum of college offerings addressing freshman students through Ph.D. students. The project philosophy is a fundamental pillar of the WPI education. I encourage and promote this ideal in all of the projects that I advise. Students who bring a project to fruition gain more knowledge and understanding than most conventional instructional modes. I am committed to MQP and IQP activities. ... View Profile
Diran Apelian
Alcoa-Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Founding Dir., Metal Processing Institute, Director Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC)
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
I have enjoyed technical topics since high school, when I was encouraged by my physics teacher to enroll in a pre-engineering course and learned computer programming. I was one of the first women to attend WPI and earned all three of my degrees here, being the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from WPI. Prior to my graduate studies, I worked in industry for several years, both in Massachusetts (Norton Company) and Illinois (Olin Corporation), and was usually the only female engineer in my engineering group. ... View Profile
Dr. M. A. Bhatia is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Prior to coming to WPI, Dr. Bhatia was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Arizona State University where he was working on thermal and mechanical stability of nanocrystalline Cu-Ta material which was published in nature journal. He received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in December 2014. ... View Profile
John J. Blandino
Associate Professor
Undergraduate Coordinator, Aerospace Engineering Program
Office: Higgins Labs 239
Phone: +1-508-831-6155
Prior to joining the faculty at WPI in 2001, I was a Senior Staff Engineer in the Advanced Propulsion Technology Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). My research at JPL included application of plasma sources for materials processing and the development of pulsed plasma and small-scale hydrazine thrusters. In the mission support area, I worked as the propulsion engineer for the Deep Space 3 Interferometer and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) missions. ... 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
Autonomous vehicles – aircraft, cars, rovers, over- and underwater vehicles that can move in the real world by themselves without human pilotage – have gained immense importance not only due to the broad spectrum of their potential military and civilian applications, but also due to the concurrent development of sensor technology and embedded systems that enable the realization of true autonomy. ... View Profile
I joined WPI in the fall of 2015 to teach thermo-fluid courses in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The objective of my teaching is to guide students in the application of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer to solve practical problems in fields such as transportation, energy, and life sciences. I advocate project-based learning and hands-on experience in the laboratory and shop. My research involves experimental studies of fluid behavior. ... View Profile
Michael A. Demetriou
Professor
Graduate Coordinator, Aerospace Engineering Program
Chair, AE BS/MS Program
Office: Higgins Labs 243
Phone: +1-508-831-5459
Professor Demetriou is very active with the Controls and Systems research community. He served as an Associate Editor in the IEEE Tr. on Automatic Control (2004-2007), in the ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control (2009-2011), and in SIAM J. Control and Optimization (2009-present). He is also serving in the IEEE-Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board as an Associate Editor (1997-present). In 2003 he established the IEEE-CSS Technical Committee on Distributed Parameter Systems and served as his first chair (2003-2012). ... View Profile
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
Gregory S. Fischer
Professor
William Smith Dean’s Professor
Director, Automation and Interventional Medicine Robotics Research Laboratory (AIM Lab)
Director, PracticePoint Healthcare Cyber-physical Systems R&D Center
Office: 85 Prescott 234
Phone: +1-508-831-5261
Professor Fischer is the William Smith Dean's Professor and a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Engineering with an appointment in Biomedical Engineering at WPI. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from Johns Hopkins University, where he was part of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgery. At WPI he has been an integral part of developing the Robotics Engineering program and teaches primarily junior-level and graduate courses in Robotics. ... View Profile
Nikolaos A. Gatsonis
John Woodman Higgins Professor
Director, Aerospace Engineering Program
Office: Higgins Labs 244
Phone: +1-508-831-5576
Nikolaos A. Gatsonis received an undergraduate degree in Physics at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece (1983), an M.S. in Atmospheric Science at the University of Michigan (1996), an M.S. (1987) and a Ph.D. ... View Profile
It has been a great pleasure to teach at WPI, a school with motivated students from all over the world. ... View Profile
My research is aimed towards understanding fundamental aspects of reacting flows at thermodynamic conditions of relevance to aircraft, rocket, and automobile propulsion. Reacting flow phenomena occurring in engines are complicated as a result of turbulent flow, interaction with solid boundaries, and extreme thermodynamic conditions. In order to understand and simulate combustion phenomena under such conditions, there is a necessity to develop accurate chemical kinetic and molecular transport models in addition to fluid mechanics models. ... View Profile
Prior to joining the faculty at WPI in August 2015, I worked as a post-doctoral research associate at Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at California Institute of Technology. My research at Caltech focused on the development of a Granular Element Method (GEM) based force visualization technique for the study of 2D granular systems under impact loading. I examined of the role of granular fabric on the wave motion and formation of force chains in granular media. ... View Profile
Diana A. Lados
Professor
Milton Prince Higgins II Distinguished Professorship
Office: Washburn Shops 319
Phone: +1-508-831-6168
Fiona Levey
Associate Teaching Professor-Engineering
Office: Higgins Labs 104
Phone: +1-508-831-4854
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
My research on the synergy of human and robotic systems aims to develop motion and task planning strategies for wearable and humanoid robots, based on the behavior and preference demonstrated in human motion coordination and task plans. For wearable robots such as the upper limb exoskeletons for stroke rehabilitation, the arm posture of the robots cannot be appropriately determined using the general kinematic redundancy resolution methods for manipulation robots, yet it can be accurately predicted based on human perception-action coordination. ... 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
The overarching theme of my research is light-matter interactions and their applications in microscale and nanoscale. Particularly, my research interests include optical trapping, optofluidics, nanophotonics, cavity optomechanics, and fiber optic sensing systems, with an emphasis on optical actuation, damping, and sensing of mechanics in micro-/nano-scale structures and biological specimens. The potential applications of my research include on-chip disease diagnosis, in vivo disease treatments, motion detection in consumer electronics, health monitoring, and biomechanics. ... 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 explores novel applications in metal AM by utilizing multidisciplinary knowledge from mechanical engineering, materials science, and manufacturing. Her research investigates additive manufacturing of novel materials and non-standard powders drawing upon her prior experience in microstructure and porosity control for metal AM processes. View Profile
David J. Olinger
Associate Professor
Office: Higgins Labs 242
Phone: +1-508-831-5698, +1-508-831-5236
In my teaching I bring fluid and aerodynamics experiments, including wind tunnels, into the classroom each day. Fundamental concepts are demonstrated in these experiments, and collected data is immediately compared to the theory and equations learned during lecture. Students see that they can use what they are learning in class to predict the behavior of aerospace systems. They then go on to design improved systems in MQP projects and during their careers. ... View Profile
Cagdas Denizel Onal
Associate Professor
Graduate Coordinator
Office: Higgins Labs 105
Phone: +1-508-831-4857
An integral part of a rewarding academic career is being an educator. It is a wonderful opportunity to work with students and guide their development to fulfill their potential. I enjoy teaching the fundamentals of robotics engineering, science and technology as well as training students in advanced independent research. I aim to teach students about research-based thinking and problem solving, to give them a real career choice to determine their future in further research or the industry. ... View Profile
Dr. Panchapakesan is the director of the Small Systems Laboratory (SSL) which is dedicated to the development of multi-functional materials, devices and systems at the macro-, micro-, meso- and nanoscales. Our work spans in multiple areas bridging multiple disciplines and multiple length scales. Facilities at SSL include fabrication and characterization units for advanced materials, device processing and testing and biomaterials characterization. Access to the clean room facilities around the Boston area adds to the excitement of student learning as well as experimentation. ... View Profile
David Planchard is the founder of D&M Education LLC. Before starting D&M Education, he spent over 27 years in industry and academia holding various engineering, marketing, and teaching positions. He holds five U.S. patents. He has published and authored numerous papers on Machine Design, Product Design, Mechanics of Materials, and Solid Modeling. He is an active member of the SOLIDWORKS Users Group and the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). ... 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
Pradeep Radhakrishnan
Assistant Teaching Professor
Office: HL 213
Phone: 508-831-6544 (please book a time through pradrk.ycb.me before calling)
My inspiration for teaching comes from my dad who has been a teacher for over four decades in India. That interest was strengthened when I became a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin and continued in that position for six years. Teaching gives me an opportunity to interact with students and to continually learn and impart new concepts at the same time. I joined WPI in August 2014 and have had a great experience thus far. ... View Profile
Pratap M. Rao
Associate Professor-Engineering
Office: Higgins Laboratories 106
Phone: (508) 831-4828
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
The project mode of education is a significant tenet of WPI; project based courses are common, along with the required Interactive Qualifying Project and Major Qualifying Project. Managing this close knit intellectual activity has m any parallels to coaching sports; watching individuals " light up" is tremendously rewarding. The recent addition of the Great Problems Seminar allows strong interaction with the freshman class as well. The thermofluid area is critical to world sustainability and extends beyond technical expertise to socio- political and economic context. View Profile
Christopher Scarpino is an adjunct instructor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Lowell Institute Lecturer at Northeastern University. He has his Master’s of Science and 18 years of professional experience in industry, academic laboratories (MIT & Harvard), and at the USAF Research & Development Laboratory. Scarpino initiated a research project to develop a new clinical device that was awarded a 2007 NIH (NIDCD) grant and a 2009 ARRA grant. He is a patent holder in the motor vehicle sector and founder of the International Corps of Engineers, a non-profit for engineers. ... View Profile
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
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
I have spent 36 years in product development. 25 years in the computer storage industry working on airborne hard drives, desktop hard drives, tape storage systems, optical storage devices, and robotic pick and place systems for tape cartridges. Most recently I have spent the last 11 years at Bose Corporation working in advanced development on high efficiency small speaker systems. ... View Profile
Yan Wang
Professor- Engineering
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
Sarah Jane Wodin-Schwartz
Assistant Teaching Professor
Office: Higgins Laboratories, 112
Phone: +1-508-831-6037
Prof. Wodin-Schwartz joined WPI in August 2015. While at UC Berkeley, Prof. Wodin-Schwartz was a teaching assistant for both mechanical and electrical engineering courses including Introduction to Mechatronics for which she received the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award. Her Ph.D. research focused on the use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for down hole geothermal well monitoring. Before joining WPI, Prof. Wodin-Schwartz spent two years at the technical consulting firm Exponent Inc. ... 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
Administrative Staff - Mechanical Engineering
Barbara Edilberti
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-5026
Barbara Furhman
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-6046
Donna Hughes
Administrative Assistant VI
Office: Higgins Labs 250
Phone: 508-831-5221
GlorieAnn Minnich
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-6088
Rita Shilansky
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-5633
Payton Wilkins
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-5236
Administrative Staff - Lab Managers
Edward Burnham
Research Data Scientist
Office: Higgins Labs 249
Administrative Staff - HAAS Technical Center
Administrative Staff - Metals Processing Institute
Carol Garofoli
Director of Operations
Phone: 508-831-5592
Renee Brodeur
Assistant Director
Phone: 508-831-5003
Meagan McIntosh
Finance Assistant
Phone: 508-831-5790
Maureen Plunkett
Administrative Assistant VI
Phone: 508-831-5992