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OU Gallogly College of Engineering Welcomes 16 New Faculty for 2025–2026 Academic Year

September 23, 2025

OU Gallogly College of Engineering Welcomes 16 New Faculty for 2025–2026 Academic Year

View of lamp post with OU flag and Felgar Hall in the background.

The University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering proudly announces the addition of 16 new faculty members across multiple schools and disciplines for the 2025–2026 academic year. This cohort of talented scholars and educators will strengthen OU Engineering’s mission of advancing research, innovation, and student success.

Engineering Pathways Program

  • Abigail Lehto, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S. and Ph.D., Engineering Education, Utah State University

  • Tiantian Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S., Industrial Engineering, and Ph.D., Engineering Education, Purdue University

  • Felipe Perez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S. and Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, University of Oklahoma

School of Computer Science

  • Ze Shi Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.Sc. and Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Victoria

  • Ziming Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S., Computer Science, and Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Tennessee

  • Sean Mackay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    B.S., Computer Science, and Ph.D., Engineering Education, University at Buffalo

  • Egawati Panjei, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S. and Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Oklahoma

  • Ali Reza Pedram, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, and Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

  • Shishir Shah, Ph.D., Director, Professor, and OU’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
    M.S. and Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering

  • Fatima Merchant, Ph.D., Professor (co-appointed in the Data Science and Analytics Institute)
    M.S. and Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

  • Bulent Ozpolat, Ph.D., Professor
    Ph.D., University of Texas – MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; M.D., Dokuz Eylul University

  • Tri Vu, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
    B.S., Biomedical/Medical Engineering, University at Buffalo; Ph.D., Biomedical/Medical Engineering, Duke University

  • Chang Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    B.S., Tianjin University; Ph.D., Lehigh University

School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

  • Abdullah Arif Md, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University; Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Jangala Ramesh Babu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.Tech, Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology; Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

  • Yanqing Su, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
    M.S., Computational Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; Ph.D., Geophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology

“These faculty bring a wealth of knowledge and innovative research that will broaden opportunities for our students and elevate the impact of our college,” said John Klier, dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering. “Their expertise spans emerging fields in computer science, biomedical engineering, aerospace, and more—areas where OU Engineering continues to lead with bold ideas and transformative solutions.”

The Gallogly College of Engineering continues to expand its faculty to meet the needs of a growing student body and to reinforce OU’s role as a leader in engineering education and research on a global scale.

By Karen Kelly, OU Marketing and Communications