Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development

Jessica Fick earned her PhD and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in computational solid mechanics, from John Hopkins University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Assistant Dean at UW-Platteville. Jessica Fick's research interest focus on failure mechanisms and their connection to the difference scales, from the microscopic details to the macroscopic process of failure. A computationalist at heart, she developed a numerical tool to predict fragment sizes for different rates of loading which includes an elastic-viscoplastic material model, thermal softening and conduction, communication through the wave equation, and failure due to void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Prior to her graduate work, Dr. Fick worked for the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD where she found a love of shock physics and failure analysis. Jessica Fick typically teaches courses in design and mechanics in the mechanical engineering curriculum; her primary focus is senior design. She has incorporated EM in all her classes after first learning about it at the 2018 KEEN National Conference (KNC) and an ICE workshop in 2019. Jessica is currently serving as a KEEN Leader on her campus and the Chair of the KEEN Leadership council. She has previously coached for both ICE and KNC.

Erik C. Backus, PhD, PE, is a Professor of Practice at Clarkson University currently pursuing a PhD in Engineering Science with a focus in facilities and infrastructure construction decision making. He is currently the Howard E. Lechler Director of the Construction Engineering Management (CEM) program, teaching and supporting undergraduate, graduate, and other students and trainees. He has a bevy of expertise, experience, and knowledge in instructing project based engineering courses. Erik has spearheaded the Clarkson Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) Capstone design experience since 2015, using project teams as direct consultants with internal and external clients across the State and region. Dr. Backus has presented on one such project at the ASEE St. Lawrence Section conference on one such CEE capstone effort in the past. He also teaches courses in a variety of areas connected to both building and infrastructure construction. Previous to his time at Clarkson, he was an Assistant Professor of Military Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and an Instructor/Writer for the US Army Engineer School USAES) at the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN), Fort Leonard Wood, MO. He was responsible for rewiring significant portions of the USAES Engineer Captain’s Career Course curriculum related to construction contracting and is a past winner of the MANSCEN Technical Training Excellence award.

Dr. Prosise is the Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at University of Minnesota and her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University. She has taught courses in both Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, focusing in Graphics, Manufacturing, the Engineering Sciences, and Design. Previously, she led a study-abroad service trip for engineering students to Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil, where engineering students designed and built assistive technologies for people with disabilities there. Dr. Prosise’s passion is helping others, whether that is through designing assistive technologies for those with disabilities, encouraging young ladies to become engineers, or by supporting and developing undergraduate students into becoming socially conscious engineers.

Philip serves as the Acting Dean of the College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science at UW-Platteville. He is also a faculty member in the environmental engineering program.

Dr. Jagadish Torlapati is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University and Lead of the Environmental Engineering Division at the Center for Research & Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES). Dr. Torlapati’s primary research interests include air and water quality, coastal resilience, bioremediation, shoreline response for oil spills, and cold regions research. Dr. Torlapati is currently leading a Department of Defense (DOD) project assessing the impact of permafrost thaw on the Arctic ecosystems. His current and past research funding sources include the Kern Family Foundation, American Water, the U.S Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation; Dr. Torlapati has also developed numerical models that are used by the American Petroleum Association (APA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He is also the faculty advisor for Engineers without Borders at Rowan University, where he leads engineering students in developing sustainable solutions for underserved communities locally and internationally. Under his mentorship, the chapter students completed a water distribution network for a school in Maharashtra, India. He is currently assisting his students in developing a new water source for a community in Ecuador. In addition, he is developing guidelines for the acceptable use of regenerative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academia for the College of Engineering by serving as the AI Teaching Ambassador.

Dr. Jennifer Atchison is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM) at Drexel University and the Senior Design Coordinator for MEM. Currently, she is researching creativity in Senior Design and is a co-recipient of the Reisman Award for Creativity to support the work. She is also a PI on a Kern Family Foundation grant “Building Better Bridges Between Academia and Industry: Leveraging IPBs to Infuse Entrepreneurial Mindset”, which is using Strategic Doing to engage Advisory Boards in undergraduate education. Dr. Atchison is committed to increasing participation in engineering and is a Co-PI on the NSF S-Stem grant “Awards to Increase Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Diversity” which will provide scholarships to academically talented, low income BIPOC students and women studying ME and EE at Drexel. She has her Ph.D. and undergraduate degrees from Drexel in Materials Science and Engineering. She is a member of the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), ASEE, and Chair of ASME Philadelphia Section.