Steps to Finding an Advisor (or Committee Member)
- Step 1: Check the lists below to find faculty that have research areas that interest you.
- Step 2: On the lists below, confirm they are ELIGIBLE to be an advisor (or committee member) for your program of interest. This is indicated by a check by their name in the column associated with your program of interest.
- Step 3: If they are eligible, visit their profile page to read their bios. Click on their name in the tables below to go to their profile pages.
- Step 4: Contact the faculty member (see below for tips) to provide background information on yourself and to confirm that they have AVAILABILITY for a new advisee. Students often will ask to set up an introductory meeting.
Important Considerations
- Our Ph.D. application is competitive: the program is highly sought-after and we have limited capacity for new students each application period. Because securing an advisor can be the longest and most difficult part of the application process, we encourage you to begin well in advance of the application deadline.
- When you are first reaching out to a potential faculty member, make sure your email is clear and provides a compelling message about your research objectives and demonstrates that you are prepared to begin Ph.D.-level research.
- It is encouraged to contact several faculty members, but be sure to be transparent about your goals. In other words, don’t commit to a faculty member while still talking with others.
- If you do not hear back from a faculty member after about a week, you are welcome to send a reminder, but please understand:
- Some faculty wait until the group review process each application period (see application instructions for more information).
- Faculty members may be at capacity with advisees and unable to take on another one.
- You cannot apply to the Ph.D. program without securing an advisor. Without a confirmed advisor, your application will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission.
- If you have more questions, see our Frequently Asked Questions.
Systems Engineering Core Faculty
| Name | Title | Primary Department | Specialization(s) | Eligible to be PhD Advisor? | Eligible to be PhD Committee Member? | Eligible to be Master’s Advisor? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams, Jim | Assistant Professor | Systems Engineering | Satellite Systems | |||
| Batchelor, Ann | Assistant Professor | Systems Engineering | Engineering Project and Program Management | |||
| Borky, John “Mike” | Professor of Practice (retired) | Systems Engineering | ||||
| Bradley, Thomas | Professor and Department Head | Systems Engineering | Energy and Resource Systems, Multidisciplinary Systems Engineering | |||
| Cale, James | Associate Professor | Systems Engineering | Energy Systems Integration | |||
| Coburn, Tim | Professor | Systems Engineering | Energy and Transportation Analytics, Energy Economics and Policy Analysis, Energy Operations and Systems, Management Science, Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Resource Assessment, Energy Infrastructure | |||
| Conrad, Steve | Associate Professor | Systems Engineering | Water, Energy, and Resource Systems, Human Factors, Coupled Systems Modeling, Decision Analysis/Support Systems | |||
| Daily, Jeremy | Associate Professor | Systems Engineering | Heavy Vehicle Systems – Cybersecurity & Forensics | |||
| Herber, Daniel | Assistant Professor | Systems Engineering | Design Optimization, Systems Architecture, Dynamics/Controls | |||
| Marzolf, Greg (Bo) | Assistant Professor | Systems Engineering | Department of Defense Resiliency Efforts, Government Emergency Management/Response Architectures, and Controls on Complex Emergent system Behaviors | |||
| Miller, Erika | Assistant Professor | Systems Engineering | Transportation Systems, Human Factors, Safety | |||
| Sega, Ron | Emeritus Professor | Systems Engineering | ||||
| Eftekhari Shahroudi, Kamran | Professor | Systems Engineering | System Architecture, Multidisciplinary System Design Optimization | |||
| Simske, Steve | Professor | Systems Engineering | Analytics, Intelligent Systems, Sensing Systems, Imaging Systems, Cybersecurity, and Situationally-Aware Collectors of Knowledge (SACKs) in robotics | |||
| Vans, Marie | Associate Professor | Systems Engineering | Augmented/Virtual Reality Design of Software and Simulations and Analytics, Document Understanding and Analytics, Information Science |
Systems Engineering Associated Faculty
Please note: Faculty listed as ‘Associated’ have a joint appointment in SE but a primary home department elsewhere. These faculty may serve as ‘SE’ members on committees and may not serve as an ‘outside member’ for SE students.
| Name | Title | Primary Department | Specialization(s) | Eligible to be PhD Advisor? | Eligible to be PhD Committee Member? | Eligible to be Master’s Advisor? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Charles (Chuck) | Professor | Computer Science | Machine Learning | |||
| Arabi, Mazdak | Borland Professor of Water Resources | Civil and Environmental Engineering | Hydrologic/Water Quality Monitoring, Data Assimilation and System Analysis, GIS and Remote Sensing in Watershed Management, Nonpoint Source Pollution/Soil and Water Conservation, Environmental Monitoring | |||
| Butler, Charles | Professor | Computer Information Systems | Information Technology | |||
| Carlson, Kenneth | Professor | Civil and Environmental Engineering | Water and Wastewater Related Issues | |||
| Chan, Joshua | Assistant Professor | Chemical and Biological Engineering | Modeling and Engineering Microbiomes | |||
| Chong, Edwin | Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mathematics | Control/Optimization and Wireless Networks | |||
| Collins, George | Professor (retired) | Electrical and Computer Engineering | ||||
| Duff, William | Emeritus Professor | Mechanical Engineering | ||||
| Elliott, Jonathon | Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator | Construction Management | Construction Workforce Development, Offsite and Modular Construction Practice, Technology Integration in Construction | |||
| Ghosh, Sudipto | Professor | Computer Science | Software Engineering, Model-Based Software Development, Software testing | |||
| Golicic, Susan | Department Head and Director, Supply Chain Management Forum | Management | Sustainability and Innovation in the Supply Chain | |||
| Goodrum, Paul | Professor and Department Head | Construction Management | Construction Productivity, Workforce Strategies, Visualization | |||
| Grigg, Neil | Professor | Civil and Environmental Engineering | Infrastructure and Utility Management | |||
| Jayasumana, Anura | Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science | Digital Systems and Communication Networks | |||
| Killingsworth, John | Assistant Professor | Construction Management | Construction Finance, Architectural History & Preservation, Transformative and Virtual Learning Theory, Workforce Development and Training in Construction and Manufactured Construction | |||
| Maciejewski, Anthony | Department Head and Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Robotics and High Performance Computing | |||
| Malaiya, Yashwant | Professor | Computer Science | Testing, Reliability, and Security | |||
| Mehany, Mohammed | Associate Professor | Construction Management | Claims Management, Infrastructure Asset Management, Resilient Systems and Sustainability, Life Cycle Costs and Assesments | |||
| Olsen, Dan | Associate Professor | Mechanical Engineering | Engines and Energy | |||
| Ortega, Francisco | Assistant Professor | Computer Science | Human-centered Computing | |||
| Pasricha, Sudeep | Associate Professor and Chair of Computer Engineering | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Embedded and Cyber-Physical Systems, IoT and Mobile Computing, Datacenter Computing | |||
| Peccoud, Jean | Professor and Abell Endowed Chair in Synthetic Biology | Chemical and Biological Engineering | Biomanufacturing, Bioinformatics, Security | |||
| Quinn, Jason | Associate Professor | Mechanical Engineering | Life-Cycle Assessment, Techno-Economic Assessment, System Optimization | |||
| Radford, Donald | Professor | Mechanical Engineering | Composite Materials Technology | |||
| Ray, Indrakshi | Professor | Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering | Security and Privacy, Database Systems, Software Engineering | |||
| Roberts, Nick | Associate Professor | Computer Information Systems | Information Technology and Project Management | |||
| Troxell, Wade | Associate Professor and Director, Center for Networked Distributed Energy and RamLab | Mechanical Engineering | Intelligent Robotic Systems, Distributed Application Architectures | |||
| Valdes Vasquez, Rodolfo | Associate Professor; Graduate Program Coordinator | Construction Management | Sustainable Development, Net-Zero/Net-Positive Buildings and Communities, Social Sustainability in the Construction Sector | |||
| Venkatachalam, Chandrasekaran (Chandra) | University Distinguished Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Signal Processing, Radar Systems, UAVs | |||
| Willson, Bryan | Professor | Mechanical Engineering | Engines and Energy | |||
| Young, Peter | Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Robust and Learning Control, Clean Energy Systems | |||
| Zimmerle, Dan | Sr. Research Associate and Systems R&D Manager | Mechanical Engineering | Power Systems |