Auburn University Provost Vini Nathan announced the names of Auburn University faculty awarded promotion, tenure or both for 2026.
“It is with great pleasure that I congratulate our faculty colleagues as they celebrate this significant professional achievement,” Nathan said. “The value of an Auburn education is multiplied through the efforts of our faculty, and the impact of their outstanding research and scholarship, continues to expand and grow.”
The following Auburn Engineering faculty received promotions or tenure:
Sathyanarayanan Aakur, assistant professor and Ginn Faculty Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include the application of cognitive models in computer vision, predictive learning for active event perception in videos, common sense reasoning for visual understanding and contextual models of memory for event perception.
Pengyu Chen, the Francis Family Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been promoted to professor. His research interests include nanoplasmonic biosensors, single-cell analysis, precision medicine, protein-nanomaterial interaction and food and environmental safety.
Steve Duke, the Mary and John J. Sanders Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been promoted to professor. His research interests include flow and energy visualization, polymer and drug particle processing, alternative fuels development and technology education.
Nicoletta Fala, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. Her research interests include human factors and performance, safety and risk communication, flight training, virtual reality and flight simulation.
Erin Garcia, a lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been promoted to senior lecturer. Her research interests include operations research applications in service industries and access to health care for children with chronic conditions.
Suhasini Gururaja, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has been promoted to professor with tenure. Her research interests include mechanics and manufacturing of advanced composite materials and structures.
Edward Huang, the Hal N. and Peggy S. Pennington Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been promoted to professor with tenure. His research interests include model-based systems engineering, supply chain, cybersecurity, facility design and optimization.
Zhihua Jiang, the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and director of the Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering, has been promoted to professor. His research interests include bioresource engineering, added-value products from lignin and nanocellulose, pulping and bleaching, pulp and paper and wood chemistry.
Panagiotis Mistriotis, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include stem cell engineering, cell aging, cancer cell migration, microfluidics and vascular tissue engineering.
Chad Rose, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include robotics, physical human-robot interaction, assistive devices and wearable robotics.
Mehdi Sadi, the Bryghte D. and Patricia Godbold Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include secure and reliable system-on-chip design, artificial intelligence and neuromorphic hardware, safety-critical hardware, machine learning in VLSI CAD/EDA and circuit design and CAD for post-CMOS emerging computing technologies.
Kyle Schulze, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include soft matter mechanics, soft implants and tissue interfaces, friction, adhesion and wear.
Kadir Sener, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. His research interests include testing and design of large concrete and steel structures subjected to extreme loads and fire, numerical analysis of structural components, members and systems, missile and impact-resistant structures, sustainable and resilient solutions for infrastructure and structures/structural members constructed using additive manufacturing.
Shuai Shao, associate director for research and innovation at the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence and the McWane Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been promoted to professor. His research interests include additive manufacturing, materials science, computational materials science, solid interfaces and multiscale modeling.
Tao Shu, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has been promoted to professor. His research interests include network security and privacy, applied cryptography, big data-oriented network information processing and protocol design, wireless networking and network economics.
Adriana Vargas-Nordcbeck, associate research professor at the National Center for Asphalt Technology, has been promoted to research professor. Her research interests include pavement design, asphalt materials, pavement preservation and pavement management.
Matthew Yarnold, director of the Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory and associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been granted tenure. His research interests include bridge engineering, structural steel behavior, large-scale laboratory testing of structural components and systems, field assessment of bridges and other structures and structural stability.
Fan Yin, associate research professor and assistant director at the National Center for Asphalt Technology, has been promoted to research professor. His research interests include balanced mix design, recycled pavement materials and advanced asphalt material characterization.
