This is the last time that I will be communicating as the ECSE department head. I am stepping down from the position as of December 31, 2025, and will return to the ECSE faculty to continue my teaching and research. The search for the next department head is nearly complete, and I anticipate the announcement coming soon. I am confident that the department will be in very capable hands and continue its positive trajectory.
Looking back at 2025, it has been an exceptionally eventful year. We mourned the loss of multiple current and former faculty members and marked the retirements of several long-serving colleagues. At the same time, we reinvigorated our ranks with outstanding new hires. Despite unprecedented uncertainty and turmoil in federal research funding, ECSE has maintained a robust research program. We also completed a highly successful ABET reaccreditation visit. Above all, ECSE continues to thrive as a supportive, collaborative, and resilient community.
Here is a recap of some key events in the past year (see ECSE news for a fuller list):
We mourn the passing of Professor Mona Hella, and Emeritus Professors Art Sanderson and Alan Desrochers. Mona had been an ECSE faculty for 21 years and had been anchoring the high frequency and power IC program in ECSE. Art retired in 2018 after serving as the ECSE department head from 1987-1994 and RPI first Vice President for Research from 2000-2004. Alan was with ECSE for 31 years and retired in 2011.
Long time ECSE faculty Ishwara Bhat, Russ Kraft, and Michael Shur retired this year and transitioned to new roles. Ishwara joined ECSE as faculty in 1989. Michael joined ECSE in 1992. Russ has been with RPI since his freshmen year in 1973! We celebrated their careers with a farewell gathering in April.
We welcome multiple new faculty and staff that significantly strength our research, curriculum, and student services: Future Chip Constellation Professor Boon Ooi who joined us from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); Associate Professor Kanad Basu from University of Texas at Dallas; Assistant Professor Wenwen Zhao, a recent graduate of Cornell University; Lecturer Steve Han, previously with ASML; Visiting Professor Martin Burkhardt, a lithography expert with IBM; and Senior Graduate Student Administrator Melanie Ungar, who joined us from Texas Tech University.
Professor Hussein Abouzeid returned to the department after a productive four-year term as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, where he most recently led the establishment of the Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES) program in a challenging funding environment.
With continued support from Doug Mercer ’77 and leadership from Mercer X-Lab Director Professor Shayla Sawyer, Mercer X-Lab is experiencing rapid growth and expanded student engagement. The newly rolled out digital education modules reduce barriers for students to gain hands-on experience and empowering students to learn collaboratively.
Through the effort of Dr. Ted Letavic ‘90, a member of both School of Engineering Leadership Council and ECSE Advisory Council, GlobalFoundries has elevated its relationship with RPI to a strategic partnership. This collaboration includes support of multi-project wafer runs, joint curriculum development, GF-RPI Scholar Award, Dean’s Faculty Fellows, capstone design projects, and collaborative research.
We continued offering two industry co-taught semiconductor courses for the fourth year: Topics in Advanced Materials, Metrology and Equipment for Semiconductor Manufacturing (fall) and Topics in Microelectronics Manufacturing (spring). Professor James Lu spearheaded the creation and delivery of these innovative courses and was recognized with a plaque of appreciation from GlobalFoundries. We have also expanded the co-curriculum development model to additional courses. Introduction to Lithography was co-taught this fall by Professors Steve Han and Martin Burkhardt. Power Generation Operation and Control was offered by Dr. Muhammad Marwali, Principal Engineer at New York Independent Systems Operator (NYISO).
ECSE successfully completed its ABET reaccreditation, conducted every six years. Under the leadership of Professor Shayla Sawyer, the two ECSE curricula, Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Systems Engineering (CSE) were both reaccredited without any concerns. The two Program Evaluators praised our programs’ collaborative culture and the unique student experience provided by the Mercer X-Lab.
In addition to our federal and industry funding, RPI was also awardedtwo New York State funded Center for Advanced Technology (CAT), each providing approximately $1M per year over ten years. The Center for Future Energy Systems (CFES) is redesignated to start its third decade and is led by ECSE faculty Professor Jian Sun. The Center for Smart and Convergent Manufacturing Systems (CSCMS) is a new CAT and involves the participation of multiple ECSE faculty members. Its October kickoff event was attended by over 300 guests from industry, government, and academia.
Multiple ECSE faculty received recognitions this year. Professor Liu Liu is honored with the NSF CAREER Award. Professor Zheyu Zhang was named as the inaugural Rich P. Felak ’66 ‘67 and Joan C. Felak Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Electric Power Engineering. Several ECSE faculty members were honored by School of Engineering Awards:
Outstanding Teaching Award for Innovation in Education: Shayla Sawyer
Excellence in Citizenship Award: James Lu
Outstanding Research Award for Junior Faculty: Zheyu Zhang,
IEEE Signal Processing Society gives out several Best Ph.D. Dissertation Awards every year. Among the three awardees this year, two were given to recent ECSE doctoral graduates, Burak Varici (advisor: Ali Tajer) and Hongkang Li (advisor: Meng Wang).
Two former ECSE graduates have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Class 2025. Dr. Kwok Cheung ‘91 was ECSE Emeritus Professor Joe Chow’s second PhD student and John Paserba ’88 was his TA in Lumped Parameter Systems (LUMPS) course.
Reflecting on the past seven years as the department head, ECSE has come a long way. The department successfully navigated two ABET accreditation cycles, a global pandemic that transformed how we teach and connect, and significant shifts in the research funding landscape. We reimagined our learning environment through the Mercer X-Lab, updated gateway courses, and industry-collaborative semiconductor education. We welcomed nineteen new faculty members, two technicians, and three student administrators, while also honoring many departures. Alumni engagement grew through industry advising, networking initiatives, and philanthropic support. Most importantly, we strengthened a culture defined by collaboration, resilience, and mutual support—transforming frustration into action and disenfranchisement into empowerment.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve the ECSE community. I especially acknowledge the strong and consistent support of Dean Shekhar Garde, which has been instrumental to the department’s success. As I embark on my next role leading the establishment of the new Bachelor of Science program in Robotics Engineering, aiming to welcome the first cohort in Fall 2026, I look forward to continuing to work with many of you.
Let us stay connected and continue to move ECSE and RPI forward together!
John