The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering is pleased to announce six new appointments to the faculty.
“I’m thrilled to have an incredible group of faculty joining us this year,” said David B. Go, professor and department chair. “They will elevate the department across many dimensions — research and mentoring in the lab, educating our students inside the classroom and out, and collaborating and forging partnerships across the University.”
Edgar Bolívar-Nieto has been appointed as an assistant professor. He researches the design and development of wearable robots, with a focus on optimal control, state estimation, and actuator design for applications, including powered prostheses and rehabilitation exoskeletons.
Bolivar-Nieto received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. He comes to Notre Dame from his position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan.
Margaret Coad has been appointed as an assistant professor. She explores the design, modeling, and control of inventive robotic systems to improve human health, safety, and productivity. She is particularly interested in soft and bioinspired robotics and human-in-the-loop control.
Coad received her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
Meenal Datta has been appointed as an assistant professor. She studies the tumor microenvironment of incurable brain cancers and examines how abnormal tissue mechanics affect disease progression, treatment response, and the ability of the immune system to combat cancer.
Datta received her Ph.D. in chemical and biological engineering from Tufts University. She comes to Notre Dame from her position as a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Emily Johnson has been appointed as an assistant professor. Her work focuses on computational mechanics investigations of engineering structures, emphasizing parametric modeling and performance-based design of complex engineering systems using isogeometric methods. Her efforts include computational modeling for renewable energy, aerospace engineering, and healthcare applications.
Johnson received her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and wind energy science, engineering, and policy from Iowa State University.
Robert Landers has been appointed as the Advanced Manufacturing Collegiate Professor. He investigates the modeling, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes and electrochemical energy systems. His work concentrates on additive and robotic manufacturing, as well as state-of-health estimation and fast charging of lithium ion batteries.
Landers received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan. He joins us from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he was the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and from the National Science Foundation, where he served as a program director in the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation.
Matthew Rosenberger joined the faculty in January 2021 as an assistant professor. His research interests include atomic force microscopy; nanomechanics and strain engineering; materials engineering; chemical and biological sensing; energy-efficient electronics; and energy storage and conversion applications.
Rosenberger received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He came to Notre Dame following a postdoctoral position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
— Nina Welding, College of Engineering