New faculty: 2025

Aisulu Aitbekova's research focuses on developing catalytic processes to generate sustainable fuels and chemicals. Transitioning the chemical industry from fossil fuels to sustainable feed stocks requires innovations at many different scales. Aitbekova's experience extends from developing materials at the nanoscale, to controlling the environment around these materials at the microscale, to developing processes at the macroscale.

Aitbekova received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University, her master’s degree in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan. Most recently, she was a Kavli Nanoscience Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology and a member of Liquid Sunlight Alliance Energy Innovation Hub.

Burak Aksak joined Carnegie Mellon University’s Mechanical Engineering Department in Spring 2025 as a teaching professor. Aksak was an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University from 2012 to 2023, where he also served as an associate department chair between 2019 and 2022. Aksak joined Setex Technologies Inc., a CMU spin-off that he cofounded in 2009, as the Vice President in 2022. After the industrial business was acquired by Shin-Etsu Chemical Company in 2024, he joined Shin-Etsu MicroSi to assist with technology transfer. Aksak also cofounded a TTU spin-off, Flow Raider LLC, when he was a faculty member at TTU.

Aksak’s teaching interests include mechanics and design courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He is excited to incorporate biomimicry, advanced materials, and entrepreneurship-related topics in engineering courses. His research focus is bioinspired engineering, specifically studying and designing engineering systems in adhesives, actuators, and sensors inspired by biological systems.

Kathleen Bieryla earned her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. She began her academic career as a faculty member at Bucknell University and most recently served as Associate Professor of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Portland (Portland, OR). Her teaching experience includes engineering design, biomechanics, biomedical instrumentation, and first-year engineering courses. Bieryla’s recent scholarly interests have centered on ballet biomechanics and the development of engineering identity among undergraduate students.

Joe Calandrino previously served as the acting chief science and technology advisor and acting chief AI officer at the U.S. Department of Justice and as research director in the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, where he won the Bureau Director's award for his service. He is interested in the application of computer security, privacy, and related computer science research methods to address public policy issues. He served as program committee co-chair for USENIX Security 2023 and SOUPS 2020-2021, co-founded the Workshop on Technology and Consumer Protection (ConPro), and won the best reviewer award from the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy 2020. He received his PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University, where he was affiliated with the Center for Information Technology Policy. He holds master's degrees in Computer Science from Princeton and the University of Virginia, and he received a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Virginia.

Su Jiang’s research focuses on scientific machine learning, uncertainty quantification, and optimization for subsurface flow processes. She integrates AI methods with domain knowledge to enable efficient prediction, inference and management in large-scale energy and environmental systems. Applications of her work include geological carbon storage, hydrocarbon production, enhanced geothermal systems, and seawater intrusion.

Jiang received her Ph.D. in energy resources engineering at Stanford University in 2022 and her B.S. in environmental engineering from Tsinghua University in 2016. She conducted her postdoctoral research at Stanford University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Taha Khan’s research interests span usable security and privacy, measuring cybercrime, trustworthy AI, online censorship and computer science education. His work focuses on understanding how people interact with security systems and designing tools that are secure and robust. Khan earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Lahore University of Management Sciences. Prior to joining CMU, he held a faculty appointment in the Computer Science Department at Washington and Lee University and an adjunct position at Virginia Tech. He also consults for small-scale startups and, in the past, has provided expert guidance on security and AI to companies in industries ranging from blockchain, finance and insurance, to cyber-physical systems. Khan brings a dynamic, active-learning approach to the classroom. He has taught courses ranging from introductory programming and hardware organization to systems, security, networks, programming languages, and databases. He is passionate about cultivating deeper understanding through hands-on learning that empowers the next generation of technologists.

Michael Mattarock brings deep expertise in national security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to his role as associate director and assistant teaching professor. With experience working within government agencies, leading security research strategies and consulting on security architecture solutions, Michael is a versatile leader with an impactful track record. As associate director, Mattrarock collaborates closely with the INI’s director, Dena Haritos Tsamitis, to advance collaborations with government and industry partners and oversee academic affairs, in addition to teaching courses in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence ethics and operations.

Before joining the INI, Mattrarock served as the executive director of National Security Research at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He developed and implemented strategies to enhance the national security research portfolio across CMU, working closely with deans, faculty researchers and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). He was the university’s point of contact for strategic mission partners, advancing key initiatives that serve to enhance federal capabilities and support the deployment of leading edge technologies.

Mattrarock previously served as the technical director for AI Mission and Engagement at the SEI, where his accomplishments include launching the discipline of AI Engineering, the AISIRT, and growing the AI Division. Previously, Michael served as the chief enterprise architect at Air Force Materiel Command, chief engineer at Air Force Research Laboratories, and as the principal of his own consultancy.

Mattrarock is currently completing his doctorate in secure AI and holds an MS in information systems engineering, summa cum laude, from the George Washington University. He has presented and taught courses on a number of evolving technology topics, including engagements for the Department of Defense, Department of State, NATO, NASA and many private sector organizations. He is originally from the Pittsburgh area and is happy to have returned to his hometown.

Francis Ogoke is broadly interested in developing artificial intelligence and deep learning methods to enhance, understand, and control engineering processes. His work focuses on creating physics-informed deep learning methods to accelerate simulation-based insights, designing probabilistic frameworks for uncertainty analysis, and developing generalizable representation learning frameworks. These efforts aim to build foundational models for engineering problems. He is interested in applying these frameworks to areas including advanced manufacturing, sensing, cyber-physical systems, and digital twins.

Ogoke is a recipient of the Presidential Fellowship in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and the G.E.M. Fellowship. He received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2024 and a B.S.E. in chemical and biological engineering from Princeton University in 2019. He is currently a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kwadwo Osseo-Asare is a U.S. National Academy of Engineering member, globally recognized for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of interfacial phenomena in dissolution and solvent extraction processes. In 2016, he was elected a foreign member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences for his pioneering work in aqueous materials processing, particularly in the development of aqueous phase diagrams and the study of interfacial phenomena applied to metal extraction, chemical-mechanical polishing, and microemulsion-mediated nanoparticle synthesis.

Osseo-Asare’s extensive research focuses on aqueous processing, particularly in hydrometallurgy, separation science, and materials synthesis and processing. His work emphasizes thermodynamic modeling, electrochemistry, colloids, interfaces, and nanoscience. He is a joint author with Allotey Odunton of the United Nations, “Analysis of Processing Technology for Manganese Nodules,” Seabed Minerals Series, Vol. 3, Graham & Trotman, London, 1986. He is currently authoring two textbooks on aqueous materials processing and promotes science for development through his blog, Aqueousolutions.

His honors include the Materials Research Society Impact Award (2022), the Wadsworth Award (2004), the Faculty Scholar Medal at Penn State (1999), the James Douglas Gold Medal (1997), and the Wilson Award for Excellence in Research (1995). He also served as editor-in-chief of Hydrometallurgy from 1998 to 2010.
Osseo-Asare previously held joint appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State University. He has collaborated extensively with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Imperial College London, Tohoku University, and Wits University. He also served as senior advisor for Penn State’s Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering, and Design with Africa.

He has held visiting academic positions at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Arusha, Tanzania, the African University of Science and Technology in Nigeria, Ashesi University (Ghana), Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil), Federal University of Ouro Preto (Brazil), Imperial College (UK), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Ghana), Kyushu University (Japan), MIT (USA), Tohoku University (Japan), University of Mines & Technology (Ghana), University of South Australia, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), University of Ghana, and the University of Zimbabwe.

Mark’s passion is working with aspiring innovators, entrepreneurs and agents of change utilizing technology for good.  A successful entrepreneur, he founded a technology-led environmental remediation company which was acquired by a national firm.  Following the sale of his company, Mark spent time at Berkeley Lab in Silicon Valley commercializing technologies while also supporting UC Berkeley’s Lab to Market program. Mark is a native Texan who also served as the Deputy Director of the Austin Technology Incubator at the University of Texas at Austin, the longest-running technology incubator in the United States. 

Mark is the Program Director for the Engineering Design, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (EDIE) additional major and a Distinguished Service Professor at the Integrated Innovation Institute. Prior to joining iii, he served as the Gemini Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota where he created a new undergraduate minor in engineering entrepreneurship, a student startup accelerator, a statewide program for scaleup companies, and co-founded the Minnesota Cleantech Consortium.

Spielberg researches simulation methods, design algorithms, digital manufacturing processes, and methods for overcoming the sim-to-real gap, for inventing in both virtual and physical worlds. Presently, he is the CEO of MorphoAI, a young startup focused on translating our research into products that will change the way in which people design robots and other cyberphysical machines.

Victor Thompson brings more than 40 years of experience in computer technology and software application engineering to CMU-Africa. His career spans enterprise systems, distributed object systems, Radio Frequency engineering design, business intelligence architecture, data mining platforms, and web services.

He has led the development of systems in diverse application areas, including cloud content distribution, e-commerce, mobile wireless applications, supply chain management, semiconductor software testbeds, web-based security, telematics, and biometrics.

A recognized technology leader, Thompson is renowned for crafting strategic and innovative visions that align IT solutions with business goals and operational resilience. His leadership is marked by a deep understanding of complex systems and a consistent drive for innovation.

As the primary visionary behind the NASA Innovation Ecosystem, Thompson spent two decades fostering collaboration across business stakeholders, strategic vendors, external technology teams, and academia. In his role as former chief information officer at NASA headquarters, he oversaw the agency's IT strategy, managed budgets exceeding $100 million, and led a team responsible for infrastructure, operations, and cybersecurity.

Thompson’s career also includes leadership roles at Digital Equipment Corporation, Eon, ComSearch, Manugistics, Raytheon, Real Networks, and Sprint, where he implemented innovative technology solutions across a wide range of industries.