Advisory Boards
Industrial Advisory Boards
The Industrial Advisory Boards for Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Programs review the health of the department, advise the faculty on the general direction of the department, critically review the department strategic plans, help in developing new research directions and strengthen existing ones, advise the department on new faculty hires, identify potential sources of supplemental funding, and last but not least, help to develop, maintain and innovate the graduate and undergraduate curricula. The IABs meet once or twice per year for a full-day meeting.
Members of our advisory boards for program development are:
Mechanical Engineering Program
| Name | Position | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Thaer Almasri | Senior Operations Manager | eCMMS – White Oak Pack Center |
| Robert R. Croft, P.E. (VA/NC/TX/NH/GA/SC) | Project Engineering Manager, BOP Construction Support, Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4 | Stone & Webster, Inc |
| C.A. Hodges | Senior Professional, Agency and Vendor Relations | Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond |
| Michael B. Hurd | Director of MEP Engineering, Vice President | Moseley Architects |
| Andrew Hutton, Ph.D. | Associate Director, Accelerator Division | Jefferson Lab |
| Poorna Mane, Ph.D. | Directory Strategic Programs (Product Development, Sustaining Engineering, Global Operations, Medical Devices) | Sonova Group |
| Patrick McElhinney | Principle Engineer | Altria Group Inc. |
| Zoubeida Ounaies, Ph.D. | Professor, College of Engineering | Penn State University |
| Jacob L. Pretko | Research Investigator | DuPont Protection Solutions |
| Ernie Pryor | Vice President of Engineering | Hamilton Beach Brands |
| Ritesh Shah | Americas Steam Power System Engineering Leader, Greater Richmond Region | GE Power |
| Pere Villar | Director, Services Sales Energy, USA | Alfa Laval Inc. |
| Kevin Weiseman | Aramids Business Manufacturing Technical Manager | DuPont |
Nuclear Engineering Program
| Name | Position | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Sama Bilbao y León, Ph.D. | Head, Division of Nuclear Technology Development and Economics | OECD Nuclear Energy Agency |
| Mr. Tom Bergman | Vice President, Regulatory Affairs | NuScale Power |
| Dr. Jon Carmack | Senior Technical Advisor to Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy | Idaho National Laboratory |
| Mr. David Christian | Chief Innovation Officer | Dominion Energy |
| Ms. Mary Cullen | Vice President, Nuclear Propulsion | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Dr. Harold Dodds | Emeritus Professor, Nuclear Engineering | University of Tennessee |
| Mr. William (Barry) Fletcher | Vice President, Nuclear Propulsion (Retired as of Dec 2016) | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Robert S. Freeman | Vice President, Contracts & Services-North America, Fuel Commercial & Customer Center | Framatome |
| Dr. Bruce Mallett | Executive Director of Operations (retired as of May 2010) | US Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| John Monninger | Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing | U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| Dr. David Pointer | Distinguished Nuclear Engineer, Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division | Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| Dr. Finis Southworth | Chief Technology Officer (retired as of August 2015) | AREVA NP |
| Mr. Mark Tonacci | Branch Chief for Licensing Branch 1 (retired as of Dec 2016), Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors | NRC |
| Mr. Glen Watford | Chief Consulting Engineer | GE-Hitach |
Ex Officio Members
Gary Tepper, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
VCU Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Supathorn Phongikaroon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Nuclear Engineering Programs
VCU Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering