Written by: College of Engineering August 2, 2023 UAH College of Engineering is proud to announce the arrival of five new faculty members this fall: Dinh C. Nguyen Assistant Professor, Computer Engineering Ph.D., Computer Science, Deakin University, Australia, 2022 B.E., Electrical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam, 2015 Dr. Nguyen is an assistant professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Previously, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Purdue University. His research interests include wireless networking, distributed learning, and network security. He has published over 30 papers on top-tier IEEE/ACM conferences and journals. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society. Mengfei Ren Assistant Professor, ECE Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Texas at Arlington, 2023 M.Sc., Computer Science, University of Texas at Arlington, 2013 B.S., Computer Science, China University of Petroleum, 2011 Dr. Ren worked as an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Her expertise and research interests span software engineering and cybersecurity. She has focused so far on security analysis of IoT wireless protocols with advanced software testing techniques, like fuzzing, data flow analysis and combinatorial testing. Her work has detected several 0-day vulnerabilities in a mainstream Zigbee protocol implementation. Haiyang Hu Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, 2023 M.E., Aerospace Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 2016 B.E., Aerospace Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 2013 Dr. Hu is an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University in 2021. He then worked as a Postdoc Research Associate in the Advanced Flow Diagnostics and Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory and Aircraft Icing Physics and Anti-/De-icing Technology Laboratory at Iowa State University. His current research interests focus on developing advanced experimental diagnostic techniques/platforms and exploring their applications in active/passive flow control, aircraft performance in adverse weather, hyper/supersonic flow, non-thermal plasma, and UAV/UAM/UAS. His research has been published in the AIAA Journal, Physics of Fluids, and Aerospace Science and Technology. RESEARCH INTEREST: Experimental Aerodynamics/Fluid Mechanics, Multiphase Flow, Advanced Flow Diagnose Technique, Low-speed Aerodynamic, None-thermal Plasma Application, UAV/UAS/UAM aerodynamics. Rahul Bhadani Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering M.S., Ph.D., Electrical & Computer Engineering, The University of Arizona, May 2022 M.S., Statistics, The University of Arizona, May 2022 M.S. Optical Sciences, August 2021 B.E., Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur, 2012 Dr. Bhadani is an assistant professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He was a post-doctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University from July 2022 - August 2023. His research expertise includes connected and autonomous vehicles, cyber-physical systems, smart cities, microgrids, and quantum information science. Ana Carolina Wooley Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering and Engineering Management PhD in Industrial Engineering, Auburn University, August 2023 M.S. in Industrial Engineering, Auburn University, December 2020 B.S. in Industrial Engineering, Universidade Federal de Itajuba, Brazil Dr. Wooley is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her research interests include simulation, lean manufacturing, advanced manufacturing systems, digital twin, and digital manufacturing. Ana has actively engaged in collaborative projects with industry partners, such as Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, where she took the lead in developing Value Stream Maps to identify inefficiencies and waste within the engine plant's processes. She has also contributed to the design and implementation of complex simulation models aimed at enhancing operational efficiency. In addition to her research work, Ana has served as a teaching assistant at Auburn University, instructing courses on manufacturing systems and introducing students to industrial and systems engineering concepts. Her diverse industry experience spans over three years, during which she has successfully improved manufacturing processes and procedures in various sectors, including energy, education, and automotive.
