People

Leadership Team

l_zhu Dr. Liang Zhu
Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 220, UMBC
(410) 455-3332, zliang@umbc.edu
  Dr. L. D. Timmie Topoleski
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 225C, UMBC
(410) 455-3302, topoleski@umbc.edu
c_eggleton Dr. Charles Eggleton
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 205, UMBC
(410) 455-3334, eggleton@umbc.edu
Dr. Deepa Madan
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 221, UMBC
(410) 455-3307, deemadan@umbc.edu
Dr. Ronghui Ma
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 215, UMBC
(410) 455-1965, roma@umbc.edu
 Dr. Anne Spence Dr. Anne Spence (2010-2018)
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Professor of Practice
Engineering 213, UMBC
(410) 455-3308, aspence@umbc.edu
Romero-Talamas Dr. Carlos Romero-Talamas (2014-2018)
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering 222, UMBC
(410) 455-8049, romero@umbc.edu
 d_arola Dr. Dwayne Arola (2010-2018)
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Maryland Baltimore County
(410) 455-3310, darola@uw.edu
 Dr. Wendy He Dr. Wendy He (2010-2014)
Co-Director of Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Program
Associate Professor of Physics, Engineering & Geosciences
SE 311A, Montgomery Community College, Rockville Campus
(240) 567-5229, wendy.he@montgomerycollege.edu

Based on available data in May 2023, since 2010 the program has supported 135 students with diverse backgrounds, including 18% African Americans, 15% Hispanics, 1% Native American, and 30% women. The connection with local community colleges and proactive recruitment strategy were particularly strong components of the program. Overall, 35% of the scholars were transfers from local community colleges. Among the 135 ME STEM scholars, 19 students did not get the scholarship renewal due to poor academic performance and/or health issues or transfer to other universities. The overall retention rate of our program is 86%, which is substantially higher than that of the control student group (40%). Providing research seminars and facilitating internships were also effective. The scholars had an average of 1.4 internships and/or research experiences over their S-STEM experience; 60% had at least one internship and/or research opportunity. So far up to May 2023, 105 scholars (average GPA at graduation 3.55/4.0) had completed the BS degree in ME, 30% are pursuing graduate degrees in an STEM major, 67% are now working in an STEM industry, 3% is still looking for job opportunity.

S-STEM Scholars

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Scholarship Program scholars and their mentor in 2022 retreat

ME S-STEM scholars: Lani McGuire, Joe Schlee, Courtney Jones, Michael Cole, Umar Siddique, Jacob McCallum, Imani Hasell, Michael Cole,  Peter Serp,  Mansour Hayba, Jacob Lombardo, Hediyah Sadeq, Maddie Greul, Manu Mathew, Jade Stanley, Caly Ferguson, Kayla Magruder, Chizaram Ugboh, Turibius Rozario, David Goba

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Scholarship Program scholars and their mentors in 2021

ME S-STEM scholars: Pedro Lima Machado De Araujo, Victor Adebanjo, Diane Stonestreet, Umar Siddique, Amir Mufti, Lani McGuire, Ryan Moxley, Allison Dietz, Joe Schlee, Courtney Jones, David Paton, Yaman Hayba, Michael Cole, Thomas Ajala, Jacob McCallum, Benny Mugo, Imani Hasell, Dai Nguyen, Peter Serp, Troy Baker, Mansour Hayba, Neil Taylor, Jacob Lombardo, Hediyah Sadeq, Maddie Greul

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM scholarship Program scholars and their mentors in 2020

ME S-STEM scholars: Lima Machado De Araujo, Pedro; Adebanjo, Victor; Stonestreet, Diane; Fernandez, Juan; Akintoye, Jane; Abdul-Raheem, Adeleke; Lee, Maria;  McGuire, Lani; Schlee, Joseph; Moxley, Ryan; Gudino, Isabella; Paton, David; Mufti, Amir; Jones, Courtney; Dietz, Allison; Cole, Michael; Hayba, Yaman;  Parkent, Michael; Siddique, Umar; Thapa, Pradip; Ajala, Thomas; Ibayan, Mikee; McCallum, Jacob; Mugo, Benny


Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Scholarship Program scholars and their mentors in 2019

ME S-STEM Scholars: Norr, Joshua; Lima Machado De Araujo, Pedro; Adebanjo, Victor; Stonestreet, Diane; Fernandez, Juan; Akintoye, Jane; Aquino, Josie; Deinlein, Randy; Abdul-Raheem, Adeleke; Lee, Maria; Spafford, Luke; Nissly, Micah; Bueno, Mariana; McGuire, Lani; Schlee, Joseph; Moxley, Ryan; Kelm, Mark; Gudino, Isabella; Paton, David; Mufti, Amir; Jones, Courtney; Dietz, Allison; Cole, Michael; Hayba, Yaman; Flores, Hector; Parkent, Michael; Siddique, Umar

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Scholarship Program scholars and their mentors in 2018

ME S-STEM Scholars: Norr, Joshua; Lima Machado De Araujo, Pedro; Adebanjo, Victor; Stonestreet, Diane; Fernandez, Juan; Akintoye, Jane; Aquino, Josie; Lee, Maria; Almeida, Matthew; Deinlein, Randy; Abdul-Raheem, Adeleke; Cesta, Sabrina; Spafford, Luke; Ray, Noelle; Nissly, Micah; Bueno, Mariana; Warner, Alliana; Duan, Emily; Patel, Shiyani; Akinsola, Olaoluwa; Cardoza, Ricardo; Shah, Poojan; Diallo, Mamadou; Shaikh, Adnan; Shelly, Jonathan

ME S-STEM Mentors: Drs. Liang Zhu, Tim Topoleski, Chuck Eggleton, Ronghui Ma, Deepa Madan, Marc Zupan, and Prof. Jamie Gurganus

Group_Photo_2015a

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM scholars and their mentors in 2015

ME S-STEM Scholars Fall 2014

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM scholars and their mentors in 2014

Top Row: Wold, M., Ingham, C., Evans, T.
2nd Row: Dillon, P., Feldman, A.
3rd Row: Lucernoni, A., Saharkhiz, A., Vasiliades, L., Roberts, M
4th Row: Proctor, M.
5th Row: Cherry, B., Bendler, J., Johnson, L., Boateng, J., James, C., Glazier, K.
6th Row: Trentini, N., Hess, J., Crofoot, A., Zellhofer, C., Dr. A. Spence
7th Row: Dixon, J., Liu, Q., Demetrides, N., Forrestor, N., Rabush, K., Basbas, J., Dr. L. Zhu, Dr. C. Eggleton
8th Row: Mullen, C.

 

retreat2011

Mechanical Engineering S-STEM Scholars and their Mentors in Fall 2011
Front row: Dr. Anne Spence
Second row: Chao Hou, Andrew Horton, Matt Parks, Julie Castaneoa, Annekia Hardind, Fri-Atsoh Achinmofor,Yasas Katumuluwa
Third row: Phillip Sinex, Randy Hober, Chris Wooten, Chelsea Stinson, Sarah Seering, Victoria Taylor,Hannah Piper
Fourth row: Vikesh Patel, James Yee, Alfred Irungo, Jonathan Wilson, Maleshia Jones
Fifth row: Vicent DiSalvo, Hiren Balsara , Michael Roberts, Dr. Charles Eggleton
Sixth row: Dr. Liang Zhu, David Mostiowitz, Sarah Kopytko (not shown)
Seventh row: Dr. Dwayne Arola, Luke Roberts, Jason Dunthorn, Julian Gomez-Jordon (not shown), Sean Brady (not shown)

S-STEM scholars graduated from our program

2022 – 2023 — Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated this academic year.  They are Hediyah Sadeq (Turner Construction, Maryland), Imani Hasell (Naval Surface Warefare Center, Carderock Division, Maryland/ UMBC Graduate School), Joe Schlee (RMF Engineering, Maryland), Manu Mathew (United States Ari Force, Naval Air Station, Florida), Maddie Greul (South Carolina), Courtney Jones (Graduate School, CMU), Jacob McCallum (Graduate School, UMCP), Chizaram Ugboh (Graduate School, Purdue University), Umar Siddique (REMax).

2021 – 2022 — Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated during the 2nd COVID year.  They are Allison Dietz (Raytheon Technologies, Maryland), Amir Mufti (US Army Corps of Engineers), Dai Nguyen (Johnson and Johnson Consumer, PA), David Paton (Middle River Aerostructure systems, Maryland), Pedro Lima Machado De Araujo (Western Services Corporation, Maryland),  Diane Stonestreet (Graduate School, Cornell University), Ryan Moxley (Northrop Grumman), Yaman Hayba (Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Washington DC), Troy Baker (Graduate School, Imperial College of London). 

2019 – 2020 — Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated this year.  They are Josie Aquino (Northrop Grumman), Randy Deinlein (NAVSEA Warfare Centers, MD), Luke Spafford, Hector Flores (Navy Research, Washington DC), Micah Nissly (JHU APL, MD), and Mariana  Bueno (Northrop Grumman)

2020 – 2021 — Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated during the difficult COVID year.  They are Maria Lee (Kite Pharm, CA), Adeleke Abdul-Raheem (Stanford University, Graduate School), Isabella Gudino (UMBC research lab), Michael Parkent (Air Force Materiel Command at Hill AFB, UT), Pradip Thapa (Engineering Associate, MD), Juan Fernandez (JHU APL, MD),  Akintoye Jane (Graduate School, JHU), Mikee Ibayan  (Fabpro Technologies in MD)

2018 – 2019 — Several ME S-STEM scholars graduated from our program this year.  They are  Shiyani Patel (General Dynamics Robotic Systems, MD), Adnan Shaikh (Graduate School, UMBC), Noelle Ray (Graduate School, UMBC), Alliana Warner (Night Vision Electronics and Sensor, ARL, Virginia), Emily Duan (Graduate School, North Carolina State University), Olaoluwa Akinsola (Ohio State University), Ricardo Cardoza (Graduate School, U Pitt), Poojan Shah (Northrop Grumman + Graduate School JHU), Mamadou Diallo (Regal Beloit, MD), and Jonathan Shelly (EN Engineering, MD)

2017 – 2018 — Eight ME S-STEM scholars graduated from our program this year.  They are Jenette Phillips (U. Pitt, Graduate School), James Carl (Walmart, MD), Nathan Trentini (Introlox, MD), Levi Johnson (UMBC, Graduate School), Jordan Bendler (G3 Technologies, MD), Trevor Evans (Graduate School, Ohio State University), Marc Francis (Clemson University, Graduate School), Juliette Mason (Oceaneering, MD).

2016 – 2017 — Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated this year. Jezron Basbas (Unitec Electronics, MD), Ben Cherry (Aberdeen Proving Grounds), Christian Ingham (Graduate School, Carnegie Mellon University, PA), Anthony Lucernoni (Department of Justice), Angela Bartolomeo (Navel Research Lab, DC), Kyle Glazier (Walmart), Keith Purvis (William Technology, Michgan).

2015 – 2016 — Congratulations to 9 S-STEM scholars who graduated this year:  Michael Roberts (ARL, MD), Louis Vasiliades (Stanley Black and Decker, MD), Nicole Dementride (APL), Amirreza Saharkhiz  (Graduate School, UMBC), Nichole Forrester (NSA), Caroline Zellhofer (Graduate School, University of Maryland College Park), Qin Liu (Meridian Medical Technologies, MD), Amanda Crofoot (BAE Systems, MD), Avraham Feldman (Parsons Brinkerhoff and VP Engineering).

2014 – 2015 — Seven ME S-STEM scholars graduated from our program this year.  They are Khalid Lamaafi (KK Engineering LLC, MD), Chris Mullen (UMBC Graduate School), Jeremiah Hess (UMBC Graduate School), Matt Wold (Northrop Grumman, MD), Peter Dillon (Northrop Grumman, MD), and Jonathan Wilson (EPA Assessment Center, Washington DC).

2013 – 2014 — This year we have more than 9 S-STEM scholars graduated from our program.  They are Owen Abe (NAVSEA Command), Alfred Irungu (Stanley Black and Decker, MD), Yasas Katumuluwa (Johnson Marminran Thomson, MD), Vincent Di Salvo (Mueller Associate), Julian Gomez-Jordan (Northrop Grumman, MD), Steven Lavenstein (Johns Hopkins Graduate School), Matthew Parks (ICI Services, Washington DC), Irvin Rodriguez (Siemens, MD), David Morrison, Kabish Shah (Whiting Turner, MD),

2012 – 2013 – Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated in the past December 2012 and May 2013. Hiren Balsara and Randy Huber will continue to pursue their graduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering at UMBC, while Maleshia Jones will be a graduate student at U. Penn. Other scholar are working in STEM industry, including WR Grace (Sean Brady), W.L. Gore & Associates (Israel Ilufoye), HGL Dynamics (Sarah Kopytko), Lockheed Martin (Hannah Piper), JMT (Sarah Seering), Army Evaluation Center (Christopher Wooten), Henry Adams LLC (David Moskowitz) and Siemens (James Yee).

2011 – 2012 – Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who Graduated from our program and working in industry or pursuing graduate career: Jason Dunthorn (UMBC Graduate School), Andrew Horton (US Patent Office), Chao Hou (UMBC Graduate School), Vikesh Patel (GE Aviation), Chelsea Stinson (John Deere), Luke Roberts (UMCP Graduate School), and Phillip Sinex (Gannon University Graduate School).

2010 – 2011 – Congratulations to our S-STEM scholars who graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Program: Mr. Mariano Mumpower (Key Technologies), and Mr. Binh Tran (Simens).

S-STEM scholars profiles graduated from our program

Mr. Mariano MumpowerMr. Mariano Mumpower

Mr. Mariano transferred from the Community College of Baltimore County to the Mechanical Engineering Program in Spring 2009. Mr Mumpower maintained a 4.0/4.0 GPA at UMBC and graduated Summa Cum Laude from our undergraduate program in May 2011. Currently, Mr. Mumpower is a systems engineer at Key Technologies in Maryland.

 

 

Mr. Binh Tran

Mr. Binh Tran

After transferring from the Community College of Baltimore County to our program in Fall 2008, Mr. Binh Tran maintained a 3.9/4.0 UMBC GPA while working 40 hours/week. According to Mr. Tran, the financial assistance and faculty mentoring provided by the ME S-STEM program played an important role for his success at UMBC. Recently graduated Maga Cum Laude from our undergraduate program in May 2011, Mr. Tran is currently working as Systems Specialist at Siemens Industry, INC.