Faculty and Student Highlights

Adil Bashir, associate professor of electrical engineering, is the co-investigator on a $5.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. In collaboration with researchers from the University of Alabama - Birmingham’s Department of Psychiatry, Bashir is aiming to characterize brain aging phenomena in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Bryan Beckingham, associate professor of chemical engineering, co-edited a new book with a collaborator from Tuskegee University entitled “The Renewable Energy- Water-Environment Nexus: Fundamentals, Technology, and Policy.” The book describes the connections between renewable energy, water and the environment, and then discusses the interrelationships (and opportunities) between renewable energy systems, environmental systems and societal needs for water. This book leveraged expertise of an international group of authors including Cassandra Porter and Lauren Beckingham at Auburn University. Beckingham was also elected to the leadership line for the Materials Engineering and Science Division (MESD) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at the Fall National Meeting in Orlando, Florida. He will serve as 2nd vice chair for 2023-2024, followed by vice chair and chair in subsequent years.

Robert Dean, the McWane Endowed Professor in electrical and computer engineering, received the Outstanding Educator Award for 2023 from the International Microelectronics Assembly & Packaging Society (IMAPS).

Roy Hartfield, the Walt and Virginia Woltosz Professor of aerospace engineering, won the 2023 AIAA Aerodynamics Award from the Huntsville chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 

Rob Jackson, Albert Smith Jr. Professor of mechanical engineering, was selected as editor of the Journal of Tribology, a prestigious publication from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Tribology Division.

Shubhra Karmaker, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering, received a $700,854 basic research grant as the lead principal investigator from the National Science Foundation. Karmaker also received a $542,485 basic research grant as the sole principal investigator from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Konstantin Klyukin, assistant professor of materials engineering, is the principal investigator on a $2 million project from the National Science Foundation titled “DMREF: Computationally Driven Discovery and Synthesis of 2D Materials through Selective Etching.” The award will advance knowledge frontiers required to develop a very selective electrochemical removal process for the synthesis and discovery of novel 2D materials. Auburn University will lead the project in partnership with University of Arizona, Missouri S&T and Tuskegee University.

Joe Majdalani, the Hugh and Loeda Francis Chair of Excellence in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, delivered the 2023 von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics, hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was also named the recipient of the 2024 Wyld Propulsion Award from AIAA, the organization’s highest distinction in propulsion, awarded for outstanding achievements in developing or applying rocket propulsion systems. The AIAA also awarded him the organization’s Abe M. Zarem Educator Award.

Shiwen Mao, the Earle C. Williams Eminent Scholar, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Director of Wireless Engineering Center, won the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Multimedia Communications Technical Committee (MMTC) Outstanding Researcher Award in December 2023, and two Best Paper Awards from the 2023 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM’23), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 2023.

Stephen Mills, Auburn University Applied Research Institute principal research scientist, is the principal investigator of a $1.1 million award supporting the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s Mission Based – Multi Domain Operations Test Environment.

Larry Rilett, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and director of the Auburn University Transportation Research Institute, was honored with the Steinberg Award by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), which annually recognizes “an individual who has made remarkable contributions to transportation education and research.”

Fan Yin, associate research professor and assistant director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology, was awarded five research projects (as the principal investigator) from Equistar Chemicals LP, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Transportation, totaling $1.55 million in funding. Yin was also elected to co-chair the Technical Committee on Alternative Paving Materials – Design and Performance of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures (RILEM), a world-renowned association aimed to promote scientific cooperation in the area of construction materials and structures since its establishment in 1947.

Michael Zabala, Auburn Alumni Engineering Council Associate Professor of mechanical engineering, along with former graduate students, was awarded a U.S. patent for “Methods for Manufacturing Individualized Protective Gear from Body Scan and Resulting Products.”

Xinyu Zhang, Alumni Professor of chemical engineering, is the principal investigator on a team of researchers developing innovative, cost-effective and portable opioid biosensors utilized by patients, medical professionals and law enforcement, capable of providing immediate and accurate opioid detection and monitoring. The project, “An Integrated and Miniaturized Opioid Sensor System: Advancing Evidence-Based Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis,” was awarded $649,585 from U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator, Track L: Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications.

Huaguo Zhou, the Elton Z. and Lois G. Huff Professor of civil and environmental engineering, co-authored a handbook aimed at helping state Department of Transportation offices reduce the risk of wrong-way driving crashes.

Shiqiang Zou, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been appointed as an associate editor for a peer-reviewed international journal, Desalination and Water Treatment. He is one of only two editors representing the United States on the editorial board.