Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

Category: Faculty and Staff

Paul van Susante Named AIAA Associate Fellow

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Dr. Paul van Susante, associate professor with Michigan Technological University.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has named Dr. Paul J. van Susante, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Michigan Technological University, to its Class of 2026 Associate Fellows. This honor recognizes individuals who have made “outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics”. Associate Fellows must be recommended by three AIAA members and have at least 12 years of professional experience.

In the organization’s press release, AIAA President Dan Hastings acknowledged the significance of this achievement:

“Congratulations to each member of the Class of 2026 Associate Fellows. This distinguished group of professionals has performed extraordinary work and advanced the state of science and technology in aeronautics and astronautics. They exemplify a dedication to excellence in their specific technical disciplines. We are proud of their achievements as they shape the future of aerospace.”

At Michigan Tech, van Susante directs the Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL), also known as HuskyWorks, where his team develops technologies for lunar and Martian excavation, mobility, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).

HuskyWorks operates unique facilities for space hardware testing, including a Dusty Thermal Vacuum Chamber and lunar regolith simulant testbeds, enabling realistic planetary surface experiments. The group recently partnered with industry to build the first simulated “lunar road”, demonstrating regolith-based paving techniques to reduce lunar dust hazards.

Dr. van Susante will be formally inducted as an AIAA Associate Fellow during the AIAA SciTech Forum in January 2026.

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Michigan Tech Expands Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty with Eight New Hires

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New appointments strengthen research and teaching in support of the University’s new Aerospace Engineering degree and growing enrollment.

Michigan Technological University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) is expanding its faculty in response to strong growth in student enrollment, increasing national demand for expertise in key engineering fields, and the launch of our BSAE degree program. We’ve added eight new faculty members to join our flight crew for the 2025-26 academic year, strengthening our research and teaching capacity.


Top Row: Roland Platz (left), Aslihan Vuruskan (center), Kevin Howard (right); Middle Row: Ze Feng (Ted) Gan; Bottom Row: Tania Demonte Gonzalez (left), Geordan Gutow (center), Andrew Oliva (right). Not Pictured: Madelyn (Hoying) MacRobbie.

Tania Demonte Gonzalez, Assistant Teaching Professor – Ph.D., Michigan Tech. Dynamic systems modeling and control. Senior Personnel on DOE-funded Marine Energy project; published in Energies on nonlinear predictive control of wave energy converters.

Ze Feng (Ted) Gan, Assistant Professor – Ph.D., Penn State. Rotorcraft aeroacoustics and electrified aerospace propulsion. Authored “Challenges and Opportunities for Low Noise Electric Aircraft” in the International Journal of Aeroacoustics.

Geordan Gutow, Assistant Professor – Ph.D., Georgia Tech. Robotics, dynamics, applied mathematics, and AI. Former Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon. Leads eight funded projects, including Air Force– and NSF-supported initiatives in space operations and multi-agent planning.

Kevin Howard, Assistant Professor – Ph.D., University of Minnesota. Former CFD technical expert and supervisor at Ford Motor Company, specializing in aerodynamics for consumer vehicles and NASCAR racecars.

Madelyn (Hoying) MacRobbie, Assistant Professor – Ph.D. expected August 2025, MIT/Harvard Medical School. Aerospace physiology and in-space medical systems. 2023 Emerging Space Leader awardee; her research includes studying physiological adaptation to altered gravity. (Starting January 2026.)

Andrew Oliva, Assistant Professor – Ph.D., University of Notre Dame. Aerothermodynamics and hypersonic flow. Published in Physics of Fluids. Will spearhead MAE’s hypersonics program in support of the new aerospace degree.

Roland Platz, Assistant Professor – Former Research Professor at Deggendorf Institute of Technology (Germany). Structural dynamics, smart structures, and uncertainty quantification; coordinated a major German DFG-funded collaborative research center with TU Darmstadt.

Aslihan Vuruskan, Assistant Teaching Professor – Ph.D., Missouri S&T. Aerodynamics and CFD. Amelia Earhart Fellowship recipient; published optimization work in the Journal of Aircraft.

With these faculty joining in the 2025–26 academic year, Michigan Tech MAE is building robust capacity in aerospace and mechanical engineering research and education aligned with national priorities.

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New Faculty Spotlight: Q&A with Fei Long

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Faculty Q&A: Meet Fei Long, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Michigan Tech

Fei Long Portrait
Fei Long

Assistant Teaching Professor Fei Long joined the MAE Department in 2013, first as a post-doctoral research associate for one year, and then as an instructor and faculty member. His areas of research expertise include nanomaterials and scanning probe microscopy, sustainable manufacturing, Machine Learning, and waste characterization and recycling. 

What drew you to Michigan Tech?

FL: My journey here has been somewhat unique, but I feel fortunate to be at Michigan Tech. After my Ph.D., I worked as an application scientist at Bruker, a scientific instrument company. While I gained valuable experience, the travel-intensive nature of the job led me to seek a return to academia. 

It was a bit of serendipity that Professor Reza Shahbazian-Yassar posted a postdoc opening at Michigan Tech in a Bruker user forum. I reached out, we had a great conversation, and I began my postdoc in what is now the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE). Following my postdoc, I continued teaching in MAE while growing my research and publications, and in fall 2024, I was thrilled to join the department as a tenure-track assistant professor. Beyond the professional opportunities, both my wife and I appreciate the friendly and supportive people at Michigan Tech, and the peace and natural beauty of Houghton. Coming from a huge city like Shanghai (with its 24.8 million people!), we’ve truly embraced the Yooper lifestyle.

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New Faculty Spotlight: Q&A with Chloe He

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Faculty Q&A: Meet Chloe He, assistant teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Michigan Tech

Chloe He portrait
Chloe He

Dr. Chloe He was a lecturer in the MAE department at Michigan Tech in Spring 2024, and is now an assistant teaching professor started in Fall 2024. She holds a BA in Environmental and Energy Engineering from Beijing University of Technology, a MS in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from New Mexico State University and PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Dr. He is specialized in heat transfer, with a particular focus on leveraging chemical surface treatment techniques to enhance thermal performance in experimental settings.

What drew you to Michigan Tech?
CH: I first came to Michigan Tech as a PhD student. What really drew me in was a combination of academic opportunity and personal passion. When I was a master’s student at New Mexico State, my advisor, Dr. Chunpei Cai, accepted a job at Michigan Tech and invited me to continue my studies under his guidance. I did some research into Michigan Tech and was impressed by the research facilities and academic environment. The bonus? I love snowboarding, and Michigan Tech offered me both professional growth and access to great winter sports.

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Atmospheric Scientist Shawn Brueshaber Studies Other Planets to Better Understand Our Own

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Shawn Brueshaber
Shawn Brueshaber

On Jupiter, polar cyclones shaped like sawblades and spirals swirl and lightning flashes above a deep and essentially bottomless atmosphere. Meanwhile, about 500 million miles away in Houghton, Michigan, six inches of lake effect snow falls with barely a predicting blip on the radar. Shawn Brueshaber wants to learn more about both of these intriguing phenomena, and if they have more in common than we think. 

One wouldn’t expect to find a planetary atmospheric scientist in an engineering department, but Brueshaber holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering. He draws on his engineering background every day. 

From a mechanical and aerospace engineering perspective, it’s all fluid mechanics, says Brueshaber. “The only difference is we’re not playing around in, say, a jet turbine. We’re studying fluid mechanics on a rotating spherical body over a very large scale—in the thousands and thousands of kilometers.”

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New Faculty Spotlight: Wei Wei

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Wei Wei
Wei Wei

Wei Wei joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an associate professor in Fall 2024. She earned her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Tech. Prior to joining the MAE faculty, she was an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University.

What drew you to Michigan Tech?

WW: I spent five years at Michigan Tech for my PhD—the first five years after moving to the U.S. During that time, I made some of the best friends of my life and really felt at home here. Ever since, I knew I wanted to make my way back. Plus, Michigan Tech has the right facilities for my research, making it the perfect place to be.

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