2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Christina McGahan is a Research Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a member of the Cleanroom Technical staff in Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) at Vanderbilt University. She earned a PhD in Physics from Vanderbilt University and a BS in Physics from Gettysburg College. Currently, Christina leads the facilitation of cleanroom teaching and high school outreach in VINSE and helps researchers use nanoscale fabrication techniques to solve challenging nanoscale science and engineering problems.

Charleson Bell, PhD, overseeing the domain of Innovation, Enterprise, and Economic Development in the Vanderbilt Office of the Vice Provost of Research and Innovation, is a recognized leader administering the establishment of an innovation ecosystem across the Mid-South that will galvanize an innovation economy to impart shared prosperity across the region. Dr. Bell is the Hub Director of the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub and co-PI & State Director of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation and Commercialization Hub, both led by Vanderbilt University. Dr. Bell is also the Director of the Coalition Responsible for Equitable Skills Training (CREST) & Pl of the NSF ExLENT workforce development award that launched the coalition. Dr. Bell, Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Director of the Medical Innovators Development Program in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, former Director of Entrepreneurship and Biomedical Innovation at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Center for Innovation, is a parallel innovator, 3x serial entrepreneur, 10x published researcher, and 3x patented inventor with over a decade of experience launching ventures and developing new products. Dr. Bell is a ‘triple-Dore’, earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University (BE’07, MS’09, PhD’15). The first graduate student at Vanderbilt to receive an investment of venture capital to launch a startup, Dr. Bell uses his innovative mind to combine his engineering knowledge to create novel technologies of great impact. He is a much-respected champion in the pursuit of shared prosperity, creating an innovation culture that cultivates a sense of kindred rapport for all instructors, innovators, participants, and founders. Most importantly, Dr. Bell is a staunch believer that the value and practice of convergent innovation is critical to optimize the way innovators empathize with humanity and ideate solutions that create positive change across the world via financially sustainable business models.

Deanna Meador is CEO of tech company Couture Technologies, as well as the co-founder of edtech company CHALK Coaching. She is also the lead instructor for the Mid-South I-Corps Hub at Vanderbilt University.
Deanna was part of the founding team that started the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt University’s Innovation Center. Through her role as the former Deputy Director, she taught over 17 cohorts of aspiring entrepreneurs and mentored over 600 teams as they evaluated new technologies and launched new ventures. She is a certified national instructor for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program and in this role, she leads entrepreneurial training cohorts for teams from across the country. Deanna really enjoys working with creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs that dedicate their lives and talents to making a positive impact in the world.

Chris Harris joined the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization (CTTC) in October 2011 and is responsible for leading all licensing activities. Prior to joining CTTC, Chris was the Associate Director for Licensing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado where he managed a team of licensing executives. He was also previously the Senior Licensing Manager at the University of Virginia Patent Foundation.

Chris received his doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of Virginia in 2001. In 2003, he became a registered U.S. Patent Agent and in 2008 he became a Certified Licensing Professional. He is also an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers and helped create and manage the AUTM TransACT database for deal comps. Chris also provides guest lectures for entrepreneurship classes at Vanderbilt.

Prior to his graduate school career, Chris worked as a software design engineer for Martin Marietta in King of Prussia, Pa. where he helped design command and control type software for a classified contract.

Librarian for Business and Lecturer at the Owen Graduate School of Management

Yiorgos is a Professor and Director of the Engineering Science and Management program in the School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His background combines experience in the semiconductor industry, academic technology transfer, and scientific research. Over the course of his career, he has successfully launched numerous products in the semiconductor industry and led market expansion efforts for various product lines in global markets. He received his PhD from the University of Rochester and his MBA from Boston College.

Dr. Galloway is a Research Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Vanderbilt University, also holding the positions of Director of Making at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s innovation center, and serves on the Advisory and Leadership Council in Vanderbilt’s Institute of National Security. He completed his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Through extensive project involvement and collaborations, Dr. Galloway has cultivated a diverse skill set encompassing mechanical design, materials science, advanced manufacturing, bioinspired design, human-centered design, robotics (i.e., legged robotics, micro-flapping robotics, and soft robotics), and medical devices. His work has been funded by NSF, ARL, AFRL, DARPA, NAVSEA, and the National Geographic Society and has resulted in 17 patents and 8 technology licenses to date.

Philippe Fauchet has more than 40 years of experience in silicon photonics, nanoscience and nanotechnology with silicon quantum dots, biosensors, electroluminescent materials and devices, and optical diagnostics. He is an elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Inventors. He served on various boards for industrial and governmental entities. Fauchet holds numerous patents and has founded one successful startup.
He served as the dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering from 2012 to 2023, as the chair of the ECE department at the University of Rochester for 8 years, and as the founding director of two large, multidisciplinary research centers. His degrees are from Faculte Polytechnique de Mons in Belgium, Brown University, and Stanford University. He taught at Stanford, Princeton, Rochester and now Vanderbilt.

Dr. Owens serves as the Evans Family Executive Director of The Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center. He is Professor of the Practice of Innovation in Vanderbilt's School of Management and in the department of Engineering Management. Owens received his PhD in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University where he also earned his BS in electrical engineering and MS in Mechanical Engineering / Product Design. A Registered Professional Electrical Engineer, Owens also has significant industry senior leadership experience. His academic work takes a cross-disciplinary perspective on the organizational behavior of innovation.

Sharon Weiss is a Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, and Materials Science at Vanderbilt University. She also serves as Director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Her research group primarily focuses on silicon photonics for optical communication/datacom and optical biosensing.