People | CEESIM

Leadership

Pengfei Xue

Associate Director, Great Lakes Research Center
Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Director, Center for Environmental Engineering, Sensing, and Integrated Modeling

Links of Interest

Teaching Interests

Introductory Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Hydrodynamic Modeling
Water Resources Engineering
Ecosystem Dynamics Modeling

Research Interests

Hydrodynamic modeling
Regional climate modeling
Coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics
Data assimilation and machine learning
Biophysical processes in the Great Lakes
Estuary and coastal ocean processes

Hayden Henderson

Senior Research Engineer
Assistant Director, Center for Environmental Engineering, Sensing, and Integrated Modeling
Relief Captain

Areas of Expertise

Limnology and physical oceanography
Application, fabrication, and deployment of advanced technology and integrated observing systems
Surface and underwater autonomous or remotely operated research platforms
Meteorological and biogeochemical sensor instrumentation
Quality assurance and control of in-situ data
USCG 100 GRT Master Captain

Research Interests

Establishment of long-term climate observations
Great Lakes acidification
Ship based flow-through systems
Nutrient cycling and subsequent productivity
Advanced technologies for increasing public safety
Data science and tool building

Members

Jamey Anderson

Assistant Director, Marine Operations
Manager, Marine Research Assets Shared Facility

Specialties

Oversee research buoys
Maintain and repair Remote Operated Vehicles
Maintain R/V Agassiz to USCG standards
Maintain and operate survey vessels
Provide electrical and mechanical support of specialized research equipment
Expanded Biography

Anthony Arnold

Research Engineer

anthonya@mtu.edu

Specialties

Underwater acoustic remote sensing
Design, fabrication, testing & utilization of prototype field deployable instruments
Application and deployment of advanced technologies and integrated observing systems
Quality assurance and control of in-situ data
Provide strategic scientific and engineering support to partners
Scientific scuba diving

Research Interests

Surface and underwater autonomous or remotely operated research platforms
Acoustic signal processing
Optical engineering
Marine engineering
Business water risk

Jung Yun Bae

Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Assistant Professor, Applied Computing
Faculty Lead, The Institute of Computing and Cybersystems Robotics Initiative

bae@mtu.edu
906-487-1416
R. L. Smith 1015

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Research Interests

Robotics, Multi-robot systems
Coordination of Heterogeneous Robot Systems
Vehicle Routing Problems
Multi-robot System Control and Optimization
Autonomous Navigation
Operational Research for Autonomous Vehicles

Jeremy P. Bos

Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Faculty Advisor, Robotic Systems Enterprise

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Areas of Interest

Atmospheric optics
Statistical optics
Quantum optics
Image and Signal Processing
Autonomous vehicles and vehicular networks
Industrial automation and controls

Bo Chen

Associate Professor, Computer Science
Director, ICC Center for Cybersecurity

Links of Interest

ICC Center for Cybersecurity

Areas of Expertise

AI Security
Cyber-Physical Systems Security
Mobile Device Security
Cloud Computing Security
Blockchain

Fengying Dang

Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Areas of Interest

Robotics and Control
Sensing and Perception
Data-Driven Modeling
Learning-based Control
Application of Artificial Intelligence in robotics
Robotics Design (underwater/ agriculture)

Timothy C. Havens

Executive Director, Great Lakes Research Center
Executive Director, Institute of Computing and Cybersystems
William and Gloria Jackson Professor

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Areas of Interest

Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Signal and Image Processing
Sensor and Data Fusion
Heterogeneous Data Mining

Chenfu Huang

Assistant Research Scientist, Great Lakes Research Center

chenfuh@mtu.edu

Area of Expertise

Hydrodynamic modeling
Regional climate modeling
Physical limnology
Nearshore processing

Research Interests

Great Lakes cross-scale hydrodynamics
Integrated Earth modeling system
Long-term climate change and projection over the Great Lakes
Short-term hydrodynamic forecasting in the Great Lakes
Interactions between atmospheric and lake processing

Ishi M. Keenum

Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Research Interests

Antibiotic resistance dissemination and treatment in engineered and agricultural environments
Establishing standards for microbiome research
Pathogen detection and control
Microbial ecology and molecular epidemiology

Erik Keranen

Assistant Research Scientist

edkerane@mtu.edu
906-487-2960
Noblet Building 110

Areas of Expertise

Wood protection
Wood composites
Physical and mechanical properties testing of wood and wood composites
Field-testing of wood products for decay and insect resistance

Jae Sung Kim

Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Courses Taught

SU 4140 - Photogrammetry and UAV Mapping
SU 4540 - Introduction to Remote Sensing
SU 5541 - Close-range Photogrammetry
SU 5998 - Practical Experience in Integrated Geospatial Technology

Research Interests

Photogrammetry
Remote Sensing
GeoAI
Geodesy
GIS
Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure
Application of geospatial technology to agriculture and environmental science

Ben Kopec

Assistant Research Scientist, Great Lakes Research Center
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Links of Interest

Online CV

Research Interests

Arctic water cycle
Water isotope geochemistry
Ice-ocean/lake-atmosphere interactions
Ocean/lake water mass partitioning
Impacts of changing cryosphere on hydrologic systems

Jess Kozarek

Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Research Interests

Interactions between flow, sediment transport, water quality and aquatic biota
Water quality dynamics
Linkages between infrastructure and aquatic habitat
Freshwater restoration and management

Teaching Interests

Ecological Engineering

Evan Lucas

Assistant Professor, Computer Science

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Area on Interest

Machine Learning for Signal Processing and Environmental Sensing
Image Enhancement
Large Language Model Memorization and Watermarking
Acoustic Signal Processing

Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi

Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

smalladi@mtu.edu
906-487-3503
R. L. Smith 933

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Areas of Expertise

Vibrations; Modal Testing
Anechoic Traveling Waves
Digital Signal Processing
Data-Analytics
Smart Materials

Research Interests

Adaptive Systems and Meta-structures
Internet-of-Vibrations
Environmental Testing
Human-structure Interaction
Piezoceramics and SMAs
Wave Propagation
Structural Health Monitoring
Bio-inspired Dynamics

Amna Mazen

Assistant Professor, Applied Computing
Assistant Professor, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology

amazen@mtu.edu
EERC 223

Areas of Research/Expertise

Autonomous Robots/Vehicles

Mobile Robots
Manipulators
Autonomous Vehicles

Machine Learning

Robotics
Healthcare
Image Forensic
Energy Management

Teaching Interests

Robotics and Mechatronics Senior Design
Manipulator Robotics
Digital Twins
Hardware and Software Integration
Control System Design
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Computational Intelligence Techniques

Guy Meadows

Emeritus Director and Research Fellow, GLRC
Research Professor, MAE, and Adjunct Professor, GMES

Research Interests

Large scale field experimentation in the Inland Seas of the Great Lakes and coastal oceans
Nearshore hydrodynamics and prediction
Autonomous and semi-autonomous environmental monitoring platforms (surface and sub-surface)
Underwater acoustic remote sensing
Marine engineering

Adrienne Minerick

Distinguished Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Professor, Biomedical Engineering
A Past President, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Links of Interest

micro Medical Device Engineering Research Laboratory (uM.D.-ERL)

Research Interests

Microdevices
Medical diagnostics
Nonlinear electrophoresis

Walker H. Nelson

Research Engineer II

Areas of Interest

Signal processing
Remote sensing
Machine learning
Data systems

Lei Pan

Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Links of Interest

Laboratory of Multiscale Separation Technologies (LAMST)

Research Interests

Particulate Separation
Surface Chemistry
Process Modelling

Gordon G. Parker

John and Cathi Drake Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering

ggparker@mtu.edu
906-487-1850
R. L. Smith 803

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

Nonlinear and Optimal Control
Modeling and Simulation
Real-Time Embedded Systems

Research Interests

Wave Energy Converter (WEC) modeling, control, and experimental validation
Point absorber nonlinear response shaping
Passive and active vibration control

Ashraf I. Saleem

Assistant Professor, Applied Computing
Affiliated Faculty, Computational Science & Engineering

Links of Interest

Robotics & Remote Sensing Lab (RRSL)

Research Interests

Image Enhancement
UAV-based Remote Sensing
Artificial Intelligence Applications in Remote Sensing
Computer Vision and AI
Data acquisition and real-time control

"The more you do, the more you do."
—George Sanders (my Dad)

Paul G Sanders

Patrick S. Horvath Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) Key Professor
Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation Steel Professor

sanders@mtu.edu
906-487-2339
M & M Building 501

Teaching Interests

Lead MSE undergraduate senior design program: integrate mechanistic models, ICME tools, experiments, and statistics
Apply design knowledge via real-world, industry-sponsored projects

Links of Interest

Institute of Materials Processing (IMP)

Research Interests

Alloy design in Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, and MPEAs
Apply ICME and statistical tools with machine learning and DOEs in alloy optimization
Verify via production through casting, wrought processing (extrusion, rolling, drawing, swaging), and/or (wire) additive manufacturing
Applications in sustainability (recycling), transportation (lightweighting), and efficiency (thermal stability)

Malik Sankofa

Laboratory Technician, Environmental Biotechnology Lab

msankofa@mtu.edu
GLRC 114

Areas of Interest

Bioinformatics
Microbial ecology
Plant-microbe interactions
Community structure

Steven Senczyszyn

Research Engineer III, Great Lakes Research Center

Specialties

Program Management
Proposal Development
Technology Commercialization

Research Interests

Acoustics and Vibrations
- Thermoacoustics
- Carbon Nanotube Speaker Design and Fabrication
- Underwater Acoustics
- Active Noise Control
Image and Signal Processing
Autonomous Vehicles

Roger Turpening

Research Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Leo C. Ureel II

Associate Professor, Computer Science
Associate Professor, Psychology and Human Factors
Coordinator, College of Computing Learning Center

ureel@mtu.edu
906-487-1816
Rekhi Hall 209

Links of Interest

Area of Expertise

Computer Science Education
Artificial Intelligence
Cognitive Science
Programming Languages
Software Engineering
Human Factors

David Watkins, PE

Distinguished Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Links of Interest

Google Scholar Profile

Center for Climate-driven Hazard Adaptation, Resilience, and Mitigation (C-CHARM) in Great Lakes Rural Communities

AmeriCorps and VISTA Master’s Programs

Michigan Tech Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA

Google Scholar Profile

Teaching Interests

Water resources planning and management
Environmental systems analysis
Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
Optimization methods
Learning through service

Research Interests

Integrated water resources planning
Hydrologic modeling and forecasting
Flood risk management
Climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
Food-Energy-Water Nexus
Systems optimization under uncertainty
Sustainable development engineering

Wei Wei

Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

wwei4@mtu.edu
906-487-3405
R. L. Smith 927

Areas of Interest

• Advanced Power Systems
• Sustainable Manufacturing and Design
• Mechanics of Multi-scale Materials

Link of interest

Google Scholar

Research Interests

• Additive manufacturing
• Advanced materials for electrochemical applications
• Nanotechnology
• Renewable energy conversion and storage
• Clean fuel production

Travis White

Research Engineer, Great Lakes Research Center
Relief Captain, Great Lakes Research Center

Specialties

Responsible for administration of the Marine Autonomy Research Site and Smart Ships Coalition and coordination with the Marine Research Assets Shared Use Facility (MRAF) in support of client needs.
Provide scientific and engineering support to faculty, staff, partners, and sponsors with expertise in design, manufacturing, and integration of marine systems. Support budget and proposal development, project management, and strategic planning.
Over 10 years' experience as a licensed captain on the Great Lakes with expertise in navigation systems, marine electronics, mechanical systems, and maintenance, repair, and operations.
Expanded Biography.

Ryan Williams, GISP, MGIS

Assistant Director, Geospatial Research Facility

Areas of Expertise

Geographic Information Systems
Database Development
GIS Tool and Process Development
Integrating Web, GIS, Database and Analytics Tools

Xinfeng Xie

Associate Professor of Forest Biomaterials

xinfengx@mtu.edu
906-487-2294
Noblet Building 110

Areas of Expertise

Carbon materials derived from wood, lignin, and cellulose
Integrated thermochemical conversion and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass
Carbon-polymer composites and hybrid materials
Wood protection and preservation
Wood properties, quality, and modification