2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

1. Dr. Yalcin Ertekin Drexel University, College of Engineering [biography]

   Dr. Yalcin M. Ertekin is a Clinical Professor and Associate Program Director for Undergraduate Studies in the Engineering Technology program at Drexel University. He brings over 25 years of academic and industry experience in manufacturing, quality engineering, and engineering education. Dr. Ertekin holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and is a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) and Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE). His expertise includes manufacturing processes, CNC machining, metrology, and smart manufacturing, with a strong focus on project-based learning and interdisciplinary senior design. He has served in leadership roles within the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), including Division Chair of the Manufacturing Division, and is actively involved in ABET accreditation as a Program Evaluator and ETAC Commissioner. Dr. Ertekin has led multiple NSF and industry-funded projects and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in engineering education and manufacturing.

2. Dr. Irina Nicoleta Ciobanescu http://orcid.org/0009-0005-2006-1972 Drexel University [biography]

   Irina Ciobanescu Husanu, Ph. D. is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Engineering Technology Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. She received her PhD degree in mechanical engineering from College of Engineering at Drexel University and her BS/MS in Aeronautical Engineering from Aerospace Engineering College at Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania.
   Dr. Husanu’ s educational background is in propulsion systems and combustion. Dr. Husanu has more than a decade of industrial experience in aerospace engineering that encompasses extensive experimental investigations related to energy projects such as development of a novel method of shale natural gas extraction using repurposed aircraft engines powered on natural gas. As chair of the Engineering Technology Curriculum Committee, she is actively engaged in aligning the curricular changes and SLO to the industry driven student competencies. Her main current research interest is in engineering pedagogy, focusing on development of integrated mechanical engineering technology curricula for enhanced student learning experience. While her expertise encompasses thermo-fluid sciences with applications in micro-combined heat and power systems, recently, her research included educational investigations in Virtual and Extended Reality for engineering systems, renewable energy systems and energy conversion, social and sustainable engineering. During the past 8 years she led several overarching educational projects in green energy and sustainability in manufacturing environment and experiential learning modules for manufacturing related courses. Her current research is focused on investigating potential applications of CO2 separation and sequestration from either flue gases (as product of natural gas combustion) or biomass byproducts.
   As the Senior Design Project Coordinator (a capstone design sequence of courses), she is fostering industry-academia collaborative undergraduate research.

3. Dr. Richard Y Chiou Drexel University [biography]

   Dr. Richard Y. Chiou is a Professor within the Department of Engineering, Leadership, and Society at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. His educational background is in manufacturing with an emphasis on mechatronics. In addition to his years of industrial experience, he has taught many different engineering and technology courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. His tremendous research experience in manufacturing includes intelligent manufacturing, eco-manufacturing, Internet based robotics, and clean energy and energy efficiency. He has conducted many experimental studies on virtual reality robotics, ultrasonic robotic welding, Internet-of-Things (IoT) in intelligent manufacturing. He has also developed augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) robotics and clean energy and energy efficiency laboratory recently. He has secured many research and education grants from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation, and industries. Techniques developed from his research projects have been extended to the educational activities involving intelligent manufacturing with clean energy and energy efficiency.

4. Prof. Tzu-liang Bill Tseng http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3903-529X University of Texas at El Paso [biography]

   Dr. Bill Tseng is a Professor and Chair of Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering at the UTEP. He is also a Director of Research Institute for Manufacturing & Engineering Systems, the host institute of Texas Manufacturing Assistan

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026