College of Engineering and Polymer Science welcomes newest members for 2023-24
The College of Engineering and Polymer Science is pleased to welcome its newest faculty, directors and staff members for the 2023-24 academic year.
FACULTY
Dr. Justin Baker
Justin Baker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Baker grew up in the mountain West. He earned his bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University in mechanical engineering where he graduated magna cum laude with honors. From there he completed a Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Utah specializing in neural interfaces. After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Baker moved to Cleveland for a post-doctoral fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Subsequently, he has worked for the past 11 years or so for small medical device companies and startups in research and product development, regulatory affairs, and management. He loves biomedical engineering for its capacity to help people and solve problems. Dr. Baker is the father of six children (3 boys and 3 girls) and his wife is an actor and teaches at the Houde School of Acting. Dr. Baker loves to read and play role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. He currently serves as the lay bishop of a congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Utah
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University
Dr. Buket Barkana
Buket Barkana, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Margaret F. Donovan Chair for Women in Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Before joining The University of Akron as the Margaret F. Donovan Chair for Women in Engineering and associate professor of Biomedical Engineering in August 2023, Dr. Buket D. Barkana was a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and director of the Signal Processing Research Group (SPRG) in the same institution between 2007 and 2023. She received her B.Sc. in electrical and electronics engineering from the Anadolu University in 1994 and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Eskisehir Osmangazi University (ESOGU), Turkey in 1997 and 2005, respectively. She worked as a full-time faculty member at Anadolu University from 1995-1999 and at the ESOGU from 1999-2001 in Turkey. She has developed and taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in the electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering departments. She also taught online electronics and information engineering courses at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, China, between 2019 and 2023. She worked with diverse and multidisciplinary teams. She received two federal funds from the National Science Foundation to improve engineering and STEM education for underrepresented and underserved students. Dr. Barkana has published over a hundred research papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. She is an Associate Editor of Computational Intelligence, an International Journal-Wiley, and has served on the technical committees of many national/international conferences. She is a member of IEEE Women in Engineering, NSF INCLUDES National Network and Sigma Xi.
- Ph.D., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Eskisehir Osmangazi University (ESOGU), Eskisehir, Turkey
- M.S., Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Eskisehir Osmangazi University (ESOGU), Eskisehir, Turkey
- B.Sc., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
Dr. Christopher Barney
Christopher Barney, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
Chris performed his graduate studies in the lab of Professor Alfred J. Crosby at UMass Amherst. His PhD focused on the cavitation and fracture behavior of soft gels and elastomers and was completed in June of 2020. Chris then moved on to the University of California, Santa Barbara to perform postdoctoral research in the labs of Professor Matthew E. Helgeson and Professor Megan T. Valentine. During this time, he worked on developing puncture and radially confined compression testing methods as well as probing the mechanics of designer materials such as elastomers crosslinked with iron-catechol complexes, mechanochemically active Diels-Alder crosslinked hydrogels, and composite hydrogels patterned through the thermogelation of oil in water nanoemulsions.
- Ph.D., Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- B.Sc., Materials Science and Engineering, Purdue University
Dr. Linxiao Chen
Linxiao Chen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical, Biomolecular and Corrosion Engineering
Dr. Linxiao Chen received his B.S. from Peking University in 2014, and Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2019, both in chemistry. Prior to joining UA, he conducted postdoctoral research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As an enthusiastic researcher, Linxiao's interdisciplinary research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis for applications related to sustainability, such as polymer waste upcycling, H2 storage, and renewable carbon utilization. His group uses spectroscopic and kinetic approaches to understand catalysis science, rationally designs catalytic materials and processes based on the fundamental principles, and develops new methods for the precise synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of nanomaterials. As a proud educator, Linxiao's teaching philosophy emphasizes active class participation, soft skill development, and open communication.
- Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, Indiana University
- B.S., Chemistry, Peking University (China)
Dr. Karima Elgarroussi
Karima Elgarroussi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Computer Science
Dr. Elgarroussi is currently an assistant professor of instruction in the computer science department at The University of Akron. Before joining the esteemed faculty of UA, Dr. Elgarroussi was imparting education at North American University in Houston, where she specialized in instructing courses on web development, cloud computing, advanced data mining and advanced cloud computing.
- Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Houston
- M.S., e-Management and Business Intelligence, Highest National University of Computer Science and Systems Analysis - ENSIAS
- B.S., Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Sciences Ben M'Sik
Dr. Farhina Haque
Farhina Haque, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Farhina Haque joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Akron in Fall 2023. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Professor in Engineering at Sweet Briar College. Her research focuses on addressing dielectric challenges in medium to high-voltage power systems. She has several peer-reviewed journals published: IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, AIP Physics of Fluids, etc. She has also served as a reviewer in various IEEE conferences including IEEE Electrical Insulation Conference, IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference, and IEEE Electric Ship Technologies Symposium.
- Ph.D., Mississippi State University
- B.Sc., Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Dr. John Hoag
John Hoag, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Computer Science
Dr. Hoag earned his bachelor's degree at The University of Akron and his Master's and Doctorate degrees at The Ohio State University. He was on the Ohio University faculty, then was professor and department chair at a private college in Virginia, and most recently served as a center director at OSU. He has an active research agenda, serves on several State advisory panels and is a Senior Member of the IEEE.
- Ph.D., Integrated Systems Engineering, The Ohio State University
- M.S., Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Ohio State University
- B.S., Computer Science, The University of Akron
Dr. Michael Lichter
Michael Lichter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Michael Lichter is from Mitchell, SD and graduated from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD with a BSEE. He started work at NASA Lewis Research Center in 1989 (which later became NASA Glenn Research Center) and worked there in many different EE roles until he retired in August 2023, after 34 years of service.
- Ph.D., U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, Cleveland State University
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, South Dakota Mines
Dr. Sang-Eun "Sam" Song
Sang-Eun "Sam" Song, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and F.T. Herrington Endowed Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Song joined UA in 2023. Dr. Song received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Systems Engineering, and Medical Robotics, respectively. Since, Dr. Song has worked at leading interdisciplinary research institutes between hospital and university setups. Dr. Song’s recent research and leveraging educational activities have been supported by NIH, NSF, DOD, and NASA. His innovative surgical system and device developments have produced over 14 US patents since 2014.
- Ph.D./DIC, Imperial College, London, UK
- M.S., University of Liverpool, UK
- B.S., University of Ulsan (ROTC), South Korea
DIRECTORS
Dr. Selena Myers
Selena Myers, Ph.D.
Director of Co-Op Education and Placement, College of Engineering and Polymer Science
Dr. Selena Myers is the Director of Co-op and Placement for the College. Her journey in higher education began, here, at The University of Akron in the Office of the Alumni Association. She went on to serve as a Satellite Coordinator for Stark State College’s Barberton location and most recently as an Academy Coach for Akron Public Schools’ STEM High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing management, a master’s degree in higher education administration from The University of Akron and a doctorate in higher education administration from Kent State University.
- Ph.D., Higher Education Administration, Kent State University
- M.S., Higher Education Administration, The University of Akron
- B.S., Marketing Management, The University of Akron
Dr. Neete Saha
Neete Saha, Ph.D.
Director of Diversity and Inclusion, College of Engineering and Polymer Science
Dr. Neete Saha is an advocate for student success. She has over 10 years of Higher Education experience working with diverse students. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident through her work with students from different backgrounds. She is aware of the challenges underrepresented students endure and is committed to creating an environment that can not only foster a sense of belonging but also support their personal and professional growth. Additionally, she has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Kent State University for 3 years and recently served as the Associate Director of Career Readiness at Oberlin College. She has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University. She also holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Columbia University and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies and Psychology from Temple University.
- Ph.D., Higher Education Administration, Kent State University
- M.S., Anthropology, Columbia University
- B.S., Asian Studies and Psychology, Temple University