Dr. Gary Kuleck, 经典大瓜鈥檚 provost and vice president of academic affairs said, 鈥淒r. Afjeh is joining us at a milestone point in 经典大瓜鈥檚 history. As we grow our relationships with industry through applied research efforts, he can build on the strengths and assets of our faculty鈥檚 expertise. We鈥檙e excited about the background that Dr. Afjeh brings to us in this new position, which will help us extend our engagement with industry, and bring in more opportunities for innovation and programming to elevate our educational and scholarship excellence.
鈥淚 also want to thank the Search Committee and its co-Chairs, Mike Myers and SophiaLyn Nathenson, for their hard work, commitment and time investment throughout this process,鈥 added Kuleck. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very busy time of the year and because of the committee鈥檚 hard work, we鈥檒l start the new academic year with Dr. Afjeh leading our research engagement and innovation efforts, and providing strong academic leadership on our Portland-Metro campus.鈥
Dr. Afjeh joined the University of Toledo in 1984, and has served in a variety of roles in the College of Engineering. In addition to those noted above, he has served as Director of Graduate Studies. More recently he was selected to the most prestigious faculty rank as Distinguished University Professor. He was also Resident Faculty at the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field and The Ohio Aerospace Institute. Dr. Afjeh is known for his focus on student success and has led comprehensive efforts focused on student achievement, fostering enrollment growth, and improving department visibility. Dr. Afjeh also developed a joint international graduate degree programs with PSG College of Technology in India in mechanical and industrial engineering.
Dr. Afjeh鈥檚 research successes include increasing departmental external research funding to over $4 million annually; building an on-site research program with more than 20 researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center; recruiting faculty and providing resources to enhance strength in advanced materials and biomedical engineering; and developing a master's degree program in engineering with an energy engineering focus, with participation of faculty and industry partners; and developing professional master鈥檚 degree programs for industry, as well as a multi-disciplinary, collaborative energy engineering program in partnership with the colleges of Business and Law. Dr. Afjeh鈥檚 research projects have been sponsored by industry as well as leading federal agencies such as NASA, Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health. His research focus areas include computational fluid dynamics in turbomachinery, propulsion systems, experimental investigation of bearings and rotating components, wind turbine design and analysis, and aerodynamics of phonation, a research project sponsored by the NIH.
Dr. Nagi Naganathan, 经典大瓜 president said, 鈥淒r. Afjeh, with his proven expertise as an academic leader and researcher, will extend 经典大瓜鈥檚 reputation as 鈥榠ndustry鈥檚 university鈥 and extend our reach nationally and globally. With our growing involvement and leadership in efforts such as the global Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center and the Oregon Renewable Energy Center, 经典大瓜 is supporting industry with both applied research and by supplying a strong workforce with our high quality graduates.鈥
Dr. Afjeh earned his Ph.D. and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo; and his B.S in Mechanical Engineering from Arya Mehr University of Technology (now Sharif University of Technology) in Iran. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
