Faculty Research
With external support from prestigious organizations including, the National Institutes of Health, the
National Science Foundation, the United States Navy, and the American Heart Association, faculty
members of Temple University’s College of Engineering are engaging in advanced research:
Bioengineering
 Dr. George R. Baran’s research interests include
composites, tissue engineering,
and biomechanics. He is
the director of the Center for
Bioengineering and
Biomaterials which is currently
undertaking research initiatives in the areas
of dental restorative materials, composite
reinforcement, composite dentin bonding,
and spine modeling. Dr. Baran is funded by
grants from the National Institutes of Health.
He collaborates with faculty from the departments
of Chemistry and Restorative Dentistry
at Temple University, and with faculty from
Drexel University.
 Dr. Kurosh Darvish is the
director of the Biomechanics
Laboratory. Research
activities focus on brain
biomechanics and the biomechanics
of traumatic
aortic rupture (TAR).
Information gained from
studying the changes of brain tissue resulting
from a head trauma will lead to the
development of better protective systems.
Dr. Darvish is also developing models of a
mechanistic experimental-numerical
approach to produce TAR in a physical and
computer model to analysis the effect of
biomechanical inputs on TAR.
 Dr. Mohammad Kiani is the
director of the Biofluidics
Laboratory which conducts
research in targeted drug
delivery to tumors, biofluid
mechanics, and tissue
engineering. Currently, Dr.
Kiani is investigating selective
delivery of antivascular drugs to tumors and
proangiogenic compounds to damaged
heart tissue in order to generate new cardiac
vessels. He has received funding from the
American Heart Association, the National
Institutes of Health, and the Department of
Defense. He collaborates closely with the
departments of gastroenterology, radiation
oncology, and biochemistry.
 Dr. Iyad Obeid is the principle investigator at the Neural Instrumentation Laboratory which conducts research
in the field of biomedical engineering,
with specific interests
in bioelectricity, instrumentation
and brain-computer
interfaces. His current work
focuses on hardware and
software methods for extracting
information in real time from ensembles
of in-vivo neurons. By developing miniaturized
and implantable neural data acquisition
instrumentation, Dr. Obeid hopes to enhance
the ongoing research effort to allow
paralyzed patients to control various
prostheses (such as artificial limbs and
computer interfaces) by only using their
natural brain signals.
 Dr. Keya Sadeghipour’s primary research interests are
biomechanical engineering,
dental materials, microfracture,
and finite element
methods. He has collaborated
with faculty from Temple
University’s School of Medicine
and Shriner Hospital in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania investigating forearm and
elbow trauma based on forearm rotation.
Currently, Dr. Sadeghipour is studying the
wear analysis of dental restorative materials
which is funded by a grant from the National
Institutes of Health.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
 Dr. Michel Boufadel is the
director of the Environmental
Hydrology and Hydraulics
Laboratory. His primary
research activities are in the
evaluation of the physical
processes governing the
transport of pollutants in
various media. Dr. Boufadel is the principal
investigator on projects including the study
of the movement of oil spills at sea and the
development of remedial techniques, and
the statistical properties of geologic
formations. He has received funding from
the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Agriculture, and the
Department of Defense.
 As the primary investigator for
the Environmental Chemistry
Laboratory, Dr. Adrienne
Cooper researches the use of
renewable energy and catalytic
processes for environmental
applications. The use of a
catalyst helps to overcome energy barriers,
allowing chemical reactions to proceed under
conditions that would ordinarily be
unfavorable for treatment or remediation. Dr.
Cooper is the recipient of the National
Science Foundation CAREER Award and is
a member of the NRC Committee for
evaluation of International Technologies for
the Destruction of Nonstockpile Chemical
Weapons.
 Dr. David Kargbo heads the Environmental Engineering Research (EER) Group in the CEE Department. The Group is engaged in integrated research related to acid mine drainage (AMD) problems including predicting the onset of AMD and developing innovative AMD reclamation approaches. We conduct advanced research on a variety of environmental geochemistry topics related to the reactivity of mineral surfaces, particularly reactions at mineral-fluid interfaces that enable the elucidation of relationships between the structure at surfaces and interfaces of natural materials such as pyrite, calcite, and calcium oxalate. The team is also engaged in research on the beneficial use of waste ash in creating zeolites and its use in concrete structures and reclamation of AMD sites.
 Dr. Sergio E. Serrano’s research is in surface and
subsurface hydrology,
contaminant transport,
effects of climate change on
water resources, mathematical
modeling, and
stochastic analysis. Recent
research contributions
include the propagation of nonlinear kinematic
flood waves in rivers, nonlinear
infiltration in heterogeneous soils,
propagation of nonlinear reactive contaminants
in aquifers, and nonlinear stochastic
free-surface problems in regional
groundwater flow. Dr. Serrano is currently
working in the analysis of the effects of
global climate change on water resources.
 Dr. Philip Udo-Inyang’s primary research areas are in
construction engineering and
management. He focuses his
research efforts in computer
applications, construction
productivity and administration,
claims and disputes,
environmental effects of
construction and demolition activities, and
value engineering concepts. He is currently
pursuing a collaborative project that
evaluates the impact of green building technology
in educational buildings.
Electrical and Computer Engineering
 Dr. Li Bai’s research interests
include computer and data
security, secret sharing, reliability models of secure
systems, decision fusion, and
video target tracking. He is the
director of the Computer Fusion
Laboratory which engages in research
on advanced secure computer networks and
decision fusion. He has received funding
from the DoD for research on advanced
secure wireless communication. His current
research projects include developing a smart
electronic fare collection system in collaboration
with SEPTA, and secret sharing using
distributed image steganography.
 Dr. Saroj Biswas’ research
areas include systems and
control, robust and optimal control, control of flexible
structures, stochastic systems,
electrical machines, and neural
network applications. He has
received funding from NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center to develop an intelligent
agent for isolation of incipient faults in communication
networks, and from the National
Science Foundation to develop an intelligent
interactive tutoring system. His current research
activities include control system design
for minimization of pendulation of shipboard
crane loads and image registration
and security.
 Dr. Brian P. Butz is the
Director of the Intelligent
Systems Application
Center which focuses on
applying artificial intelligence
techniques to the design of
physical and virtual systems.
Presently his research
concentrates on developing and evaluating
intelligent tutoring systems and interactive
virtual environments for educational
delivery in engineering, science and health
education. He has received funding from
organizations, including but not limited to the
National Science Foundation and the Fox
Chase Cancer Center.
 Dr. Zdenka J. Delalic’s primary research interests
are microelectronic and
VLSI chip design. She is
presently developing a biocompatible
MEMS wireless
implantable capacitive
pressure sensor for monitoring bladder
pressure. She is also investigating an
electromagenetic nanosensor that, when
biologically attached to a tumor mass, will
be controlled with a RF waveform to increase
tumor temperature. Dr. Delalic
currently collaborates with faculty from
Temple University’s School of Medicine.
 Dr. Musoke Sendaula’s research interests are
intelligent systems with
applications to computer
networks and power
systems, wireless communications
and networks, high
power density actuators, and
energy systems Dr. Sendaula has recently
received funding from the US Navy Naval
Surface Warfare, Craddock Division and the
National Science Foundation. Most recently,
Dr. Sendaula has collaborated with other
faculty members from the Temple’s College
of Engineering investigating science and
engineering interactive learning
communities.
 Dr. Dennis Silage is the director
of the System Chip
Design Laboratory which is
currently seeking to forge a
new paradigm for the rapid
design of complex digital
logic, digital signal and image
processing, digital communications,
and advanced processor systems
in programmable gate arrays (PGA)
and hard and configurable system-on-chip
(SOC) architectures. He is currently conducting
sponsored research into the efficient
implementation of advanced algorithms on
Xilinx PGA that has applications in digital
communication, and wireless and cellular
technologies.
 Dr. Chang-Hee Won’s primary research interests
include stochastic optimal
control theory, sensor
networking, and satellite
cooperative control. He is the
director of the Control, Sensor,
Network, and Perception
Laboratory. Dr. Won and his students are
currently focused on the development of a
networked micro-navigation sensor and
cooperative satellite control theory. He is
currently funded by the National Science
Foundation and Air Force Office of Scientific
Research.
 Dr. Robert Yantorno has
been involved with speech
processing research since
the mid 1980s and directs the Speech Processing Laboratory. He was a
consultant for AT&T Bell
Labs, as well as for the Air
Force Research Lab. His
initial interest was with
speech coding and the
development of an objective measure of
speech quality. More recently he has been
involved with the development of “usable
speech” measures, speaker identification,
speaker modeling building, speaker model
adaptation and uncooperative speaker
model building.
Mechanical Engineering
 Dr. Jim Chen’s research
areas include fluid mechanics,
heat transfer, thermal
processing of materials, and
biotransport. He has published
more than 100 articles
in temperature measurement
and control, film cooling, jet
impingement, accelerated/controlled cooling,
melt spinning, interfacial heat transfer, heat
pipe, biotransport, and rapid solidification. In
the last five years, he has applied his
expertise in thermal/fluid science and used
Particle Image Velocimetry and
Computational Fluid Dynamics to investigate
cryosurgery and drug delivery in biomedical
engineering.
 Dr. Richard S. Cohen has
research interests in the
properties of matter. His
original expertise is in the
area of combustion and fuels
with a concentration in
hydrocarbons, their storage,
combustion, and pollution.
More recently his interests are in nanotechnology
and bioengineering. He is currently
collaborating in research into micro and
nanosensors and devices. Most recently,
he has received a grant from the
Pennsylvania Department of Health
researching obesity.
 Dr. Parsaoran Hutapea is the director of the Composites Laboratory. His research focus is on the mechanics of joining of dissimilar materials. Current projects include the development of a bone lengthening device, smart wearable device, nano pipet, and PEM fuel cell stacks. Dr. Hutapea’s research is funded by two private foundations, Shriners Hospital for Children, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Nano Technology Institute.
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