UC welcomes 10 new engineering faculty this fall
Faculty join the College of Engineering and Applied Science in five departments
The University of Cincinnati welcomed 10 new faculty members to the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.
Meet the new faculty
Muhammad Asghar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Educator, Department of Engineering and Computing Education
Research/Teaching Interests: Engineering education research, systematic review, undergraduate education, mental health, curriculum design, design thinking, spatial ability
Hrishikesh Bhide, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Educator, Department of Computer Science
Research/Teaching Interests: Cybersecurity, blockchain, game-based learning, data structures and algorithms
Ryan Clark, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Educator, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Research/Teaching Interests: Fluids, heat transfer, thermodynamics, numerical methods
Jacob Cress, Ph.D., PE
Associate Professor Educator, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Research/Teaching Interests: Pedagogical innovation, engineering curriculum, engineer formation, professional skills, communication skills, capstone design, engineering technology.
Tommaso Giovannelli, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (Industrial & Systems Engineering)
Research/Teaching Interests: Operations research, data science, healthcare management, transportation systems, nonlinear optimization, machine learning optimization methods, stochastic optimization, bilevel and multi-objective optimization, simulation-based optimization, derivative-free and black-box optimization
Nicolas Haddad, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Educator, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research/Teaching Interests: Digital and analog electronics, signal processing, embedded systems, programming languages, renewable energy
Micheal Kattoura, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Educator, Department of Engineering and Computing Education
Teaching/Research Interests: First-year engineering, engineering education, solid mechanics, strength of material, stress analysis, mechanisms, machine design, fatigue, mechanical testing, material characterization, failure analysis, and surface treatments.
Mark Pinto, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Research, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (P&G Accelerator)
Research/Teaching Interests: Product and process systems modeling, development of lumped and distributed parameter system models of products and processes using conservation laws and transport phenomena
Ashraf Samarah, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Educator, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Joint Co-op Institute
Research/Teaching Interests: Digital control systems, synthetic aperture radar, sensor networks, digital signal processing, and renewable energy, devoted to motivating students and interdisciplinary cooperation for sustainable solutions
Yingyan Zeng, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (Industrial & Systems Engineering)
Research/Teaching Interests: Data quality, multi-modal data generation and sampling, data sharing, human-AI interaction, manufacturing industrial internet, computer service in Internet of Things
Featured image at top shows eight of the ten new CEAS faculty. Photos/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing
Related Stories
Why is there a statue of Stephen Foster in Cincinnati?
June 26, 2026
Even if you don't know American parlor composer Stephen Foster, you’ve probably heard his music. His mid-19th century folk songs, including “Camptown Races” and “Oh Susanna,” make appearances in pop culture to this day. There’s a statue of Foster overlooking the Ohio river in Alms Park that prompted WVXU's Bill Rinehart to feature him in his Cincinnati mysteries segment, OKI Wanna Know. WVXU turned to University of Cincinnati music history expert Kristy Swift for a peek into Foster’s life and impact in the region.
Drone-delivered groceries descending into Cincinnati
June 25, 2026
Walmart is bringing drone delivery to Cincinnati, as reported by 700WLW. Host Scott Sloan spoke with Michael Jones, associate professor of economics at the University of Cincinnati's Lindner College of Business, for a look at what it means for Cincinnati shoppers.
CCM welcomes Hiram Diaz as Visiting Artist of Euphonium
June 25, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Hiram Diaz as CCM's Visiting Artist of Euphonium for 2026-27. A CCM alumnus (BM Euphonium Performance, 2007), Diaz's visiting appointment begins this fall.