Five new faculty members join the VCU College of Engineering this year. They bring expertise in software development and engineering, biomanufacturing nanomaterials, bone health and more, along with interesting side hobbies. Meet our newest faculty members.

Michael Friedman, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Education: University of Michigan
Research Interests: Optimizing bone and muscle health for preventing bone fractures
Fun Fact: I have injured almost every joint in my body, so I am very interested in orthopaedics research.

Luke Gusukuma, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department: Computer Science
Education: Virginia Tech
Research Interests: Computer science education, human computer interaction, CS+X
Fun Fact: I have a BA in Music Performance and I also do ballroom dance.

Charles "Chas" McGill, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department: Chemical and Life Science Engineering
Education: Ph.D. 2019 North Carolina State University
Research Interests: Machine learning for chemical property prediction, chemical mechanism analysis, software development
Fun Fact: I love to cook and keep a “lab notebook” of recipe variations I’ve experimented with.

Leah Spangler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department: Chemical and Life Science Engineering
Education: Lehigh University
Research Interests: Biomanufacturing of functional nanomaterials, engineering protein biomaterials for light harvesting devices
Fun Fact: I enjoy gardening and have a large collection of succulents and cacti. 

Rodrigo Spinola, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department: Computer Science
Education: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Research Interests: Technical debt, software evolution, software quality, empirical software engineering
Fun Fact: Well, unlike many Brazilians, I'm not a good dancer. I'm shy, and I'm not that fantastic of a soccer player. To be honest, I enjoy playing soccer, basketball, or volleyball (indeed, any game) with students before midterm exams.