Mehmet Arik, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Adil Bashir, associate professor of electrical engineering, is the co-investigator on a $5.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. In collaboration with researchers from the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Psychiatry, Bashir is aiming to characterize brain-aging phenomena in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The goal is to identify actionable targets for novel interventions designed to ameliorate aberrant aging in individuals suffering from this disease.

Bryan Beckingham, associate professor of chemical engineering, co-edited a new book with a collaborator from Tuskegee University titled “The Renewable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus: Fundamentals, Technology, and Policy.” The book describes the connections between renewable energy, water, and the environment, and then discusses the interrelationships (and opportunities) between renewable energy systems, environmental systems, and societal needs for water. Beckingham was also elected to the leadership line for the Materials Engineering and Science Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at the Fall National Meeting in Orlando, Florida. He will serve as 2nd vice chair for 2023-2024, followed by vice-chair and chair in subsequent years.

David Bevly, the Bill and Lana McNair Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received multiple new contracts as well as multiple follow-ons to current research. These include $135,000 from Integrated Solutions for Systems to continue developing a soldier-integrated position, navigation, and timing system. Additionally, he received $100,000 from Kratos & MicroSystems to study GPS degradation and vehicle dynamics under varying conditions.

Imon Chakraborty, assistant professor in Aerospace Engineering was elected to the 2023 class of Associate Fellows by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Robert Dean, the McWane Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Outstanding Educator Award for 2023 from the International Microelectronics Assembly & Packaging Society.

Roy Hartfield, Walt and Virginia Woltosz Professor of Aerospace Engineering, won the 2023 AIAA Aerodynamics Award from the Huntsville chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Farah Kandah, associate professor in Computer Science and Software Engineering, is principal investigator on a three-year, $116,750 National Science Foundation project titled “Creating and Sustaining a Diverse Community of Expertise in Quantum Information Science Across the Southeastern United States.”

Rob Jackson, Albert Smith Jr. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was selected as editor of the Journal of Tribology, a publication from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Tribology Division.

Shubhra Karmaker, assistant professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering, received a $700,854 grant as the principal investigator from the National Science Foundation. Karmaker also received a $542,485 grant as the principal investigator from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Konstantin Klyukin, assistant professor of Materials Engineering, is the principal investigator on a $2 million project from the National Science Foundation titled “DMREF: Computationally Driven Discovery and Synthesis of 2D Materials through Selective Etching.” The award will advance knowledge frontiers required to develop a very selective electrochemical removal process for the synthesis and discovery of novel 2D materials.

Joe Majdalani, the Hugh and Loeda Francis Chair of Excellence in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, delivered the 2023 von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics, a prestigious lectureship hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Majdalani was also named the recipient of the 2024 Wyld Propulsion Award from AIAA, the organization’s highest distinction in propulsion, awarded for outstanding achievements in developing or applying rocket propulsion systems. The AIAA also presented Majdalani with the organization’s Abe M. Zarem Educator Award.

Jia (Peter) Liu, assistant professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is collaborating with faculty in the Auburn University College of Education on a $199,999 National Science Foundation grant to initiate an artificial intelligence educational program for underserved high-school students. The title of the project is “RAPID: DRL AI: A Career-Driven AI Educational Program in Smart Manufacturing for Underserved High-school Students in the Alabama Black Belt Region.”

Scott Martin, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, received multiple new contracts and grants during the fall of 2023. Among these are a $92,350 grant from the U.S. Air Force to investigate vector tracking using multiple antenna arrays and a $495,500 contract with Geeks & Nerds and the U.S. Army studying Enhanced Dynamics of the Global Navigation Satellite System.

Shiwen Mao, director of the Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center, won the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Multimedia Communications Technical Committee Outstanding Researcher Award in December 2023, and two Best Paper Awards from the 2023 IEEE Global Communications Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 2023. He was appointed as a Distinguished Lecturer by ComSoc and was the keynote for eight national and international conferences between September 2023 and February 2024.

Stephen Mills, Auburn University Applied Research Institute principal research scientist, is the principal investigator of a $1.1 million award supporting the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s Mission Based — Multi Domain Operations Test Environment.

Andy Nowak, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was named a fellow of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.

Stan Reeves, professor emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering, developed and taught a course on Bitcoin in the summer of 2023 and then published “Exploring Bitcoin in the University: Preparing a Foundation for Widespread Adoption” in Bitcoin Magazine, the premier magazine for news and developments about Bitcoin. The course covered both technical and non-technical aspects of Bitcoin.

Larry Rilett, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and director of the Auburn University Transportation Research Institute, was honored with the Steinberg Award by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, which annually recognizes “an individual who has made remarkable contributions to transportation education and research.”

Chad Rose, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Michael Zabala, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering, are collaborating on a $117,000 subcontract from Outpost Technologies on a Defense Health Agency Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I project titled “WearAble for Litter-Carry Mission AssistaNce” (WALCMAN).

Fan Yin, associate research professor and assistant director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology, was awarded five research projects from Equistar Chemicals LP, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the Ohio Department of Transportation, totaling $1.55 million in funding. Fan was also elected to co-chair the Technical Committee on Alternative Paving Materials. Design and Performance of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures, a world-renowned association aimed to promote scientific cooperation in the area of construction materials and structures since its establishment.

Michael Zabala, Auburn Alumni Engineering Council Endowed Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, along with former graduate students, was awarded a U.S. patent for “Methods for Manufacturing Individualized Protective Gear from Body Scan and Resulting Products.”

Xinyu Zhang, Alumni Professor of Chemical Engineering, is the principal investigator on a team of researchers developing innovative, cost-effective, and portable opioid biosensors utilized by patients, medical professionals, and law enforcement, capable of providing immediate and accurate opioid detection and monitoring. Their project, “An Integrated and Miniaturized Opioid Sensor System: Advancing Evidence-Based Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis,” was awarded $649,585 from the U.S. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator, Track L: Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications.

Huaguo Zhou, the Elton Z. and Lois G. Huff Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, co-authored a handbook aimed at helping state Department of Transportation offices reduce the risk of wrong-way driving crashes.

Shiqiang Zou, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been appointed as an associate editor for a peer-reviewed international journal, Desalination and Water Treatment. He is one of only two editors representing the U.S. on the editorial board.