New Faculty

Korean research scholar joins CSSE

Oh Cheon Kwon, principal researcher and team manager with the Telematics Service Convergence Research team at the Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of South Korea, has begun a one year visit with the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering. ETRI is Korea's largest government funded research institution in information and communication technologies. It has nearly 1,600 researchers, 32 percent of whom hold doctoral degrees. With a 2005 budget of $362 million, ETRI collaborates with 43 research organizations in 17 countries around the world.

Kwon, who holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Durham, is interested in human-computer interaction research and developing collaborative research projects between ETRI and Auburn in the area of automobile telematics, information technology applications and human-system interface designs for automobiles. He will be hosted by N. Hari Narayanan, associate professor in the department and leader of the intelligent and interactive systems research group.

Materials Engineering Welcomes New Faculty Member

The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering welcomes Jong Wook Hong as a materials engineering faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Hong comes to Auburn University from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena where he worked as a postdoctoral scholar.

Hong's research interests include micro/nanofluidics, biomaterials, nanobiotechnology, microarray and biomolecular engineering. While at Caltech, Hong developed ultra-sensitive integrated microfluidic devices for single cell analyses, devised the first microfluidic systems for molecular biology, and led applications of microfluidic systems for environmental engineering.

In addition to his work at Caltech, Hong has research experience with the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) of the University of Tokyo, all in Japan. He holds degrees from Pukyong National University in Korea and the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Aerospace Engineering welcomes new faculty member

The Department of Aerospace Engineering welcomes new faculty member Brian Thurow. Brian Thurow comes to us from Ohio State University where he earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering and was a 2005 University Fellow.

In 2001 the American Society for Engineering Education named him a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow. He is also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Thurow currently teaches aerodynamics classes. His research interests include advanced optical diagnostics, high-repetition rate experimental diagnostics, aero-optics, scramjet engines, lasers, compressible flows and turbulence.

"On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering we are very pleased to welcome our new and returning faculty members," remarks Benefield. "They help advance us toward our vision of positioning the college to become one of the nation's top 20 engineering institutions.