New Faculty and Staff Welcomed at Dinner

College deans and department heads welcomed new faculty, staff and their families at a dinner on August 17, 2018 in the Roth Reading Room of the UTC Library.

New Faculty

• Dr. Hamdy Ibrahim – Mechanical Engineering
• Dr. Seong Dae Kim – Engineering Management and Technology
• Dr. Mohamad Mahtabi – Mechanical Engineering
• Dr. Mengjun Xie – Computer Science and Engineering
• Dr. Deborah Mudali – Computer Science and Engineering, Visiting Professor

 New Staff

• Mr. Philip Bonfiglio – Development
• Ms. Amber Burdsall – Dean’s Office
• Ms. Alanna Hunnicutt – Student Success Center
• Ms. Sara Jackson – Student Success Center
• Ms. Ghorashi Maryam – Dean’s Office
• Mr. Jason McDowell – IT and Laboratories

New Department Head of Engineering Management and Technology
Dr. Ahad Nasab comes to the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga with ample industry and academic experiences, after earning his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1987. Among positions he previously held, Dr. Nasab was the principal technical director responsible for designing and marketing hydrogen fuel cells at the Power Avenue Corporation, the Vice President of Technology at the Middle Tennessee Technologies, and a Research Scientist at the University Tennessee Space Institute. He has worked as a faculty member at Vanderbilt University and the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), where he moved up the rank from Assistant Professor to Full Professor with tenure. He was the founding Director of Mechatronics Engineering Program at MTSU. His research activities are focused in the areas of engineering education in Mechatronics and the use of lasers. His engagement with industry in support of the Mechatronics program at MTSU has been extensive and very successful.

New Program Director of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Michael Danquah joins UTC with an extensive industry and academic experience. Most recently, he was a lead senior process innovation engineer at Agricen Sciences, an Agro-Biotech company in Dallas, Texas, leading the development of novel biostimulants in the US. He was also a full professor and Associate Dean (Research & Development) of the Faculty of Engineering Science, and the leader of the Bio-Process Technologies research cluster at Curtin University in Australia/Malaysia.