Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
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Arvind AgarwalArvind Agarwal was promoted to professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He joined the department as an assistant professor in November 2002. He had obtained his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1999. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree, Agarwal worked as the materials scientist at Plasma Processes Inc. Huntsville, AL for three years. His current research interests include carbon nanotube reinforced composites and coatings, plasma spray, surface engineering, nanomechanics and nanotribology, bioceramic coatings, nanomechanics of biological cells and spark plasma sintering |
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
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Wonbong ChoiWonBong Choi was promoted to professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He had joined FIU as an associate professor in June 2003 after spending five years as a project manager and a senior research scientist at SAMSUNG (SAIT) where he was a leading scientist in the “Carbon Nanotubes for Tera-level Device” project. Choi obtained his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the North Carolina State University (NCSU) in 1997. One of the remarkable achievements in his research career was the invention of carbon nanotube field emission display. In addition, Choi is credited for developing the high efficiency Li-ion battery based on carbon nanotubes, vertical CNT-Field Effect Transistor and CNT based non-volatile memory devices. His innovations, reported as news in the TRN News (January 2002) and MIT’s Magazine (June 2003), were the first to show some practical ways of making carbon nanotube based devices. |
School of Computing and Information Sciences
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Jason Xiaowen LiuJason Liu was promoted to associate professor at the School of Computing and Information Sciences. He had received his B.A. degree in computer science from Beijing University of Technology in China in 1993, an M.S. degree in computer science from the College of William and Mary in 2000, and a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Dartmouth College in 2003. His research interests include parallel discrete-event simulation, high-performance modeling and simulation of communication networks and computer systems. His current research focuses on applying real-time computation techniques for adaptive network simulation modeling, designing and building scalable emulation infrastructure for large-scale network experiments |
Non-tenure Track Faculty Promoted in 2010-2011
Department of Biomedical Engineering
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Michael BrownMichael Brown was promoted to senior instructor in the department of Biomedical Engineering. He is a 1982 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he received his B.S. in biology with high honors. Brown graduated from the University of Miami ( UM ) with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology as well as an M.D. degree. He did post graduate work at UM and Bascom Palmer after which he worked in clinical trial implementation and design. He served as V.P. of clinical affairs and chief scientific officer for Bioheart, Inc. where he ran clinical trials utilizing stem cells for repair of heart muscle damage following heart attacks. Brown started teaching as an adjunct instructor at FIU in 2003 and was hired full time in 2005. |
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
 Ceasar Abi Shdid |
Caesar Abi ShdidCeasar Abi Shdid was promoted to a senior instructor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research centers on the use of sensing technologies in construction and infrastructure assessment and the applications of artificial intelligence algorithms to predicting thermal lifecycle costs of buildings. Abi Shdid graduated from the Lebanese American University in 1999 with a B.E. in civil dngineering. He earned a M.S. and a Ph.D. in building construction from the University of Florida in 2001 and 2004, respectively. In 2005, he earned a second M.E. in civil engineering with structural engineering specialization from the University of Florida. Before joining FIU, he served as an assistant professor of construction management at Georgia Southern University. He has served as a consultant and technical advisor for several corporations, and he is a licensed professional engineer. |
Department of Construction Management
 Ronald A. Baier |
Ronald A. BaierRonald A. Baier was promoted to senior instructor in the Department of Construction Management where he is also an undergraduate advisor. He has been associated with the department since 1994 as an adjunct instructor and as a full-time faculty member since 2002, teaching courses in structural design and construction management. Baier has over forty years of experience in the areas of structural, geotechnical and civil engineering, in both the public and private sector, in projects ranging from the assembly and testing of intercontinental ballistic missile systems to the design of bridge and building structures and their foundations. He received a B.E. in civil engineering from the City College of New York and a M.E. in engineering mechanics from the University of Florida. |
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
 Amaury A. Caballero |
Amaury CaballeroAmaury A. Caballero was promoted to senior instructor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Havana, Cuba in 1966, and his Ph.D. in technical cybernetics from the Energy Institute of Moscow, Russia, in 1979. He has been a registered professional engineer in the state of Florida since 1996. He taught and performed research for more than 20 years at the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Havana. Since 1996, he has been a full time faculty member at FIU, in the Department of Construction Management until 2005, and since then, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has conducted in-depth research in the areas of automation applied to construction management and in fuzzy logic applications. |
School of Computing and Information Sciences
 Tim Downey |
Tim DowneyTim Downey was promoted to senior instructor in the School of Computing and Information Sciences. He received his M.S. in computer science from the State University of New York at Albany in 1986 and joined the School of Computing and Information Sciences at FIU in fall 1991. His research and instructional interests include web development, computer organization, and programming languages. He has received many teaching awards in the University including the Teaching Incentive Program Award in 1995, University Excellence in Teaching award in 2002 and 2007, SCIS Excellence in Teaching Award in 2002 and 2006, and Executive Dean’s Teaching award in 2007. For the last three years, he has served as the head advisor for the School. |
 Kip Irvine |
Kip IrvineKip Irvine was promoted to senior instructor in the School of Computing and Information Sciences. He holds Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Composition (1982) and Master of Science Computer Science (1995) degrees from the University of Miami. He has written seven computer programming textbooks in subjects such as Intel Assembly Language, Visual Basic .NET, C++, and COBOL programming. His books, published by Addison-Wesley and Prentice-Hall, are translated to six languages and are used around the world. He is a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery. |
 Norman Pestaina |
Norman D. PestainaNorman Pestaina was promoted to senior instructor in the School of Computing and Information Sciences. He joined FIU as an instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences in August 1984. He holds a B.Sc. in mathematics from the University of the West Indies, and an M.S. in computer science from the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining FIU, Pestaina was a lecturer at the Cave Hill campus of the UWI, and an assistant staff member of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He has taught 18 different courses at FIU and has been recognized for excellence in teaching on four occasions including an inaugural Teaching Incentive Program award in 1994. A principal architect of the SCIS program assessment processes, Pestaina has been the SCIS Assessments Coordinator since 2006 and has led the BS-CS ABET re-accreditation efforts in 2004 and 2010. |