The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science welcomes nine new faculty members in 2017-18 to a roster that includes 35 affiliated members of the National Academy of Engineering and more than 60 winners of the NSF CAREER Award. The school now has 179 ladder faculty members, the most in its history. The new members include world leaders in biomaterials, artificial intelligence, earthquake engineering, and other critical research challenges. Profiles of the new faculty members are below.
Aydin Babakhani
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Babakhani’s research interests are in the analysis, design, and testing of integrated sensors, systems, and antennas. Applications for his research include high-speed wireless links, radar, spectroscopy, mm-wave/THz imaging, biosensing, implantable medical devices, and industrial monitoring. He has received several honors in his career including the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and the DARPA Young Faculty Award. Babakhani, a faculty member at Rice University, will join UCLA in January. He received his Ph.D. from Caltech and is a co-founder of MicroSilicon, Inc., which makes on-line chemical sensors for industrial process monitoring.
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Babakhani’s research interests are in the analysis, design, and testing of integrated sensors, systems, and antennas. Applications for his research include high-speed wireless links, radar, spectroscopy, mm-wave/THz imaging, biosensing, implantable medical devices, and industrial monitoring. He has received several honors in his career including the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and the DARPA Young Faculty Award. Babakhani, a faculty member at Rice University, will join UCLA in January. He received his Ph.D. from Caltech and is a co-founder of MicroSilicon, Inc., which makes on-line chemical sensors for industrial process monitoring.
Yousef Bozorgnia
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Bozorgnia’s multidisciplinary research includes the development of earthquake ground motion models that are used worldwide for the seismic analysis and design of buildings, bridges, infrastructure and critical facilities. His extensive publication list includes, “Earthquake Engineering: From engineering seismology to performance-based engineering,” which he and Vitelmo Bertero edited. Prior to joining UCLA, Bozorgnia was a full professor-in-residence at UC Berkeley, where he remains an adjunct professor. He was also the executive director (2009-16) and the associate director (2004-09) of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER). Bozorgnia is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California, a fellow of ASCE since 1998, and Associate Editor of the journal Earthquake Spectra. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Bozorgnia is also member of UCLA’s B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences.
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Bozorgnia’s multidisciplinary research includes the development of earthquake ground motion models that are used worldwide for the seismic analysis and design of buildings, bridges, infrastructure and critical facilities. His extensive publication list includes, “Earthquake Engineering: From engineering seismology to performance-based engineering,” which he and Vitelmo Bertero edited. Prior to joining UCLA, Bozorgnia was a full professor-in-residence at UC Berkeley, where he remains an adjunct professor. He was also the executive director (2009-16) and the associate director (2004-09) of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER). Bozorgnia is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California, a fellow of ASCE since 1998, and Associate Editor of the journal Earthquake Spectra. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Bozorgnia is also member of UCLA’s B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences.
Kai-Wei Chang
Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Chang’s research goal is to build intelligence systems that solve real-world problems by automatically acquiring knowledge. This goal covers two areas: machine learning to make decisions for problems with complex structures, and natural language processing so the system can extract knowledge from unstructured text. Prior to joining UCLA, Chang was on the faculty of the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research. His honors include an SIGKDD Best Paper Award and a Yahoo! Key Scientific Challenges Award.
Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Chang’s research goal is to build intelligence systems that solve real-world problems by automatically acquiring knowledge. This goal covers two areas: machine learning to make decisions for problems with complex structures, and natural language processing so the system can extract knowledge from unstructured text. Prior to joining UCLA, Chang was on the faculty of the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research. His honors include an SIGKDD Best Paper Award and a Yahoo! Key Scientific Challenges Award.
Timothy S. Fisher
Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Fisher leads the Nanoscale Transport Research Group, which looks at transport processes by electrons, phonons, photons, and fluids, with an eye toward addressing problems in aerospace, micro- and nanoelectronics, and sensor systems. Fisher is also an adjunct professor in the International Centre for Materials Science at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and is the co-director of the Joint Centre on Nanomaterials for Clean Energy and Environmental Sensors. Prior to joining UCLA, Fisher was the James G. Dwyer Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. He is also the founding director of the Center for Integrated Thermal Management of Aerospace Vehicles, supported by the U.S. Air Force and leading aerospace companies. He has graduated 30 Ph.D students and 29 M.S. students and supervised 11 post-doctoral scholars. Fisher received his Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Fisher leads the Nanoscale Transport Research Group, which looks at transport processes by electrons, phonons, photons, and fluids, with an eye toward addressing problems in aerospace, micro- and nanoelectronics, and sensor systems. Fisher is also an adjunct professor in the International Centre for Materials Science at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and is the co-director of the Joint Centre on Nanomaterials for Clean Energy and Environmental Sensors. Prior to joining UCLA, Fisher was the James G. Dwyer Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. He is also the founding director of the Center for Integrated Thermal Management of Aerospace Vehicles, supported by the U.S. Air Force and leading aerospace companies. He has graduated 30 Ph.D students and 29 M.S. students and supervised 11 post-doctoral scholars. Fisher received his Ph.D. from Cornell University.
David Jassby
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Jassby’s research interests are in membrane technology, water and wastewater treatment, and the environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology. He aims to develop new technologies from his research that work within existing infrastructure. His honors include a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and a Doctoral New Investigator award from the American Chemical Society. Jassby, who will join UCLA in January, is a faculty member at the UC Riverside Bourns College of Engineering. Prior to UC Riverside, he was the executive director of the Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, an NSF-funded research center located at Duke University, where he also received his Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Jassby’s research interests are in membrane technology, water and wastewater treatment, and the environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology. He aims to develop new technologies from his research that work within existing infrastructure. His honors include a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and a Doctoral New Investigator award from the American Chemical Society. Jassby, who will join UCLA in January, is a faculty member at the UC Riverside Bourns College of Engineering. Prior to UC Riverside, he was the executive director of the Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, an NSF-funded research center located at Duke University, where he also received his Ph.D.
M. Khalid Jawed
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Jawed’s research takes a data-driven approach, fueled by automation and computation, to the modeling and design of programmable smart structures. Specifically, he is looking to enhance, control, and apply the mechanical properties and instabilities of flexible structures and complex materials. Research in this area could help us better design soft robots that work with humans and lead to new advanced manufacturing techniques. Prior to UCLA, Jawed was a postdoctoral scholar at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Jawed’s research takes a data-driven approach, fueled by automation and computation, to the modeling and design of programmable smart structures. Specifically, he is looking to enhance, control, and apply the mechanical properties and instabilities of flexible structures and complex materials. Research in this area could help us better design soft robots that work with humans and lead to new advanced manufacturing techniques. Prior to UCLA, Jawed was a postdoctoral scholar at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ali Khademhosseini
Professor, Bioengineering and Radiology
Khademhosseini’s research is based on developing micro- and nanoscale biomaterials to control cellular behavior, with particular emphasis in developing engineered materials and systems for regenerative medicine. He has received many honors for his work including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and selection as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers. He is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuters based on more than 33,000 citations of his work. Khademhosseini, who joins UCLA on Nov. 1, is a professor at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, with appointments at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005.
Professor, Bioengineering and Radiology
Khademhosseini’s research is based on developing micro- and nanoscale biomaterials to control cellular behavior, with particular emphasis in developing engineered materials and systems for regenerative medicine. He has received many honors for his work including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and selection as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers. He is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuters based on more than 33,000 citations of his work. Khademhosseini, who joins UCLA on Nov. 1, is a professor at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, with appointments at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005.
Aaron Meyer
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Meyer’s research focuses on combining experimental and computational techniques to reverse engineer cancer and innate immune signaling, with the goal of designing immune- and cancer-targeted therapies. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty, Meyer was a principal investigator and research fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, where he also received his Ph.D. His honors include a Director’s Early Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health, a Siebel Scholars award, and a Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation Fellowship. Meyer received his B.S. in bioengineering from UCLA in 2009.
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Meyer’s research focuses on combining experimental and computational techniques to reverse engineer cancer and innate immune signaling, with the goal of designing immune- and cancer-targeted therapies. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty, Meyer was a principal investigator and research fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, where he also received his Ph.D. His honors include a Director’s Early Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health, a Siebel Scholars award, and a Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation Fellowship. Meyer received his B.S. in bioengineering from UCLA in 2009.
Samanvaya Srivastava
Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Srivastava’s research interests are in designing self-assembled materials that can efficiently encapsulate and transport functional molecules for biomedical, chemical-sensing, food, and cosmetics applications. He joins UCLA in January, after the completion of appointments as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, and as a visiting resident associate at Argonne National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University, where he received honors as a graduate student for both research and for teaching.
Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Srivastava’s research interests are in designing self-assembled materials that can efficiently encapsulate and transport functional molecules for biomedical, chemical-sensing, food, and cosmetics applications. He joins UCLA in January, after the completion of appointments as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, and as a visiting resident associate at Argonne National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University, where he received honors as a graduate student for both research and for teaching.