SMU Lyle Makes Bold Moves to Innovate Engineering Education and Research (2024)

Fifteen months after joining SMU, Mary and Richard Templeton Dean Nader Jalili, PhD, ASME Fellow, has hired 14 new faculty members,elevated research innovation;introduced a new approach to the curriculum; andcreated a new Center for Digital and Human-Augmented Manufacturing. And that’s just to name a few.

The changes are fueled by Dean Jalili’s vision and made possible in part by generous gifts including alandmark $20 million giftfrom Mary and Richard Templeton and a $15 million gift from the O’Donnell Foundation to support engineering excellence.

“The Lyle School of Engineering has unmatched potential to lead superior quality research and education programs as well as to prepare students to become leaders and innovators in solving the rapidly challenging problems of the 21st century,” Dean Jalili said. “We are advancing our institution to become one of the most innovative engineering schools, known for producing engineers who are agile, resilient, technically strong, multidisciplinary and capable of leading and developing solutions to meet society’s needs.”

Welcoming New Faculty and Reimagining Leadership

In Fall 2023, Dean Jalili launched an ambitious hiring plan to elevate research and education in areas relevant in today’s market, including sustainable energy, AI-powered engineering, and quantum computing and engineering, among other areas of importance to SMU Lyle. The reorganization efforts focus on a collaboration-based approach, fostering larger interdisciplinary teams along thematic lines.

As of summer 2024, 14 distinguished faculty members have joined the school, including department chairs, center and institute directors, and junior and senior faculty members:

Dr. Ali H. Dogru, Herman Brown Chair in Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineeringby courtesy appointment
Former role:Aramco Fellow, Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Earth Resources Lab, and member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
Research areas:next-generation parallel reservoir and basin simulators, modeling of CO2 sequestration, hydrogen storage in porous media

Dr. Amin Saleh-Khojin, Inaugural William T. Solomon Chair of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago, Joint Appointment at Argonne National Laboratory
Research areas:energy storage, conversion systems, and electronic devices

Dr. Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Inaugural Vin and Caren Prothro Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Co-Executive Director of the Hart Institute for Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Former role:Bodine Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering, Academic Director of the Kaplan Institute of Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Institute of Technology
Research areas:power electronic systems, energy storage in automotive systems, advanced drivetrain architectures for HEVs, PHEVs, EVs

Dr. Ben Zoghi, Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Executive Director of the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership
Former role:Victor H. Thompson Professor of Electronic Systems Engineering Technology, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University
Research areas:RFID track and trace, engineering education, emotional intelligence

Dr. Adel Alaeddini, Executive Director for Research Innovation at the Center for Digital and Human-Augmented Manufacturing, O’Donnell Foundation Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems at the University of Texas at San Antonio
Research areas: integrating machine learning and data analytics with engineering, with applications in manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and logistics

Dr. Donghai Wang, Brown Foundation Chair in Mechanical Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University
Research areas:nanomaterial development for clean energy technologies, such as batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and environmental remediation

Dr. Saeed Salehi, Herman Brown Chair in Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Oklahoma
Research areas:energy sustainability and environmental stewardship in extraction of new types of energies

Dr. Chen Wang, O’Donnell Foundation Associate Professor of Computer Science
Former role:Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Louisiana State University
Research areas:security and privacy, mobile sensing, cyber-physical security, and smart healthcare

Dr. Yanling Chang, Associate Professor of Operations Research and Engineering Management
Former role:Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution and Industrial & Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University
Research areas:developing dynamic decision-making models, learning algorithms, and data analytics to tackle challenges in supply chain operations and risk management

Dr. Hamidreza Karbasian, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Postdoctoral Associate of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research areas: mathematical algorithms and leveraging digital twins to improve fluid mechanics and aerospace applications

Dr. Sanjaya Lohani, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Former role:Research Engineer at Co-design Center of Quantum Advantage, Fellow Researcher in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois Chicago
Research areas:AI, algorithms for quantum computing, quantum communication and networking, and cutting-edge quantum technologies

Dr. Egawati Panjei, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Former role:Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering
Research areas:machine learning, data mining, and data stream management, with a notable focus on anomaly explanation

Dr. Gholamreza Moghimi, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Former role:Clinical Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Southern Methodist University
Research areas:structural dynamics and seismic protections of structures, specializing in damping and isolation systems

Dr. Rong Kou, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Former role:Assistant Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University
Research areas:nanomaterial development for clean energy technologies, such as batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and environmental remediation

To support the research efforts of Lyle’s expanded faculty, Dean Jalili has added a new Academic Research Center for interactive work that supports pre-award, post-award and purchasing related to research. In addition to hiring new faculty members, SMU Lyle underwent a bold reorganization to appoint new associate and assistant deans that enhance the leadership team and collectively enrich the school with expertise in marketing, recruiting, academic research, and digital education – a foundational step in implementing the vision for the future of Lyle.

Elevating Research Innovation and Industry Partnerships

A new, one-of-a-kind center is under construction at SMU Lyle in the J. Lindsay Embrey building that will help students, researchers, and industry partners redefine the traditional boundaries of manufacturing.

The 5,000 square-footCenter for Digital and Human-Augmented Manufacturing, planned to open in late August 2024, will explore how digital modeling, simulations, augmented reality, robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence will shape the future of engineering and Industry 4.0 and beyond. The center offers engagement opportunities for industry partners to participate in a collaborative ecosystem of research.

“By combining academia with industry in a cohesive manner, we’re creating a unique center that aims to take pioneering strides in the realms of digital simulations, AR and VR, robotics and more to amplify productivity,” Dean Jalili said.

The new center is equipped for research that leveragesdigital twin technology, or virtual models of real-world objects, systems, or processes that can be used to tweak variables and study the effects – all without the cost of experimenting in the real world. By fusing together AI and machine learning with virtual and augmented reality, engineers can optimize processes, simulate assembly and testing, and more.

Simultaneously, SMU Lyle is undertaking a bold initiative to reinvigorate teaching and research labs across the school, evolving them toward collaborative, multi-user shared spaces. Breathing new life into labs will restore Lyle’s potential and collectively elevate research efforts.

Empowering Future-Ready, Resilient Engineers

Students remain at the center of this transformation. The goal is to produce future engineers who will excel as a resilient workforce and emerge as forward-thinking leaders in their respective fields.

For undergraduate students, the engineering curriculum is on the cusp of evolving into a differentiated, non-traditional, modular design to offer more flexibility between degrees and programs. The new, experiential curriculum will rely partly on integrations with Lyle centers and institutes – making project-based learning and soft skills training requirements for every student.

The modernized, modular course structure allows faculty to quickly pivot to teach new and emerging engineering areas within the existing curriculum structure, while the core courses will equip students with training in innovation, leadership, mentorship and entrepreneurship by Lyle’s highly specialized centers and institutes.

“Through digital innovation and a modular paradigm in both teaching and research, the school is not just shaping the future; it is molding the future of engineering,” Dean Jalili said.

Continuing Bold Innovation and Faculty Hiring in Fall 2024

In his second year of leadership at SMU Lyle, Dean Jalili is building upon his initial ambitious hiring plan to add 10 additional faculty positions during academic year 2024-2025. This multi-faculty cluster hiring will be focused on helping shape SMU Lyle’s innovative curriculum. While also working to finalize the hiring of the Computer Science Department Chair, the Dean is seeking to appoint, through a national search, the last two Executive Directors to lead two of the most vital institutes at Lyle: theHunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, and theCaruth Institute for Engineering Education.

“These new faculty positions will help move forward SMU Lyle’s differentiated, non-traditional, modular curriculum design,” Dean Jalili said.

Looking toward the future, SMU Lyle aims to shift towardmore personalized learning and incorporating immersive technologiessuch as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) into the curricula and student experience. Beginning in Fall 2024, mechanical engineering students will pilot using AR tools to take some of their courses to explore the possibilities of personalization. By integrating AR into thecurriculum, students can become the creators of their own course and tailor the way they want to learn.

“Our innovative approach to engineering education will set SMU Lyle graduates apart from other universities’ undergrads to industry hiring managers,” Dean Jalili said. “We’re building future-ready, resilient engineers.”

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