Five AE PhD students selected for future faculty training program

Preparing the next generation of engineering professors is the goal of the Mavis Memorial Fund Scholarship for Future Faculty Fellows. This year, five Ph.D. students in the Department of Aerospace Engineering were selected to participate in the MF3 Academy, a program uniquely designed to help future faculty develop skills for success in academia. They will participate in a series of workshops, seminars, and activities that cover various aspects of an academic career for a full academic calendar and complete a capstone project.

These are the five AE Mavis Fellows, their research focus, and what they said they hope to gain from the program:

Srikumar Balasubramanian is advised by Andres Goza. “My research involves developing numerical methods for application to flow-structure interaction problems,” Balasubramanian said. “Through the Mavis program, I hope to understand the various roles and responsibilities associated with a career in academia.”

Tuhin Bandopadhyay works with Laura Villafañe Roca. About his research, he said, “I work on understanding the dynamics of inertial particle clusters in turbulent flows. From Mavis I aim to gain comprehensive insights into the faculty job search process, the necessary preparation, and the responsibilities associated with an academic career.”

Vijeth Hebbar’s adviser is Cedric Langbort. “With the end goal of designing mechanisms to counteract misinformation, I study agent based behavioral models of how humans interpret, share, and react to the information available to them. I aim to tackle misinformation and other critical challenges throughout my research career, and I believe the MF3 program will equip me with the essential skills to make a significant impact." 

Jongwon Lee’s adviser is Professor Timothy Bretl.  “My research primarily focuses on state estimation for mobile robots, including localization, mapping, perception, and the integration of multiple sensory data, applicable in areas such as autonomous driving, flight, and augmented reality and virtual reality,” Lee said.

“By participating in the MF3 fellowship, I foresee myself improving in the three crucial areas the program aims to foster: research, teaching, and mentoring, by personalizing the learning experience throughout the program.”

So Sasaki is advised by Cedric Langbort. Sasaki said “I study game theory of communication and networks. More specifically, my research is about a game-theoretical design of content moderation on social media. I'm looking forward to improving my public speaking skills in the program.”

The Mavis Future Faculty Fellows Academy is made possible by the generous bequest of Frederic T. and Edith F. Mavis. Dr. Mavis received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a professor of Civil Engineering at several universities and was the Dean of Engineering at the University of Maryland from 1957-67.