College Administration – All Personnel

Dr. Arvind Agarwal joined the FIU Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering as an Assistant Professor in November 2002. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1999. After obtaining his PhD degree, Dr. Agarwal worked as the Materials Scientist at Plasma Processes Inc. Huntsville, AL for three years.   His current research interests include carbon nanotube reinforced composites and  coatings, plasma spray, surface engineering, nanomechanics and nanotribology,  bioceramic  coatings,  nanomechanics  of  biological  cells  and  spark  plasma sintering. His research has been funded in excess of $3.5M from NSF, ONR, AFOSR, ARO, NASA  and  private  industries.  Dr.  Agarwal has authored more than 175 publications in international journals and conferences, edited 4 books, co-authored 1 book, and reviewed articles for 50 international journals. Dr. Agarwal also serves on the editorial boards of 6 journals. Dr. Agarwal  has  organized  numerous  symposiums for  Minerals,  Metals  and  Materials  Society (TMS) and ASM International in the area of “Surface Engineering” and “Nanomaterials” over the last ten years.

M. Hadi Amini is an Assistant Professor at School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019, where he received his M.Sc. degree in 2015. He also holds a doctoral degree in Computer Science and Technology. Prior to that, he received M.Sc. degree from Tarbiat Modares University in 2013, and the B.Sc. degree from Sharif University of Technology in 2011. His research interests include theoretical optimization and learning algorithms, distributed algorithms, sensor networks, interdependent networks, and cyberphysical resilience. Application domains include energy systems and transportation electrification.

Hadi is a life member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN), the honor society of IEEE. He served as President of Carnegie Mellon University Energy Science and Innovation Club; as technical program committee of several IEEE and ACM conferences; and as the lead editor for a book series on ‘‘Sustainable Interdependent Networks’’ since 2017. He has published more than 60 refereed journal and conference papers, and book chapters. He is the recipient of the best reviewer award from four IEEE Transactions, the best journal paper award in “Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy”, and the dean’s honorary award from the President of Sharif University of Technology.

As the Director of Strategic Initiative and Communications for the FIU College of Engineering & Computing, Yesim Anter supports the college leadership team in formulating and executing the vision of the college. Yesim joined FIU on November 2017 and has over 15 years of experience in a large range of related activities at The Ohio State University (OSU) and University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). Yesim received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996 and an MBA in marketing from UIC in 2003.

Dr. Shekhar Bhansali currently serves as the Alcatel-Lucent Professor, Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Interim Director of the School of Electrical, Computer, and Enterprise Engineering at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL.  His current research is in the areas of bio-sensing and bioengineering, oceanographic sensing, materials science, micro/nanotechnology and alternative energy. A prolific researcher, he has published over 150 journals and 163 conference papers, and he holds 36 U.S patents. As a mentor, Dr. Bhansali has advised over 65 Ph.D. and master’s students, and more than 130 undergraduate/high school students. He has received several honors and recognitions for his research articles. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States Department of Defense (DoD), along with other industries and national laboratories.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has received numerous awards including FIU’s Top Scholar Award in 2014, William R. Jones Outstanding Mentor Award from the Florida Education Fund in 2009 and 2011, Mentor of the Year Award from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2009, and 2003 NSF CAREER award. He has conceptualized and led several inter-connected interdisciplinary graduate student research and training programs, including NSF-IGERT, NSF Bridge to Doctorate and Alfred P. Sloan Doctoral Fellowship Programs to increase diversity, retention, and graduation rates. Through these programs, he oversaw the education of over 150 graduate students with multi-year fellowships in colleges of Engineering, Arts and Sciences and Medicine. Dr. Bhansali is on the editorial boards of Recent Patents in Nanotechnology and Technology & Innovation and serves as a reviewer for more than 35 reputed international journals. He received his doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia; his master’s degree in Aircraft Production Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, India; and his bachelor’s degree with Honors in Metallurgical Engineering from the Malaviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur, India.

Dr. Boesl received his PhD in 2009 and upon graduation he accepted a position as an ORAU post-doctorate scholar at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, MD.  At ARL his research focused on material response and design through the development of novel experimental testing procedures and the implementation of computational methods for dynamic progressive failure analysis of protection systems for ballistic applications.  Dr. Boesl joined the FIU MME Faculty in 2012 and is the director of the Composites Laboratory and the µStruct Laboratory.  His research interests include solid mechanics, fracture mechanics, in situ mechanical testing, high strain rate/dynamic material response, and processing-structure-property relationships.

Lakhdar Boukerrou is the Director of International Programs and Global Initiative.  He has wide-ranging experience, both in the US and abroad, in international development, project management, training programs design, monitoring and evaluation.  He has a wide-ranging experience managing projects in several countries including Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, and the United States.  More recently he served as the Regional Director/Chief of Party the USAID WA-WASH Program in West Africa.  He served as a resource person and subject matter expert for USAFRICOM funded symposia in Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

He used his extensive experience in capacity building to develop numerous training programs funded by US and international organizations.  He consulted for to the World Bank, The Global Mechanism of the United Nations, the Islamic Development Bank, the UN Global Environment Facility, academic institutions and several Fortune 500 companies and small businesses in the US and abroad.

As the Director of Administrative Services and Human Resources Operations in the College of Engineering and Computing, Bethania holds the most senior HR role in the College, reporting directly to the College Dean. Bethania influences and executes the Human Resources strategy for the College. Leads a team of five HR employees and supports approximately 1,000 people, including Faculty, Admin/Staff, and temporary workers primarily based on two campuses. Before joining FIU, Bethania spent 15 years of her career at JPMorgan Chase, where she had the opportunity to serve as a Finance Manager based in New York before becoming a Human Resources Manager based in Orlando. Both roles had a global scope and allowed her to manage employees and support clients across the United States and internationally.

Kristian serves as the Program Assistant for FIU-ENLACE. Kristian maintains the online database for The Children’s Trust and acts as a Parent Liaison at Kendale Elementary for the afterschool program. With The Children’s Trust, Kristian assists with data entry; monitoring student’s intake forms, attendance, and tracking student growth in their individualized tests throughout the school year. For the Kendale Elementary afterschool program, Kristian is involved with student tutoring, updating parents as a Parent Liaison, administering Trust Central’s required tests, and assisting the Site Coordinator.​

Heidi Diaz is the Administrative Service Coordinator for the Dean’s Office. Heidi holds a Master’s in Human Resource Management from FIU. In addition, she has a Master’s in Management and Productivity and a Bachelor’s in Tourism and Hotel Administration. Heidi has over ten years of international professional experience in different administrative areas, including Human Resources recruitment, onboarding, immigration, and payroll. She has extensive customer service experience, including serving as a liaison for employees. Heidi describes herself as someone “always driven to learn so that I can become the best version of myself day after day.” She enjoys spending time with family, reading online recipes, and making nice desserts.

Francisco Fins serves as the director for the FIU-ENLACE / Children’s Trust  Project for the Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing. In this capacity, he supports the center’s outreach efforts in all aspects of the college’s K-12 programs and pre-college STEM activities. Francisco has extensive experience in the area of k-12 pre-college educational programs and has been involved with managing and directing pre-college programs for the College of Engineering for the past 22 yrs. He earned his bachelors degree in business administration with a minor in accounting from FIU and has completed school-age Childcare Certificate training with the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Biography

Trina Fletcher has an interdisciplinary background with both her education and full-time experiences. Fletcher holds a doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University and has industry experience including roles with Johnson & Johnson, Eaton Corporation and serving as the director of pre-college initiatives for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
 

Current Appointments

Faculty Fellow, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Affiliate Faculty, African & African Diaspora Studies Program, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

EngineerGirl Steering Committee; National Academy of Engineering (2019–present)
 

Education History

Purdue University, Ph.D., George Washington University, M.S., University of Arkansas, M.S., University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, B.S. (HBCU)
 

Research Areas 

• Diversity, equity and inclusion within STEM education
• African Americans, women and girls in engineering and computing education
• STEM education at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
• Use of industry and tech-sector best practices for continuous improvement/innovation in higher education

Funded Research Projects 

Exploring the Success of HBCUs Development of Blacks Earning Engineering and Computing Graduate Degrees (PI)  NSF Award #: 1923229

RAPID: The Impact of COVID-19 on Broadening Participation in Engineering at HBCUs (PI) NSF Award #: 2031221

RAPID: Understanding the Impact of Abrupt Changes to Instructional Methods on Underrepresented Engineering Students (Co-PI) NSF Award #: 2029564

Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Directed Multiscale Assembly of Cellular Metamaterials with Nanoscale Precision: CELL-MET (Co-PI) NSF Award #: 1647837
 

Representative Publications

Fletcher, T. L., Jefferson, J. and Boyd, B. (2021). Missed Opportunity for Diversity in Engineering: Black Women and Undergraduate Engineering Degree Attainment. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice.

Edwards, C., Lee, W., Knight, D., Reid, K, Lewis, R. & Fletcher, T. L. (2021). Outreach at Scale: Developing a Logic Model to Explore the Organizational Components of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids Program. Advances in Engineering Education. V 9 (2), 1-28.

Boyd, B., Jefferson, J. & Fletcher, T. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on STEM Faculty and Students at HBCUs. American Educational Research Association (AERA). Virtual. April 8 – 12, 2021.

Fletcher, Tina and Fletcher, Trina. National Problem, Local Solution: Addressing the school-to-prison pipeline with an increase in minority teachers. Yale State and Local Policy Review. 2019. https://yslpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/YSLPRWebPrint.pdf

Hug, S., Eyerman, S., Fletcher, T. L. & Martinez-Ortiz, A. (2020). Engineering Outreach: Ambassador Girls Empowering Girls in the Field (Evaluation). Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Virtual.

Fletcher, T. L., Green, A., Arrayo, E. & Quintero, R. (2020). “Intersectionality at minority-serving institutions (MSIs): A longitudinal analysis of female student participation within engineering and computing”. 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Virtual.

Fletcher, T. L., Fletcher, T. L., Williams, J. L., Benedict, B.S., Boyd, B. N., & Watkins, K. (2019, June), Minority Serving Institutions: America’s Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce Report – Implications for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Tampa, Florida.

Fletcher, T., Ross, M., Tolbert, D., Holly, J., Cardella, M., Godwin, A., DeBoer, J. (2017). Ignored potential: A collaborative roadmap for increasing African American Women in Engineering. National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Women in Engineering ProActive Network

*Edwards, C. E., Lee, W.C., Knight, D.B., Reid, K.W., Fletcher, T.F., Meeropol, G. Maximizing Accessibility: Providing summer engineering experiences for racially, ethnically, and economically underrepresented youth. Paper presented at the 2018 ASEE Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD) Conference, Arlington Lake, Virginia, April 29 – May 2, 2018.*Awarded Best Paper

G. D. Young, Knights, D.B., Lee, W., Cardella, M., Reid, K. & Fletcher, T. “Leveraging a multi-partner approach to develop successful STEM outreach programs,” 2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Indianapolis, IN, USA, 2017, pp. 1-5. doi:10.1109/FIE.2017.8190725

Fletcher, T. L., Ross, M. S., Carr, C. & Boyd, B. (2017, June), Classroom Instructors’ Perceptions of Site Leadership and Interest Outcomes within a Summer Engineering Program (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/78/author_index/82147.

Ross, M. S., & Fletcher, T. L., & Cox, M. F., & Main, J. B. (2015, June), African American Women in the Academe: A Comprehensive Literature Review Through the Lens of Intersectionality Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.23505

Andrew Green serves as the associate director of academic services for the Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing. In this capacity, he supports the center in all aspects of the college’s K-12 programs, pre-college STEM activities, and the student success initiatives. Andrew comes to the center after previously working with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the dean’s office as program director for strategic initiatives. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from FIU and he’s currently enrolled in the higher education doctoral degree program.

Dr. Hernandez is a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mathematics with Master’s thesis and Doctoral dissertation in the area of Computer Science. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hiroshima in 1997 and was a postdoctoral researcher in the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology from 1997 to 1999 under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Foreign Researchers. He has a career of more than 20 years in higher education, encompassing interdisciplinary areas of Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Dr. Hernandez research interests include computational geometry and its applications, data structures, algorithms, robotics, optimization, and computer science education and has published papers in leading journals and conferences. In the classroom, Dr. Hernandez favors the use of innovative teaching and learning strategies that emphasize an active learning approach.

Research Interests: Cardiovascular disease and mechanobiology, Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, Tissue engineering, Molecular imaging
Research Advancements: Joshua Hutcheson studies cardiovascular disease mechanisms.
Research Area: Basic Research in Tissue Engineering Model Systems
Lab: Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Laboratory

Dr. Leon’s areas of research include optimal control of reservoir systems, numerical modeling and experimentation of multi-phase flows, resilient flood control, computational fluid dynamics, and physical modeling of hydraulic structures.

Within the area of optimal control of reservoir systems, Arturo’s group developed a novel and computationally efficient model for the near real‐time and optimal control of multi‐objective and multi‐reservoir systems under uncertainty. This model is currently enabling to make near real-time (one-hour intervals) optimal decisions of water use in the Columbia River system that involves four States (OR, ID, WA, MT) in the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Lin is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering at FIU. He directs the Computational Fluids and Energy Sciences (CFES) Laboratory and the Sustainable Energy and Thermal Transport Systems (SETTS) Laboratory. His previous positions include Associate Professor and Associate Director in UT CFD Lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Summer Faculty Fellow in Air Force Research Laboratory at WPAFB, and Program Manager in the Applied Research Center at Florida International University. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and has authored and co-authored over 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. His current research interests include Computational Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Microfluidics and Energy Simulations, with applications in HVAC, Indoor Environment, Buildings and Data Centers, Power Plants, Electronic Cooling,  Solar and Geothermal Energy Utilization. His projects have been funded by government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense (AFOSR, ONR), and commercial companies, including Pratt & Whitney and ASHRAE. He serves on the review panels of NSF, DOE, and DoD, and on the editorial boards of eight international journals. He is an active member of the ASME, ASHRAE, AIAA, and ASEE. Among his recent awards and honors is the Outstanding Reviewer Award by ASME in 2011.

Mr. Luis serves as Executive Director for Technology in FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing. Over the last thirty years he has successfully lead higher education IT research and instructional enterprise services for one of the state’s largest Engineering and Computing programs. He manages cluster computing/networking platform and professional IT support services. Mr. Luis collaborates with FIU faculty, industry research staff, and government agencies on computing related R&D, via the acquisition and execution of millions of dollars in state, local, and federal funded projects, industry contracts. He conducts business development and outreach for the South Florida IT industry and created with management the SCIS Executive Industry Advisory Board. He has overseen dozens of in-house software development projects, establishing business requirements, designing software frameworks, implementing, and deploying them for administrative or R&D purposes.

— Technology Director for the Integrated Computer Augmented Virtual Environment (ICAVE). We develop Virtual Reality experiences for data visualization and training.

— Technology Director for the Disaster Information Management Lab and project manager for the Business Continuity Information Network (BCIN, www.bizrecovery.org). Leading both technical and business development aspects for the BCIN project, he developed and coordinates the public and private sector activities, manages system software requirements, and shares design responsibilities.

Mr. Luis holds a Masters in Computer Science from Florida International University.

Specialties:
Computing research use of IT
IT support services in Higher Education
Disaster Informatics Research
Mobile Computing
Agile Development
Intellectual property development in computing research
Administrative Software System Consulting

Anthony McGoron is the associate dean for academic affairs for FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing and a professor in biomedical engineering. He is also a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). McGoron was the interim chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2007 to 2010 and the national president of the Alpha Eta Mu Beta Biomedical Engineering Honor Society from 2010 to 2014.

Dr. Osama A Mohammed serves as a Distinguished University Professor, Associate Dean of Research, and at the College of Engineering and Computing. He is also the Director for the School of Electrical Computer and Enterprise Engineering Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL, USA. In addition, he is the Director of the Energy Systems Research Laboratory, FIU, and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Mohammed is world-renowned for his expertise in various research topics in power and energy systems. Specifically, he has interests in computational electromagnetics, design optimization, and physics-based modeling in electric drive systems and other low-frequency environments. His interests also include; electromagnetic signatures, wide-bandgap devices and switching modeling and techniques, ship power systems modeling and analysis, energy storage systems, and power electronics. His recent research projects include; smart-grid distributed control, interoperability, and energy cyber-physical systems. He currently has active research projects with several federal agencies in these areas. He has authored nearly 800 articles in refereed journals and other refereed international conference records. He has also authored a book and several book chapters and holds 15 patents awarded, and several others are pending. He has made numerous keynotes and invited presentations at academic and industrial organizations and conferences worldwide in addition to being a general chair of 10 major IEEE international conferences.

Professor Mohammed is a Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of the Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society ACES. He is a recipient of the prestigious IEEE Power and Energy Society Cyril Veinott Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award and the Outstanding Research Award from FIU in 2012, and the 2017 Outstanding Doctoral Mentor at FIU.

Professor Mohammed received the master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA, in 1981 and 1983, respectively. His bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with distinction and honor from Zagazig University, Egypt, 1977.

Academic Degrees: Ph.D. in Computing and Information Systems, University of North Carolina, M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka
Areas of Expertise: Security and resiliency analysis and design, Computer networks, SDN/NVF, clouds, Cyber-physical systems/Internet of Things (IoT), Formal verification and synthesis, Autonomous and unmanned vehicles

Academic Degrees: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, B.S. in Electronics Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

Areas of Expertise: Smart grid, Smart city, High penetration renewable resilient communities, Data analytics

Professor Andres Tremante is the new director of the Center for Diversity and Student Success in the College of Engineering and Computing (CD-SSEC). In this position, Dr. Tremante is responsible for all aspects of the College’s K-12 programs and pre-college STEM activities, working closely with the college advisors and associate deans to improve student success, graduation & retention rates and in advancing the mission of the college. He will also support the Industry-University Cooperative Programs and the ERC’s Diversity and Inclusion areas for PATHS-UP and CELL-MET. He is also the deputy director of the CELL-MET Culture of Inclusion Thrust Area.

Professor Tremante received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar and his doctoral degree from Arts et Métiers Paris Tech. He joined FIU in 2008 after 25 years of experience in Europe and Latin America, mostly in academia and the oil industry. He brings forward a long record of teaching, scholarly research, academic service and strong credentials for leadership as the director of CD-SSEC.

Dr. Inés Triay is the Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and the Associate Dean for Research Innovation and Technology at the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) at Florida International University (FIU). The Center’s focus is to solve real-world problems in partnership with government and private industry through multi-disciplinary research collaborations within the University’s increasingly talented applied and basic research units. Dr. Triay joined FIU in October 2012 after a distinguished career as scientist and administrator at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which includes positions as Assistant Secretary for the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. Dr. Triay earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the University of Miami, FL in 1985 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Miami.

Julie Vallejos serves as the Program Coordinator of Undergraduate Education within CD-SSEC. She is the event lead for the Annual Engineering Expo and manages the school visits for the Engineers On Wheels program. Julie acts as the College’s liaison for all Engineering & Computing Student Organizations, assisting them with university wide and community engagement, leadership training, and fundraising strategies. Julie is also the primary liaison for all college-wide and minority based scholarships. Julie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Psychology Behavioral Sciences, received a certificate in Applied Behavior Therapy. Prior to joining us at FIU, Julie spent 6 years working in the medical field helping children on the Autism spectrum and learning disabilities. She has been with FIU for 5 years and is pursuing a Master’s Degree from Purdue University in Higher Education Administration with a focus on Student Affairs.​

John L. Volakis is the dean of the College of Engineering & Computing and a professor of electrical and computer engineering. He is a leader in all aspects of wireless communications, biomedical sensors and imaging, wearable textile electronics, antennas and arrays.

 Mark Allen Weiss is Distinguished University Professor in the School of Computing and Information Sciences and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education of the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. He also serves as Interim Founding Director of the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering EDucation (SUCCEED) having previously served for nine years as Associate Director of the School of Computing and Information Sciences. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Cooper Union in 1983, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University in 1987, after which he joined FIU. His interests include data structures,algorithms, and education. He is most well-known for his highly-acclaimed Data Structures textbooks, which have been used by a generation of students. Read More.