Principal
Principal members are those who serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) on the multitude of research projects completed through the institute and are essential to the success of MTTI.
- Senior Research Scientist, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
- Adjunct Lecturer, Biological Sciences
- cnbrooks@mtu.edu
- 734-913-6858
- Cell: 734-604-4196
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Areas of Expertise
- Transportation Applications Including Road and Bridge Condition Assessment
- Mapping of Changing Ecosystems
- Agricultural Remote Sensing
- Geohazard Evaluation
- Invasive Species Mapping With a Focus on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
- Developing Unmanned Aerial System Capabilities
- 3D Optical, Multispectral, Thermal, and LiDAR Sensing
- Decision Support System and App Development
- Integration of Remote Sensing Technologies Into Sponsor Workflows
- Research Project Management
Research Interests
- Aquatic and Landscape Ecology
- Invasive Species Mapping
- Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring
- Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems
- Assessment of Transportation Infrastructure Condition Using Remote Sensing
- Automated Road and Bridge Condition Analysis
- Multispectral Sensing
- Development and Deployment of Decision Support Systems
- Land Cover Change Mapping and Monitoring
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Associate Chair for Research, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- qingdai@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2620
- Dow 805
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Matrix structural analysis
- Finite element analysis
- Concrete Materials
- Pavement design
- Timber design
Research Interests
- Low-carbon cementitious materials; SCM; LCA and EPD; durability performance
- Design and performance of concrete pavement and structures
- Mechanics-based computation; Data-driven performance evaluation
- NDE techniques (acoustic, ultrasonic and eddy current systems)
- Structure resilience subjected to extreme weather conditions
- Active-material actuator design, wind-structure interaction, vibration reduction
- Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- ydaresta@mtu.edu
- Dow 811
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Structural Analysis
- Structural Reliability
Research Interests
- Risk and Reliability of Infrastructure Systems
- Life Cycle Resilience Enhancement
- Community Resilience Assessment
- Machine Learning
- Network Analysis
- Wind Engineering
- Associate Dean for Research
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Director, Rail Transportation Program, Michigan Tech Transportation Institute
- ptlautal@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3547
- Dillman 318, M&M 707
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Rail and highway transportation / engineering
- Highway-rail grade crossing and trespasser safety
- Multimodal transportation; planning, policy, supply chain logistics and economics
- Sustainability of transportation and life cycle/life cycle cost analysis
- Railway capacity analysis and modeling
- Curriculum and engineering education development
- Industry/university collaboration
- Associate Professor, Psychology and Human Factors
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Computer Science
- Director, Center for Human-Centered Computing
- eveinott@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2171
- Meese Center 204
Research Interests
- Decision Making
- Problem Solving
- Learning and Video Games for STEM
- CSCW
- Structured Analytic Techniques
- Distinguished Professor, Transportation Engineering
- zyou@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1059
- Dillman 301A
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Road design and analysis
- Civil engineering materials
- Sustainable pavement engineering
- Advanced asphalt materials
- Pavement mechanics
Research Interests
-
Design, construction, and maintenance of pavements
-
Micromechanics for road materials
- Discrete element modeling and finite element modeling techniques
-
Construction materials: asphalt, aggregate, asphalt concrete
-
Alternative materials for civil engineering
- Recycled materials for civil engineering
- Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Computer Science
- klzhang@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1828
- Dillman 301i
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Transportation Network Analysis
- Traffic Flow Theory
- Travel Demand Analysis
- Transportation Systems Operations and Control
- Transportation Planning
- Traffic Engineering
- Optimization Methods
- Deep Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control for Connected and Automated Vehicles
Research Interests
- Data-driven distributionally robust optimization (DRO) based control models for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs)
- Big traffic data analytics using machine learning
- Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) and Graph Neural Networks (GNN) for transportation applications
- Mobile and crowd sensing of dynamic traffic systems (e.g., Drone traffic monitoring, social media data for travel pattern analysis using Twitter and Foursquare smartphone apps)
- Dynamic network equilibrium and optimization
- Modeling and simulation of large-scale complex systems (e.g. Traffic Simulation)
- Freight logistics and supply chain systems (e.g., Intermodal Freight Modeling)
- Impact of plug-in electric vehicles to smart grid and transportation network systems
- Interdependency and resiliency of large-scale networked infrastructure systems
- Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs)
- Smart Cities
- Cyber-Physical Systems
Affiliate
- Senior Research Scientist, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
- wtbuller@mtu.edu
- 734-913-6867
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Areas of Expertise
- Signal and Image Processing
- Radar Systems
- Experimental Design
- Statistical Analysis
Research Interests
- Signal Exploitation
- Sensor Characterization and Performance Prediction
- Machine Inference and Learning
- Intelligent Transportation and Mobility
- Associate Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
- Witte Family Endowed Faculty Fellow in Mining Engineering
- schatte1@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2516
- Dow 625
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Generative AI for mine safety
- Remote sensing for critical mineral exploration
- InSAR for mining hazards
- Geophysical inversion using deep learning
- Stochastic resource modeling and stochastic optimization in mining
Teaching Interests
- Mine Planning and Design
- Mineral Resource Estimation
- Mining System Reliability and Optimization
- Geostatistics and Data Analysis
- Director, Center for Technology & Training
- Staff, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- tkcollin@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3354
- Dillman Hall 309
- Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Data-driven Infrastructure Management
- Project Delivery and Procurement
- Smart Construction
- Risk Management
- Equity and Diversity
- Text Analytics and Natural Language Processing
- Artificial Intelligence Modeling
- Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- jaesungk@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3419
- Dow 812
Courses Taught
- SU 4140 - Photogrammetry and UAV Mapping
- SU 5541 - Close-range Photogrammetry
- SU 5998 - Practical Experience in Integrated Geospatial Technology
Research Interests
- Photogrammetry
- Remote Sensing
- Geodesy
- GIS
- Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure
- Application of geospatial technology to agriculture and environmental science
- Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Department of Physics
- dminakat@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1830
- Dow 801
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Physical-Chemical Treatment Processes
- Environmental Process and Design
- Computational Environmental Engineering and Chemistry
Research Interests
- Sustainable water and wastewater treatment and management
- Development of assessing and predicting tools for water treatment technologies
- Innovative water and wastewater treatment technologies for energy saving and harvesting
- Systematic and integrated understanding of water and wastewater reuse
- Application of computational chemistry and molecular modeling
- Chair, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- anmorse@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3240
- Dow 871
Faculty Advisor
Research Interests
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
- Water reclamation systems and Fate of personal products in treatment systems
- Professor of Psychology, Psychology and Human Factors
- shanem@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1159
- Meese Center 203
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Computational Modeling
- Recognitional Decision Making
- Perceptual and Memory Processes
- Representations of Cultural Knowledge
- Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Affiliated Assistant Professor, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology
- Director, Michigan Tech Center for AI; Coordinator, MTU NIST PREP Program
- vinhn@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3110
- MEEM 926
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Advanced manufacturing
- Industry 4.0
- Human-robot-machine interaction
- Physics-based/data-driven modeling
- Manufacturing process monitoring
- Industrial automation
- Director, Center for Science and Environmental Outreach
- Director, Family Engineering Program
- Staff, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- teoliver@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2412
- Dow 819
- Associate Professor, Chemistry
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
- kaperrin@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3214
- Chem Sci 402C
Links of Interest
- Perrine Research Group
- Positions are open for undergraduate, masters, and PhD students.
- Google Scholar Publications
- ORCID
Research Interests
- Surface chemistry and interfacial science
- Bridging reactions at the gas/solid and liquid/solid interfaces under model (ultra-high vacuum) and real (near ambient pressure) conditions
- Growth, properties, and reactions on complex surfaces for energy and environmental applications
- Designing metal and oxide architectures and nanostructured materials using tailored bottom-up approaches; growth techniques including, atomic layer deposition, physical vapor deposition, self-assembly, solution nucleation
- Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Affiliated Assistant Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
- msadeghi@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3420
- Dillman 201G
Links of Interest
Courses Taught
- Soil mechanics and foundation design
- Advanced soil mechanics
- Applied Machine Learning
- Mechanics of materials
Research Interests
- Soil and rock mechanics
- Ground improvement and foundation design
- Bio inspired Geotechnics/Foundations
- Geomaterial behavior and testing
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning in geotechnical engineering
- Measurement While Drilling (MWD) in geotechnical engineering
- Slope stability and debris flow hazards
- Stability of underground structures
- Mine tailings and abandoned mines geohazards and remediation
- Intellectual, numerical and analytical modeling
"The more you do, the more you do."
—George Sanders (my Dad)
—George Sanders (my Dad)
- Patrick S. Horvath Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
- Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) Key Professor
- Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation Steel Professor
- sanders@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2339
- M & M Building 501
Teaching Interests
- Lead MSE undergraduate senior design program: integrate mechanistic models, ICME tools, experiments, and statistics
- Apply design knowledge via real-world, industry-sponsored projects
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Alloy design in Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, and MPEAs
- Apply ICME and statistical tools with machine learning and DOEs in alloy optimization
- Verify via production through casting, wrought processing (extrusion, rolling, drawing, swaging), and/or (wire) additive manufacturing
- Applications in sustainability (recycling), transportation (lightweighting), and efficiency (thermal stability)
- Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Associate Chair for Curriculum, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- raswartz@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2439
- Dillman 201I
Research Interests
- Application computationally efficient and robust embedded algorithms for monitoring and protection of civil infrastructure assets such as buildings, bridges, pipelines, wind turbines, roadways, and railroads.
- Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Affiliated Professor, Applied Computing
- PSERC Site Director and ICC CPS Center Director
- ten@mtu.edu
- 906-487-0397
- EERC 612
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Circuit/graph theory
- Steady-state and dynamics of bulk power systems
- Cyber-informed security engineering
Areas of Research Interest
Discipline: Power systems engineering
- Power grid cybersecurity
- Smart home and robotic technologies
- Attack/defense combinatorics
- Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- qntran2@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3053
- Dillman 301H
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Pressure sensing
- Non-destructive testing
- Noninvasive characterization of construction materials and biological tissues
- Visual sensing and Deep learning algorithms
- Ultrasound and microbubble cavitation
- Distinguished Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- dwatkins@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1640
- Dow 806
Links of Interest
AmeriCorps and VISTA Master’s Programs
Teaching Interests
- Water resources planning and management
- Environmental systems analysis
- Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
- Optimization methods
- Learning through service
Research Interests
- Integrated water resources planning
- Hydrologic modeling and forecasting
- Flood risk management
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
- Food-Energy-Water Nexus
- Systems optimization under uncertainty
- Sustainable development engineering
- Assistant Professor, Construction Management
- Faculty, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Faculty, College of Business
- boxiao@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2804
- Dillman 301G
Links of Interest
Teaching Experience
- Advanced technologies in construction (e.g., BIM)
- Project management
- Construction methods
- Structural analysis
Research Interests
- Construction informatics
- Computer vision-based site monitoring
- Construction robotics
- Natural language processing in construction
- Blockchain-enabled contract management
- Cybersecurity in construction management