Faculty

Brigid Mullany, professor of mechanical engineering with UNC Charlotte’s William States Lee College of Engineering, has been elected as a 2024 Fellow with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Tao Hong, Duke Energy Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the William States Lee College of Engineering, and Harold Reiter, professor emeritus of mathematics in the Klein College of Science, led Team USA’s elementary and middle school-level teams to Grand Champion Team Awards in the 2024 International Mathematics Competition held in July. The wins mark the first time in more than a decade that one country has claimed both championship titles. 

Sukumar Kamalasadan, Duke Energy Distinguished Professor of Electric Power Engineering, has been selected to receive a grant by NCInnovation. He is one of only eight UNC System faculty to receive this award.

Youxing Chen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering with W.S. Lee College of Engineering and the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, has earned an NSF CAREER Award for his research proposal, “Atomic-level understanding of stability and transition kinetics of 3-dimensional interfaces under irradiation.”

Researchers from across UNC Charlotte who lead initiatives with $1 million or more in active external funding were recognized during a reception on Wednesday, March 27. Almost one quarter of the recognized researchers are PI’s from the William States Lee College of Engineering, including Wei Fan who has more than $5 million in active external research grants.

The National Science Foundation has featured Hamed Tabkhi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, as its first Featured PI spotlight for the Smart & Connect Communities Virtual Organization.

William States Lee College of Engineering welcomes Glenn Moglen, seasoned researcher and respected leader, as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He began his role at UNC Charlotte fall semester 2023.

The “Engineering North Carolina’s Future” initiative, backed by transformative investments by the N.C. General Assembly, has ignited a surge of teaching and research excellence at UNC Charlotte. As part of its plan to use this investment, the W.S. Lee College of Engineering has expanded its capabilities with an initial recruitment of three new faculty members.

Sarah Stellwagen, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Science, had an issue. The microscopic spiderwebs she researches are best studied in their native environment—or at least under the right conditions, which include temperature and humidity. But it wasn’t easy to get accurate readings with her microscope in the lab, whose temperature is often stuck at around 70°F with humidity that can fluctuate dramatically depending on the weather.

The William States Lee College of Engineering is leading critical investigations with key research faculty at an increasing rate, as demonstrated by a 25+ percent increase in research funding in the past year ($13,660,952 in 2021-2022 to $17.8M in 2022-2023). Likewise, UNC Charlotte overall is continuing to demonstrate innovation leadership and growth, being ranked fourth in the nation for patents per research dollar.