New faculty join UGA College of Engineering

The University of Georgia College of Engineering is welcoming five new faculty members for the fall 2019 semester. The new faculty members include UGA’s new Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, S. Jack Hu, who has joined the college as a UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering.

The new faculty members join a team that has grown from 49 in 2012, the year the college was founded, to more than 80 today. Over the same period, enrollment in the college has grown from 687 students to more than 2,200.

“The addition of these outstanding scholars and researchers reflects our commitment to provide students a premier engineering education in a comprehensive land-grant university,” said Donald Leo, Dean of the UGA College of Engineering. “We’re excited to welcome these new colleagues to Athens. They will add significant strength to our instructional and research programs.”

In addition to Hu, the UGA College of Engineering’s new faculty members are John Brocato, Racheida Lewis, Beshoy Morkos, and Jidong Yang.

S. Jack Hu

S. Jack Hu

S. Jack Hu, Ph.D.

S. Jack Hu has authored or co-authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles related to his research in manufacturing systems, assembly, and engineering statistics. He holds six patents, co-founded a startup company based on his research, and worked closely with several industry partners to enhance manufacturing quality and productivity. Prior to joining the UGA faculty, he was the Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan as well as the J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering. Hu is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board. In addition, Hu is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP).

John Brocato

John Brocato

John Brocato, M.A.

John Brocato comes to UGA from Mississippi State University. At MSU, Brocato served as founder and director of the Shackouls Technical Communications Program, which works to develop and enhance the writing and speaking skills of all engineering students. Brocato holds a master’s degree in English from MSU. In 2018, he was named a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. Brocato will serve as a lecturer in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering.

Racheida Lewis

Racheida Lewis

Racheida Lewis, Ph.D.

Racheida Lewis joins the faculty as an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research interests include recruitment of engineering students from diverse backgrounds, retention and persistence in engineering, and development of self-efficacy in engineering students. She currently serves as national vice chair of the National Society of Black Engineers. Lewis earned a Ph.D. in engineering education from Virginia Tech.

Beshoy Morkos

Beshoy Morkos

Beshoy Morkos, Ph.D.

Beshoy Morkos joins the UGA College of Engineering after serving as an associate professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Morkos received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Clemson University. His research focuses on systems design, computational reasoning and representation, model-based engineering, and engineering education. At UGA, he will serve as an associate professor in the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering.

Jidong Yang

Jidong Yang

Jidong Yang, Ph.D.

Jidong Yang comes to UGA from Kennesaw State University, where he served as an associate professor and director of the Georgia Pavement and Traffic Research Center. At UGA, he will serve as an associate professor in the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering. His research interests range from pavement mix design and performance modeling to “Big Data” applications in civil engineering. Yang earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of South Florida.



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