The Students Speak
Outstanding Teachers of the College of Engineering
Our students aren’t the only ones earning high marks in the classroom. At the close of each semester, students have the chance to “grade” their learning experience through the TRACE – Teacher Rating and Course Evaluation program. Receiving feedback shortly after teaching a class helps faculty learn how their course and their teaching are perceived by students. It’s all part of Northeastern’s commitment to excellence in teaching.
In 2010, 27 engineering faculty members earned an A+ from students through the TRACE survey. We applaud our students for their important feedback, and salute these educators and scholars for their remarkable teaching.
Ali Abur
Professor & Chair
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- EECE5682 Power Systems Analysis 1
- EECE5698 Special Topics: Analysis of Unbalance Power Grids
- EECE7224 Power Systems State Estimation
Research Focus:
- Power system state estimation, visualization of power system operation and fault identification in transmission and distribution networks.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Teiichi Ando
Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Rapid solidification processing, advanced thermal processing of materials, material surface engineering, material joining, ultrasonic rapid manufacturing, material processing by severe plastic deformation.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award, 2005
COE student activities:
- Advisor for Northeastern Student Chapter of Materials Advantage (American Society for Metals International/The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (ASM/TMS) and American Ceramic Society, American Iron & Steel Institute)
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Reading, jogging, making sushi
Favorite thing about teaching:
- To have motivated students in class.
Dionisio Bernal
Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CIVE2320 Structural Analysis 1
- CIVE2324 Reinforced Concrete Design
- CIVE7330 Advanced Structural Analysis
- CIVE7331 Structural Dynamics
- CIVE7343 Experimental Modal Analysis
Research Focus:
- Structural health monitoring; System identification; Earthquake engineering; Dynamic instability; Soil-structure interaction.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Martin W. Essigmann Award for Teaching Excellence (NU), 2004
- Hayes Engineering Award for excellence in research (NU), 1989
COE student activities:
- Teach the (Engineering in Training) EIT review for structural analysis and concrete.
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Tennis player, Guitar player
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Sincere handshakes after the semester is over
Rebecca Carrier
Assistant Professor
Chemical Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CHME3322 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics 2
- CHME5160 Drug Delivery: Engineering Analysis
- CHME7320 Chemical Engineering Math
Research Focus:
- Drug Delivery, with 2 focus areas: 1. the influence of ingested lipids on absorption of orally delivered compounds, and 2. Barrier properties of GI mucus to absorption of drugs, drug carriers, and nutrients; Regenerative Medicine, with a focus on development of biomaterials with biomimetic topography, and intestinal and retinal regeneration
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- NSF CAREER Award, 2008
COE student activities:
- Faculty co-advisor for the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering student group
- Former faculty advisor for the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Council and Graduate Materials Links
Hobbies and personal interests:
- I love my research and working with students in my lab – both graduate and undergraduate students. It is really fun to share the love for science and engineering with these students. I also love spending time with my family – I have a wonderful 2 year old son, Jackson. When I can find time, I love snowboarding, biking, running, hiking, cooking, and gardening.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- I really like our focus on practice oriented education. I enjoy hearing about our students’ experiences while on COOP, and highlighting their relation to class topics. I am very impressed with our students’ level of confidence, and I think that originates in part from their excellent practical experiences.
John Cipolla
Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- ME2380 Thermodynamics
- ME6200 Math Methods for Mech Engineer 1
- ME6201 Math Methods for Mech Engineer 2
- ME7205 Adv Math Methods for Mech Engr
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Daniel Dulaski
Assistant Academic Specialist
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CIVE4554 Highway Engineering
- CIVE4768 Senior Design Project: Transportation
- CIVE5373 Trans Planning and Engineering
- CIVE7387 Design Aspects Roadway Safety
Research Focus:
- Transportation Safety, Driver Behavior, Traffic Operations, Human Factors, Geometric Design, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Complete Streets, Roundabouts, Traffic Calming
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- Advisor for the Northeastern University student chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers (NUASCE)
- Advisor for Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Spending time with my family, hiking, camping, swimming, biking, and major home improvements.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- One element that sets NU’s College of Engineering apart from other schools is student dedication. Many of the students appreciate that learning is a lifelong process, one that occurs both in and outside of the classroom. They exemplify this through their participation in extracurricular activities and cooperative experiences. Because there are so many opportunities for interaction, I get to interface with students on a number of levels - a truly rewarding experience.
Jennifer Dy
Associate Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Machine learning, data mining, statistical pattern recognition and applications of these methods to biomedical image and data analysis. Interested in developing novel learning algorithms and in advancing learning methods to address challenges brought forth by complex high-dimensional real-world biomedical applications. In particular, interested in clustering high-dimensional data, exploring multiple clustering interpretations from data, feature selection and sparse methods, learning from multiple annotators, and learning from structured data. Some of the current biomedical projects she is working on include tumor tracking in fluoroscopy images of the lungs for radiotherapy, on image segmentation of in vivo confocal microscopy image stacks of the skin to aid in the diagnosis of cancer, and on identifying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subtypes.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Hobbies and personal interests:
- I’m a mom outside of teaching and research. There isn’t much time left after that. I do like painting.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- I like to inspire and motivate young minds. It is exciting to see them spark up as they learn new concepts. Having the COOP experience, our students are mature and motivated to learn. I am proud to see them grow each year.
- Besides undergraduate, I also get to teach and mentor students in our graduate program. I try to challenge and encourage them to develop new methods and push the state-of-the-art. It is fulfilling to see them become independent researchers.
Andrew Gouldstone
Assistant Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Mechanics of the Respiratory System, Coatings for Harsh Environments, Mechanics of Heterogeneous Materials
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- NSF Career Award, 2005
COE student activities:
- Advisor for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) student group
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Tae Kwon Do, NASCAR, Cooking, Piano
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Students who are willing to work to acquire the skills to take on the world.
Vincent Harris
WL Smith Chair Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- The design and processing of advance magnetic materials with emphasis on materials for high frequency applications; understanding the struction, precessing and magnetism relationship of materials; synchrotron radiation characterization of materials with emphasis on extended x-ray absorption fine structure.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Robert D. Klein University Lecturer, 2011
- Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award, 2007
- Outstanding Teacher of First Year Engineering Students, 2005
Beverly Jaeger
Associate Academic Specialist
Office of the Dean
website
Courses Taught:
- GE1110 Engineering Design
- GE1111 Engineering Problem Solving and Computation
- IE4510 Digital Simulation Techniques
- IE4522 Human Machine Systems
- IE4523 Human Machine Systems Lab
- IE4625 Fac Planning and Material Hand
- MEIE4702 Capstone Design 2
Research Focus:
- (1) Engineering Education: Improving classes and learning and making academics more applied; (2) Virtual Environments/Simulation: Studying human performance in simulated scenarios to help design for real-world; (3) Neurophysiology: Understanding and tracking the processing phases to contribute to improved design of devices, training, and systems. All relate to an underlying theme of engineering for improved human performance and enhanced quality of life.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Outstanding Teacher of First Year Engineering Students Award, 2003, 2007, 2011
- Professor of the Year in Industrial Engineering, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Professor of the Year in Mechanical Engineering
- Excellence in Mentoring Award
COE student activities:
- Faculty advisor to the Paintball Team and the Paintball Club. Helped the students start the organization initially.
Hobbies and personal interests:
- International Professional Tennis Umpire: 3 Olympics (Atlanta, Sydney, Beijing), Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open, US Open, Canadian Open, Méxican Open, Fed Cup in Montréal, Fed Cup in Puerto Rico, events for the WTA and ATP Tour as well as USTA Challengers, collegiate and junior events.
- Acting: Have done professional acting as a simulated patient for research, being observed and filmed portraying patients with specified medical conditions, various backgrounds, and different personality types.
- Forensic Engineer: Am retained and consult as an expert witness in Biomechanical Engineering to investigate cases and render expert opinions, compose technical legal reports, be deposed, and/or testify in court according to case facts and engineering principles.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- The diversity of students and their backgrounds bring a richness to the classroom. There is an unmistakable tone of excellence, inclusion, and quality that is fostered at Northeastern. This is embodied by the students who arrive to class fully present and are inspired to integrate content, research, service, and practical application.
David Kaeli
Professor & Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- EECE7352 Computer Architecture
Research Focus:
- Computer Architecture, Performance Analysis, Embedded Systems, Security and Information Assurance, Back-end Compilers, Profile-guided Optimization, I/O Storage Systems, Hardware Reliability and Recovery, Image Databases, Software Engineering, Workload Characterization, GPGPU
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award, 2009
Philip Larese-Casanova
Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CIVE7250 Environmental Chemistry
Research Focus:
- Chemical processes of water pollutants.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Reading
Favorite thing about teaching:
- My favorite parts of the courses are the hands-on laboratory exercises. The students become so passionate and engaging in the material when they can personally demonstrate the theory, collect data, and interpret it themselves.
Bradley Lehman
Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Solar Photovoltaic system implementation, power management for rechargeable battery systems, DC-DC converters for PDAs, laptop computers, and LED lighting, DC-AC inverters, power electronics
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award, 2006
COE student activities:
- Supervises 5-10 student research projects in solar photovoltaic energy or power electronics each year.
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Community and church volunteering at soup kitchens, prison ministry, US military ministry/chaplaincy
- Swimming (retired swim coach of GA Tech nationally ranked swim team)
Favorite thing about teaching:
- There is nothing more rewarding for a teacher than helping improve the life of a student through education.
Hanoch Lev-Ari
Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Statistical and Adaptive Signal Processing, Signal Processing Techniques for Electric Power Delivery Systems.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- COE Martin W. Essigmann Outstanding Teaching Award, 2005
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Singing group, playing the guitar.
Waleed Meleis
Associate Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- EECE3326 Optimization Methods
- EECE4792 ECE Capstone 2
- HONR3302 Honors Seminar: Limits on Scientific Knowledge: Chaos, Complexity, and Computability
Research Focus:
- Function approximation for large-scale reinforcement learning, Computational infrastructure for seamless, inter-site Grid computing, Applications of Combinatorial Optimization to Switching, Testing, Reconfigurable Computing, and Cache Layout, Microprocessor-aware scheduling algorithms for modern compilers, Parallel and Scalable Processing Systems and Programming Toolsets, Learning-based spectrum selection, Web-based experimental framework for the social sciences
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Eta Kappa Nu Professor of the Year Award (EKN), 2010
- Martin W. Essigmann Outstanding Teaching Award (COE), 2008
- Center for Innovative Course Design Teaching Award (EdTech), 2004
- Martin W. Essigmann Outstanding Teaching Award (COE), 2003
COE student activities:
- Former advisor to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) student group, Faculty Fellow for Stetson West dorm, Pizza with a Prof speaker for Honors Program.
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Playing tennis, solving puzzles, raising twins, and applying algorithms and optimization to everyday life (e.g. scheduling tennis tournaments, optimizing party invitations, tuning cell phone contracts, analyzing baseball’s magic numbers, solving Sudoku, and implementing fair voting systems).
Favorite thing about teaching:
- My favorite thing is our students’ focus on learning, and its application to their careers and future studies. It is a pleasure to teach students who know why they are in school and what they intend to get out of it.
Ronald Mourant
Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CSYE6220 Enterprise Software Dev
- CSYE7270 Building Virtual Environments
- CSYE7374 Special Topics: Interactivity Programming
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Sinan Muftu
Associate Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- ME5656 Mechanics of Contact & Lubrication
- ME5657 Finite Element Method
- ME7232 Theory of Plates and Shells
Research Focus:
- Applied mechanics with focus on biomechanics of the mandible, dynamics of translating plates, and tribology which is the science of friction, lubrication and wear of surfaces.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Pi Tau Sigma, Outstanding Faculty Member, Mechanical Engineering Department, 2007
- Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, 2003
COE student activities:
- Former Advisor for American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Graduate Materials Links
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Reading, running, photography and spending time with my family.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Students: they keep me honest and teach me engineering every day. Colleagues: they inspire me.
Mark Niedre
Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Biomedical Optics, specifically in small animal fluorescence molecular imaging.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- NU Biomedical Engineering club.
- Faculty advisor for the COE Biomedical Engineering minor.
Hobbies and personal interests:
- I enjoy going to concerts at some of the great live music venues in the Boston area.
Favorite thing about teaching:
- I really enjoy interacting with the students. I love that the classes are small enough that I get to know them by name.
Alison Nogueira
Assistant Cooperative Education Coordinator
College of Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- As a Faculty Co-op Coordinator, provides individual co-op and career counseling to Mechanical & Industrial Engineering undergraduate students.
- Heavily involved with partnering with the NU student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as it relates to co-op. Provide them with employer contacts for on-campus presentations, and co-op employer panels.
- Faculty advisor for the Northeastern student chapter of Mechanical Contractors Association of America, (MCAA) and also the student chapter of American Society of Heating Refrigeration Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Hobbies and personal interests::
- Reading, gardening, and career development
Favorite thing about teaching:
- My favorite aspect of teaching students in the College of Engineering is witnessing the professional growth that occurs between my first semester teaching them as sophomores in “Intro to Co-op” and when they take my “Professional Issues in Engineering” course as juniors/seniors. My students develop confidence, engineering knowledge, and strong communication skills from their co-op experiences. The transformation is truly impressive.
David Potter
Associate Cooperative Education Coordinator
College of Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- EECE2000 Intro to Eng Coop Education
- EECE2322 Digital Logic Design
- EECE2323 Digital Logic Design Lab
- EECE3000 Prof Issues in Engineering
Research Focus:
- Interested in the general area of engineering education especially in reference to the expansion of engineering and manufacturing in developing countries, increasing the number of students who tinker with technologies on their own.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- Advisor to the NU Wireless Club
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Ham Radio: 51 years with a license, enjoy morse code and building my own equipment
- Photography: I photograph the ECE Capstone presentations
- Woodworking: Still have all my fingers, make lots of sawdust
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Teaching is the most rewarding thing I have ever done, inside or outside of a classroom. I derive an immense amount of pleasure and satisfaction from seeing someone understand a topic or concept. And we have really great students, all of them.
Gunar Schirner
Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- EECE4534 Microprocessor-Based Design
- EECE4535 Microprocessor-Based Design Lab
- EECE7368 High Level Des of Hw-Sw System
Research Focuss:
- Embedded system modeling, system-level design, and the synthesis of embedded software. The research aims to blur the boundary between a software-based implementation (ie. executing on a processor) and a hardware-based implementation (e.g. executing an algorithm kernel in an FPGA implementation) by developing a system compiler that determines the best embedded hardware platform and synthesizes both hardware and software.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- Co-Advisor for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) student group
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Still intrigued by engineering challenges
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Love the fact that students come with so much experience into the class. Need an example for your concept to explain in class? Just ask the students – guaranteed some students will have had already relevant Co-Op experience and can contribute. The student knowledge and their external experiences keep me on the toes when teaching, and lead to a very interactive student engagement –fun to teach.
Thomas Sheahan
Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Contaminated sediments, offshore landslides and foundation systems, geotechnical laboratory measurements and equipment development, engineering education
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Dean's Award, 2009
- Northeastern College of Engineering Dean’s Meritorious Service Award, 2009
- Tau Beta Pi National Capers and Marion McDonald Mentoring Award, 2007
- Northeastern College of Engineering Teaching Award, 1997
COE student activities:
- Former Advisor for American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Tau Beta Pi honor society, and Engineers without Borders (EWB)
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Cycling, surfing, home improvement projects
Favorite thing about teaching:
- The interaction with students who have been on co-op and have a more sophisticated context for what they are learning.
Reza Sheikhi
Assistant Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- ME7310 Comp Fluid Dy w/ Heat Transfer
Research Focus:
- Computational Fluid Dynamics, Turbulence, Combustion, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, High Performance Computing
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Tennis, Skiing, Hiking, Soccer
Favorite thing about teaching:
- One of my favorite things about NU College of Engineering is its capability to attract “high quality” graduate students. Most of students in my classes (many of which attend graduate school from local industries) are very motivated and enthusiastic about learning, with good engineering backgrounds. This makes my teaching very joyful and enables me to provide more in-depth coverage of the materials.
Mario Sznaier
Dennis Picard Trustee Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Robust Control, Reduced Order Models, Video-based control, Applications to dynamics in Imaging and videoprocessing, information extraction from high volume data streams.
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Mohammad Taslim
Professor
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
Research Focus:
- Experimental and Numerical Heat Transfer related to Gas Turbine Cooling Technology, Renewable Energy, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Modeling, and Computational Fluid Dynamics
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
COE student activities:
- Advisor for Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering honor society
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Biking, Hiking, kayaking
Favorite thing about teaching:
- I set the tone for the brightest and, with no exception, I see that the average and below average students rise to the challenge with some encouragement.
Ming Wang
Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CIVE7355 Advanced Bridge Design
Research Focus:
- Experimental Mechanics, Fiber Reinforced Composites, Construction Materials, Recycled Waste Materials, Structural Dynamics, Earthquake Engineering, Structural Health Monitoring, Structural Damage Assessment, Sensor Technology for Infrastructure
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
Hobbies and personal interests:
- Swimming, hiking, jogging, and traveling
Favorite thing about teaching:
- Students are enthusiastic about learning and working.
Mishac Yegian
Distinguished Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
website
Courses Taught:
- CIVE4767 Sr Design Proj - Structural
- CIVE7301 Advanced Soil Mechanics
- CIVE7311 Soil and Foundation Dynamics
- CIVE7312 Earthquake Engineering
Research Focus:
- Soil Dynamics, Geosynthetics, Seismic Response of Landfills, Base Isolation, Use of Shaking Table in Earthquake Engineering, Liquefaction, Bridges
NU and COE Awards:
- "Students Speak" Teaching Award, 2011
- Distinguished College of Engineering Professor, Northeastern University
- Northeastern University, Teaching Excellence Award, 1995
- Northeastern University, Robert D. Klein Scholar for 1991-1992