Executive Committee Bios
Senior Leadership
Lisa Barclay
Lisa Barclay was named assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer in summer 2021. Previously, she served in the role on an interim basis since the summer of 2020.
With more than 20 years of professional experience in higher education, Barclay began her tenure at the College of Engineering in 2002 as a student recruitment coordinator and was promoted to director of that unit in 2008. In 2011 she began leading Engineering Diversity and Outreach Programs as an associate director. She was promoted to senior director of the college’s Office of Diversity, Outreach and Inclusion (DOI) in January 2016. As chief diversity officer, Barclay represents the college within the university as well as with peer universities and industry partners. She also leads DOI’s staff of 12 and plays a key role on the College of Engineering Executive Committee.
Under Barclay’s leadership, engineering recruitment doubled the number of new first year student applications, with more than a 25% increase in underrepresented minorities and women between 2006 and 2012. In her role as senior director of Diversity, Outreach and Inclusion, she supervised a staff of six and was responsible for undergraduate recruitment, retention and student success, the Minority Engineering Program, and Women in Engineering, impacting hundreds of prospective students and more than 2,500 current students. From 2012 to 2018, Barclay’s team significantly contributed to a 34% rise in enrollment in the number of women and a 25% increase in enrollment for underrepresented minority students, making Ohio State one of the nation’s top producers of diverse engineers.
"In my tenure as CDO I intend to work with the senior leadership and department chairs to see us through the critical establishment of diversity and anti-bias professional development and learning opportunities for the entire College of Engineering, work alongside faculty for the review and revision of numerous aspects of our engineering curricula offerings, support the associate deans and department chairs in establishing a system of talent acquisition and student recruitment that reflects our commitment to diversity and equity, and collaborate with the chief financial officer and associate dean for facilities secure sustainable financial resources for diversity, outreach and inclusion initiatives."
Tammy Cimorell
Tammy Cimorell is the Senior Director of Engineering Technology Services (ETS), which provides many IT services and support for the College of Engineering. The challenges inherent in the IT needs of a college as large and complex as the College of Engineering provide continual opportunities to engage with faculty, students and staff to solve problems. Tammy’s focus on customer support is key to balancing these needs with ETS and college resources to support teaching and research activities moving forward.
Tammy has had a progressive career in the information technology field after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in computer information systems. Her career started in a state government agency before moving to Ohio State's College of Medicine and eventually to the College of Engineering, where she has remained for many years. Tammy has been a leader through many changes, not only with technology, but also with the evolution of IT support within the college itself. Initially focused on Engineering Administration, she was offered a role wider in scope when the college hired its first ever CIO, who recommended the creation of a central IT group for the College of Engineering. All college IT personnel were incorporated into one department, what is now known as Engineering Technology Services.
As a member of ETS since its inception, Tammy has been a leader in the establishment of college-wide IT support functions and systems, while working to balance the unique needs of the college units. This environment enabled the college to continue its mission successfully through the pandemic with remote teaching and learning, and prepare for the growing IT needs of our college and those with whom we collaborate. Having served as interim CIO twice previously, Tammy looks forward to partnering with the departments and research units to position the College of Engineering for future success.
Deborah Grzybowski
Deborah Grzybowski, professor of practice in the Department of Engineering Education, was appointed assistant dean of teaching and learning in the College of Engineering in 2021.
Grzybowski possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge from the classroom and university service from her multifaceted career at Ohio State. Holding degrees in both chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, she began her career at Battelle Memorial Institute and later transitioned to Ohio State where she has served in both tenure-track (Ophthalmology) and clinical (Engineering) positions.
Passionate about students and creating a more inclusive culture in the college’s classrooms and departments, Grzybowski has been involved with developing and assessing curriculum for over 20 years. Her research focuses on making engineering accessible for all, including persons with disabilities and underrepresented students, through innovative curriculum, assessment and professional development. Infusing and assessing entrepreneurial-minded learning into the first-year has been her focus in the Department of Engineering Education.
Michael Hagenberger
Dr. Michael Hagenberger serves as the Associate Dean for Facilities and Capital Planning in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. He joined the College of Engineering as an Associate Professor of Practice in Civil Engineering and Geodetic Engineering, bringing nearly 10 years of professional experience as a structural engineer and in project management. From 2017 - 2019 he served as the Associate Chair of Civil Engineering and Geodetic Engineering. Hagenberger is the lead on the Sustainable Resilient Community program at Ohio State. The signature project for the program is developing a sustainable water system sourced by the Pangani River for Marwa, Tanzania. He is on the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission and volunteers as a program evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Hagenberger is also a member in the American Institute of Steel Construction, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Concrete Institute, and the American Society of Engineering Educators.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Hagenberger served as Associate Professor and Department Chair of Civil Engineering at Valparaiso University. While there he focused on undergraduate research, facilities expansion international, and curriculum development. Hagenberger has led or cooperated in research projects such as: the Baltimore Convention Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), the 1993 World Trade Center reconstruction, and prominent convention centers, arenas and stadiums. He has authored or coauthored journal articles, conference proceedings, and technical publications and has made invited presentations at workshops, civil engineering forums, and outreach events. Hagenberger received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University, his master’s degree from Cornell University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
"As Associate Dean for Facilities and Capital Planning, I am committed to continuously transforming the physical environment in which we learn, conduct research, teach, work, and socialize to increase both equity and inclusion. This commitment is in alignment with the University values of excellence, diversity of people and ideas, inclusion, access and affordability, innovation, collaboration, integrity, transparency, and trust. There will be challenges along the journey and I look forward to working with the college community to address them."
Marcela Hernandez
A molecular biologist and biochemist by training, Dr. Marcela Hernandez served as administrative director in The Ohio State University’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs before being named assistant dean of faculty affairs in January 2022. Prior to that, she was the graduate and STEM diversity director with the College of Arts & Sciences. She has designed and implemented programs to recruit, retain and support STEM trainees of all levels, including a special focus on those with underrepresented backgrounds.
Hernandez represents the College of Engineering in various internal and external faculty-related initiatives to establish pipelines of diverse candidates and assess the progress and success of recruitment efforts. Additionally, she leads the College of Engineering’s development and implementation of training to support faculty search committees and hiring processes, including onboarding.
Hernandez earned a bachelor of science in molecular genetics and her master’s and PhD in biochemistry, all from Ohio State. Her scientific training and research in biochemistry and molecular biology focused on control of gene expression at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels.
Rachel Kleit
Rachel Kleit is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include housing mobility and location choice, affordable housing policy, housing as a poverty alleviation strategy, equity impacts of economic development, and urban and regional disparity. Kleit teaches courses on affordable housing policy, metropolitan policy, social equity and advanced planning theory. She is an occasional guest on WOSU’s On the Record, engaging in discussions around economic inequality in Columbus and the city's recent Smart City Challenge win.
Previously, Kleit served as head of the City and Regional Planning Section at the Knowlton School. Before coming to Ohio State, she was an associate professor in the Evans School of Public Affairs and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington.
Kleit was the recipient of the 1998 Young Scholar Award from the Urban Affairs Association and Sage Publications, and the 1999 Best Student Paper Award in Housing and Community Development from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Fannie Mae Foundation. She was also a recipient of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Urban Scholar Postdoctoral Fellowship to support research on the New Holly HOPE VI site in Seattle. Kleit received a Bachelor of Arts, with Highest Honors, cum laude, from Brandeis University, a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University, and a PhD in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"As Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, my goal is to increase inclusion and diversity among faculty in the College of Engineering in a manner that is sustainable. This means increasing the hiring of groups who are underrepresented in the college, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and many other groups that are systemically omitted from our everyday interactions. It also means working towards a culture that is not only welcoming but that explicitly discusses issues of inequity. To improve culture, I focus on offering professional development and mentoring in an inclusive context where individuals are able thrive. I pay special attention to systems and practices that isolate or alienate particular groups—that have a disparate impact. Intrinsic to my role as Associate Dean is taking action to reduce systemic inequities in our college."
Bobby Srivastava
Bobby Srivastava is the chief administrative officer in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. In this role he oversees budgeting, strategic financial and resource planning, and shared services procurement operations for the College of Engineering, Knowlton School and the University Airport. In addition to his role in the college, Srivastava also serves on several university committees. He is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Engineering Directors Group, comprised of financial leaders in colleges of engineering across the U.S.
Srivastava has served in progressive leadership roles within the College of Engineering, previously serving as the Assistant Dean for Research, Director of Research Operations, and Business Manager for the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Prior to joining the College of Engineering in 2012, Srivastava worked for KIPP, a national network of 270 charter schools focused on closing the achievement gap. As a founding member of two schools now serving nearly 2,000 students, he provided leadership in all business functions including finance, human resources, operations, facilities, compliance, transportation, food service and technology. A Columbus native, Srivastava holds a B.S. in Business from Miami University, and his MBA and Master of Public Administration from The Ohio State University. He is also Six Sigma Green Belt certified through Ohio State’s Center for Operational Excellence.
"Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion should not be a part of what we do, it should be the foundation of what we do. I am committed to ensuring that we have created an environment that provides under-represented minorities, women, and the LGBTQ community with the same opportunities and respect as their peers. As Assistant Dean for Research, my hope is that when you look at the research community in the College of Engineering, you not only see a diverse representation of our world, but a shared equality between us. As a Buckeye, private citizen, and Columbus native, I hope that I can be one small part of the greater solution."
La’Tonia Stiner-Jones
Dr. Stiner-Jones is Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Assistant Professor of Practice in Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. As Associate Dean she provides leadership of graduate affairs and professional development for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees. Stiner-Jones also oversees strategic recruitment of graduate students with a focus on increasing diversity. As Assistant Professor, she is responsible for participating in teaching, scholarship and service to the department.
Stiner-Jones received her Bachelor and PhD degrees from Wright State University and her MBA from Capital University. After completing her PhD in Biomedical Sciences, she completed postdocs in neuroimmunology and psychoneuroimmunology at Ohio State. Stiner-Jones’ work has been published in numerous scientific journals and presented both nationally and internationally. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship, she accepted a faculty position in Ohio State’s College of Dentistry and served as Director of Minority Student Recruitment and DENTPATH, a post baccalaureate program to prepare disadvantaged students for dental school.
“I believe that all people as human beings are equal and should be valued equally in our messages, actions, and policies. As a leader in this college I strive to treat people as they want to be treated, make them feel welcome, valued and their voices heard. I will continue to proactively champion/advocate for positive change in within Graduate Education."
Derrick L. Tillman-Kelly
Derrick L. Tillman-Kelly is chief of staff, serving as principal advisor to Dean Ayanna Howard. An experienced higher education researcher, administrator, and project manager, he most recently served as director of the Fellows Program and Network Engagement for the University Innovation Alliance (UIA). In this role, he worked with member universities to support institutional transformation with the goal of eliminating race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and socioeconomic status as predictors of student success and completion. Ohio State is one of 11 UIA member institutions, and President Kristina M. Johnson serves on its board.
Prior to being named director of the UIA Fellows Program, Tillman-Kelly served in multiple roles at Ohio State, including as the inaugural UIA Fellow and special assistant to the director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise. He also is co-principal investigator and research lead of the Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence for Broadening Participation in STEM, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Tillman-Kelly earned his PhD in educational policy and leadership with a specialization in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State. He also earned a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University.
David Tomasko
David Tomasko is Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Student Services in the College of Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. As Associate Dean he oversees curriculum, accreditation, scholarships, advising and career services for students in the College of Engineering. After extensive publication in the fields of molecular thermodynamics, separations and polymer processing, Tomasko’s current research expertise is in engineering education and student success in STEM majors. He currently serves on the Academic Advisory Council for ABET.
Tomasko has twice received the Ohio State College of Engineering Lumley Research Award and Macquigg Outstanding Teaching Award. He is also the recipient of the College of Engineering Faculty Diversity Award and the University Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, and in Autumn 2010 delivered the commencement address at Ohio State. Tomasko received a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa, MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and served as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
"I am an academic leader who has benefitted from being a member of a majority group in Engineering but I see and believe there are systemic structures preventing participation and marginalizing students of color in our programs. I feel a professional and personal responsibility to identify and break these down in support of our complete student body."
Seth Weinberg
Biomedical Engineering Professor Seth Weinberg leads the research endeavors of College of Engineering faculty and staff, oversees the college’s research operations totaling more than $187 million in annual expenditures, and grows strategic industry partnerships.
He leads an active research program in computational physiology that has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2015. His highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research has secured external grant awards totaling over $9 million, bridging gaps between engineering, computational biology, and medicine. For his research contributions in computational cardiac physiology, Weinberg was elected as a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society in 2022. Affiliated with both the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute (DHLRI) and Center for Cancer Engineering (CCE), Weinberg is chair of the DHLRI Education Committee, which plays a prominent role in the institute’s research mission.
Weinberg earned his bachelor’s degree and PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University and Johns Hopkins University, respectively. Following a faculty position at Virginia Commonwealth University, he joined Ohio State as a tenured associate professor in 2019.
Chris Yates
Chris Yates is the Chief Advancement and Economic Development Officer in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. In this role since January of 2017, he oversees all activities relating to development, alumni relations, and communications for the college.
Previously, Yates was Director of Advancement at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) from July 2014 through December 2016. During his tenure at LSE, the school set significant new fundraising records in total philanthropic giving for two years in a row, including receipt of the two largest gifts in its history, the largest gift ever received from an alumnus, and consecutive new records for giving to the LSE Annual Fund. Yates came to LSE from the University of Southern California (USC) where he served as Associate Senior Vice President for Major and Planned Gifts from 2011-2014. His role at USC included overseeing central major gifts, planned giving, corporations and foundations, the parents program, USC Associates, and provost initiatives. Prior to USC, Yates worked at Stanford University for a total of 17 years, serving as Director of Planned Giving from 2003 to 2011 and as Associate Director from 1992 to 1998. In between those two positions, he spent five years at Caltech (1998-2003) as Director of Gift Planning. Yates got his start in higher education as Associate Director for undergraduate admission at Stanford (1989-92).
Yates has spoken on many topics relating to advancement and planned giving both in the U.S. and abroad, including serving as a member of the faculty for the CASE Europe Spring Institute in 2016 and 2017. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in History and Economics from Stanford University and his JD degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
"The advancement team serves our faculty, students, and staff by ardently representing and connecting them to our external stakeholders, especially alumni, with an ultimate goal of maximizing financial and volunteer support for the college. In order to accomplish this, every member of the team must be 100% committed to connecting effectively and respectfully across a broad spectrum of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Our hearts and minds must be open to all, free of preconception and prejudice, and we must recommit ourselves to working diligently to expand the diversity of our team so that it reflects the full diversity of our campus and alumni community. I firmly believe that our future success as an advancement team is tied directly to our ability to move quickly, make progress, and achieve sustainable results in diversity, equity and inclusion."
Chairs and Directors
Anish Arora
Professor Anish Arora was named chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, effective July 1, 2020. He began his faculty tenure at The Ohio State University in 1992 and was promoted to full professor in 2002. He is currently a program co-director of Ohio State’s Translational Data Analytics Institute, leading a community of practice on Smart Communities and Distributed Sensing.
Arora is a world leader in wireless sensor networks (WSN) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. An IEEE Fellow, he has made many research contributions to fault-tolerance and security of distributed, networked systems. He has led research, development and deployment of many large-scale and several long-lived WSNs worldwide, including ExScal, Kansei, PeopleNet, ThermoNet, HornNet and SONYC, for diverse applications.
A two-time recipient of the College of Engineering’s Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award, Arora is a key Ohio State contributor to the SmartColumbus mobility initiative. He co-founded wireless sensor networks company Samraksh in 2005 and still serves as chief technology officer.Arora earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, before receiving an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin.
Shanker Balasubramaniam
Professor Balasubramaniam joined Ohio State on August 1, 2022, from Michigan State University, where he was a university distinguished professor – an honor accorded to about 2% of tenure system MSU faculty members – in electrical and computer engineering. He also was an associate chair for research and previously served as associate chair of MSU’s Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering from 2015-2018.
Before joining MSU’s faculty ranks in 2002, Balasubramaniam was an assistant professor at Iowa State University from 1999-2002, and a visiting assistant professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1996-1999. He also performed postdoctoral research at Iowa State.
Balasubramaniam is recognized internationally for his innovative scholarship in computational science as applied to Maxwell’s equations, which describe the world of electromagnetics. He has developed algorithms for solving Maxwell’s equations across multiple scales, with applications to large-scale scattering, antenna design, optics, electromagnetic compatibility, coupled fullwave-circuit analysis, molecular dynamics, surface plasmons, micro-bubbles and quantum dots. The accuracy, stability and low computational complexity of these algorithms have enabled resolution of some unsolved problems in these areas. He has authored or co-authored more than 450 journal and conference papers, and has presented a number of invited talks.
A fellow of IEEE, Balasubramaniam was an associate editor for IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters (AWPL) and IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, and a topical editor for The Journal of the Optical Society of America: A. He earned his B.S. from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1989, and his M.S. and Ph.D in 1992 and 1993, respectively, from the Pennsylvania State University.
Adam Carberry
Carberry is chair of the Department of Engineering Education. Previously he served as associate professor at The Polytechnic School, part of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering (FSE) at Arizona State University, and as the graduate program chair for the Engineering Education Systems and Design doctoral program. His primary areas of interest include developing new classroom innovations and assessment techniques for pre-college and college students and identifying new ways to empirically understand engineering student and educator experiences. He currently serves as Deputy Editor for the Journal of Engineering Education and co-maintains the Engineering Education Community Resource wiki (http://bit.ly/engredu). He was recently named a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Additional career highlights include serving as chair of the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN), serving as a Fulbright Specialist at École Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Rabat, Morocco, receiving an FSE Top 5% Teaching Award, receiving an ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division Apprentice Faculty Award, and receiving a Frontiers in Education New Faculty Award.
Carberry earned his B.S. in materials science and engineering from Alfred University, and his M.S. in chemistry and Ph.D. in engineering education from Tufts University.
Samir Ghadiali
Dr. Samir Ghadiali is a Professor in Biomedical Engineering, and the Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. He is also a Professor in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He is a recognized expert in the areas of computational modeling of complex biological systems, the mechanobiology of lung injury and inflammation and biomechanical modeling at the molecular, cellular and tissue scale. His group is currently developing “lung-on-a-chip” platforms for drug screening applications. Ghadiali is a member the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Bioengineering Division, the American Thoracic Society, and a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. Ghadiali’s research is or has been supported by the NIH, the NSF, the Pelotonia Cancer Research Program and the American Heart Association.
After earning his PhD, Ghadiali was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, while he completed post-doctoral training. Before arriving as an Associate Professor at Ohio State in 2009, he was the Frank Hook Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Lehigh University and was a founding member of their undergraduate bioengineering degree program. In 2013, Ghadiali was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop computational models of the respiratory system in patients with chronic ear infections (i.e., otitis media) and has received National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to investigate the biomechanical mechanisms of lung injury and cancer metastasis. Ghadiali has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and has twice been chair of the Respiratory Engineering track at the annual Biomedical Engineering Society meeting. He has received the Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award (2015), the Herman Weed Excellence in Teaching Award (2010), and the NSF Career Award (2008). Ghadiali earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and his MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.
"These are challenging times for our nation. In addition to health care disparities associated with COVID-19, the brutality and violence committed against our citizens of color and the institutionalized racism in our criminal justice system is simply unacceptable. As chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department, I strongly support enacting change that advance equity and inclusion on our campus and in our broader communities. The BME department is committed to listening, learning and implementing the change that leads to a more equitable and just learning environment for our students. Our strength is in our community and together we will make BME at Ohio State a welcoming home for all."
Dorothée Imbert
Landscape Architecture Professor Dorothée Imbert began her four-year term as director of the Knowlton School in August 2020. She joined the Knowlton faculty in 2013 as the inaugural Hubert C. Schmidt ’38 Chair in Landscape Architecture. Before joining Knowlton, Imbert established the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis and taught at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Imbert has published extensively on landscape modernism, contemporary practice, and productive landscapes. She is the author of the books Between Garden and City: Jean Canneel-Claes and Landscape Modernism (2009), Garrett Eckbo: Modern Landscapes for Living (with Marc Treib, 2005), The Modernist Garden in France (1993), and the editor of A Landscape Inventory: Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (2018) and Food and the City: Histories of Culture and Cultivation (2015). Imbert’s recent essays focus on the politics of landscape. Imbert has served on numerous boards and juries, including Dumbarton Oaks and the Society of Architectural Historians. She continues to engage in research and design practice and recently completed the Square (with Andrew Cruse), a landscape on structure for the Novartis campus in Basel, Switzerland. She received her architect's diploma from the Unité Pédagogique d'Architecture nº 1 in Paris and holds MArch and MLA degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She practiced landscape architecture at Peter Walker and Partners.
"Our experience of the world is changed. Our perception of the world needs changing. The upheaval that began in Minneapolis with the 8-minutes-46 second public killing of George Floyd represents a watershed in our understanding of the movement for Black lives. We have been confronted with our roles as spectators and now must reconsider our roles as educators. Inaction is not an option." Read more about Dorothée's views on leadership.
Allison MacKay
Dr. Allison MacKay is Professor and Chair of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering (CEGE) in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. She joined Ohio State in August of 2015 as a Professor of CEGE. MacKay’s research program is directed toward the fate of contaminants in engineered and natural aquatic systems, including guidance for drinking water plant operators to manage the toxins from algae in reservoirs and molecular computation tools to identify the binding mechanisms of contaminants in sediments and soils. She currently serves on the Board of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) and is a member of the American Chemical Society.
MacKay was instrumental in creating a national forum within the AEESP for environmental engineering program leaders. She has published a dozen journal articles, four papers, and given over 40 presentations. MacKay has received an Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario scholarship, an AEESP Poster Award, Environmental Science & Technology Reviewer Award, a UCONN Faculty Environmental Policy Advisory Council Award, a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Chemist Travel Award, and was a United Technologies Corporation Associate Professor in Engineering Innovation (for three years). She received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Engineering Science (Chemical Option) from the University of Toronto, doctoral and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and has conducted postdoctoral research at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
"I am committed to creating community and policy that allows for all current and potential members of the Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering Department to reach their full leadership potential. Without being inclusive in our pursuit of academic excellence, we risk the failures both of individuals themselves, and of teams of collaborators, to bring the most creative problem-solving solutions and innovation to engineering challenges, small and large. We must work to dismantle inadvertent barriers in the pipeline of the engineering workforce and to develop individuals’ competencies in working effectively with diverse team members. Such actions are crucial to the role of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineers in designing, constructing and maintaining infrastructure that equally benefits and serves all members of society."
Bob Mick
Bob Mick is the Director of Professional and Distance Education Programs in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. In this role since 2013, he oversees the college’s executive education and workforce development programs in the form of online professional master’s degrees, non-credit certification programs, boot camps and short courses.
Mick has over 20 years of experience in higher education including eight years in Executive Education with the Fisher College of Business. Prior to this, he worked in various private sector positions for 13 years including manufacturing and retail management and the travel industry. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The Defiance College, and his Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University.
"My staff and I are committed in supporting all efforts by the college and university that will increase diversity and eliminate social injustice. Every person is created equal and should be treated with the same respect regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation. We will work to develop and implement strategies that will integrate in to our program curriculum awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion."
Michael J. Mills
Professor Michael J. Mills is the Taine G. McDougal Professor of Engineering and Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research team utilizes advanced instruments at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) to provide insights into the mechanical behavior of several important metallurgical systems through a detailed understanding of elementary deformation mechanisms. A dedicated teacher and advisor throughout his career, Mills received the College of Engineering’s 2019 Faculty Mentoring Award for successfully mentoring several junior faculty members and creating a new peer mentorship structure within the department. He is a Fellow in the American Society for Metals, and the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS).
Mills served as Interim Chair of MSE from 2014-2015. He joined Ohio State in 1994 as associate professor with tenure after a two-year research associate appointment at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a six-year appointment at Sandia National Laboratories as a senior member of the technical staff. Mills has received many prestigious honors and awards, including the Alexander Von Humboldt Research Fellowship (1996), the Oleg D. Sherby Award (2019) from TMS for research in high temperature materials, and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2019). Widely recognized for his research in the relationship between microstructure and structural properties of materials, he has authored or co-authored over 220 journal articles and chaired numerous international conferences. Mills earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University in 1985.
Umit Ozkan
Umit S. Ozkan is a College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and the Chair of the William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. Her current research addresses many critical problems in the energy and environmental protection fields and is funded by both federal agencies and industry. Ozkan holds leadership positions in the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and North American Catalysis Society, is a Professional Engineer registered in Ohio, and is on the editorial boards of 10 catalysis publications. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and American Chemical Society (ACS).
Ozkan joined the faculty of Ohio State in 1985 as the first woman to join the Department of Chemical Engineering, and now as the first woman to be named chair of the department. From 2000 to 2005, she served as the College of Engineering’s first female Associate Dean for Research. In her research group, Dr. Ozkan has advised and mentored over 100 graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and honors students. She has edited six books, written over 200 peer-reviewed publications with over 10,000 citations, given over 350 conference presentations, given over 150 invited lectures in 20 different countries, and holds seven patents. Ozkan’s work on emission control for lean-burn natural gas reciprocating engines has led to a catalytic system for which a patent was issued in 2008. She is the recipient of many honors and awards among which are ACS Henry H. Storch Award (2017), ACS Energy and Fuels Distinguished Researcher Award (2012), Ohio State College of Engineering Scott Faculty Excellence Award (2004), The Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar Award (1999), Ohio State College of Engineering Harrison Outstanding Faculty Award (1993), Ohio State College of Engineering Lumley Research Award (1991, 1996, and 2000, 2006, 2011), and the Ohio State College of Engineering McQuigg Outstanding Teaching Award (1990). In 2013, she was honored by a special issue of Topics in Catalysis, a premier journal, (Volume 56, issues 18-20), and in 2019, she was honored by a special volume of Catalysis Today (Volume 323, 270 pages). She received her PhD from Iowa State University in 1984.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion should be the guiding principles in everything we do as members of the Ohio State family. As a department chair, I am committed to create an open and welcoming environment in our department, where everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, background, national origin, religious affiliation, belief, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ability and all other visible and nonvisible differences, will feel valued, respected and included."
Farhang Pourboghrat
Dr. Farhang Pourboghrat is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. Currently, his research interests are in the areas of materials processing and modeling of advanced forming processes, including warm forming of sheet metals, tube hydroforming, incremental sheet forming, and FRT composite thermo-hydroforming. Pourboghrat is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Sigma Xi technical honor society. He co-organized the 2005 NUMISHEET conference in Detroit, MI, and has served as a member of the steering and scientific committee for the conference since 2005.
Pourboghrat has worked as a staff scientist at the Alcoa Technical Center, faculty in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Michigan State University and spent a sabbatical leave in the Materials Science Department at Rice University. He has published extensively in the International Journal of Plasticity, his research work is internationally recognized, and his research has been funded by NSF, Alcoa, GM, Eaton, BAE Systems, Faurecia, DOE, and DOD. Pourboghrat received his BSME and MSME degrees from the University of Iowa, and his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1992.
"As chair of the Integrated Systems Engineering Department, I am committed to uphold students’ rights in receiving the best education. I am also committed to uphold the rights of the staff and faculty in receiving just treatment and equal opportunities for growth regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, religious belief, sexuality, or physical abilities."
Scott Shearer
Scott A. Shearer serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research areas are digital agriculture, precision agriculture, automation, and robotics (agricultural field machinery). Shearer is a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He recently was named one of six recipients of a 2018 Battelle Engineering, Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA) grant for the Global Sustainable Village (GSV), an on-campus re-creation of authentic living spaces that integrate sustainable innovations with humanitarian development.
Prior to 2011, Shearer was Chair of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky. Highlights of his research career include development of methodologies and controls for metering and spatial applying crop production inputs (seed, fertilizer and pesticides); modeling of agricultural field machinery systems; autonomous multi-vehicle field production systems; strategies for deployment of UAS in agriculture; and analyses of production agriculture data sets. Shearer has led research supported by over $14M in grants; authored more than 200 technical publications (refereed journal articles, conference proceedings, meeting papers and book chapters); and has made numerous invited presentations at international conferences, professional meetings and farmer forums. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University.
Robert Siston
Robert Siston is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with joint appointments in biomedical engineering, orthopaedics, and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. His research seeks to apply principles of mechanical engineering to the treatment of human movement disorders and sits at the intersection of orthopedics and neuromuscular biomechanics. Siston's work has been sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, industry, and philanthropic groups. He is the recipient of the Clinical Biomechanics Award from the American Society of Biomechanics, The Richard C. O'Connor Award from the Arthroscopy Association of North America (2x winner), and the Lumley Research Award from Ohio State's College of Engineering.
Siston has received numerous accolades for his teaching, including the Ohio State's Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the David C. McCarthy Engineering Teaching Award and the Boyer Award for Excellence in Teaching Innovations from the Ohio State College of Engineering, and the Michael Moran Teaching Excellence Award from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
He earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University in 2000 and his master's and PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2002 and 2005, respectively. After a one-year post-doc at Stanford University, he returned to Ohio State in 2006 as an assistant professor.
D. Blake Stringer
Blake Stringer is the Director of the Center for Aviation Studies. He joined Ohio State in 2023 from Kent State University in northeastern Ohio, where he served as assistant and tenured associate professor for the past 10 years. Prior to that, retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel, serving 20 years as a leader in Army Aviation and the Army Research Laboratory. At Kent State, he was the founding faculty member of aerospace engineering undergraduate and graduate degrees, the first engineering programs offered at the university. He concluded his military service as the Army Research Laboratory’s vehicle propulsion division chief, directing the Army’s basic and applied research of engine and drive-system technologies, a position he held while stationed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. An experienced pilot in fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, Stringer holds both a commercial airman certificate and remote pilot certificate from the FAA. He has held academic appointments at the U.S. Military Academy, Kent State, and most recently as the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Aeronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado while on sabbatical.
Stringer is the recipient of numerous military awards and decorations that include the Bronze Star and the Army’s Senior Aviator Badge. He has one combat tour in Iraq. He earned a doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.