New faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Justin Dubik is a new Instructor. Justin has distinguished himself as a scholar and teacher throughout his time at Virginia Tech, and is no stranger, graduating recently with his PhD in Engineering Mechanics. He was also the outstanding senior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in 2020, joining Raffaella De Vita’s research team in 2018. While pursuing his PhD, Dubik taught undergraduate courses for the Engineering Science and Mechanics Program.

Mushuang Liu is a new assistant professor. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, she was an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri, focusing her research on controls systems, machine learning, and game theory. She integrated these disciplines in algorithms that enable self-driving cars. 

Kurt Rooks is an instructor in the Senior Design program. Kurt brings a rich background in autonomous systems, cyber security and rapid prototyping to the Senior Design space. For a decade and a half, he has worked to bring new and innovative ideas to life, from microprocessors to self-driving vehicles. Having led projects that bridge the virtual and the physical, he provides a unique resource for our students in their final undergraduate chapter. 

Simon Stepputtis is a new assistant professor. He brings a fresh approach for robotics and artificial intelligence, most recently having been active in research at Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. He has developed intelligent systems capable of operating in dynamic environments and interacting with humans and will continue that work in the Thinking Embodied Agents (TEA) Lab, focused on developing autonomous robotics that adapt to operate in complex, real-world environments.