This fall, three new faculty members are joining the University of Delaware College of Engineering, with two more set to arrive in the coming years. Four temporary faculty are stepping into permanent roles this semester, and several faculty members were recently recognized with UD Faculty Senate awards.
Joining UD
Three new faculty members have arrived on campus this fall, bringing expertise in areas ranging from mechanics to cryptography.
Matthew Brake joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an associate professor. He previously worked at Rice University and Sandia National Laboratories. His research spans mechanics, friction and wear, mathematical modeling, uncertainty and nonlinear dynamics.
Burak Varıcı brings his expertise at the intersection of machine learning and causality to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an assistant professor. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mingyuan Wang comes to the Department of Computer and Information Sciences as an assistant professor. He was previously an assistant professor at New York University Shanghai, and his research spans cryptography, from theoretical foundations to practically motivated problems.
The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has appointed two new assistant professors who will join UD in the coming years. Daniel Zheng will begin in January 2027, bringing expertise in artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches to electrocatalyst design and catalytic microenvironments. Ashton Aleman will join in January 2028, with research interests at the intersection of electrocatalysis, advanced materials and electrochemical platforms.
New permanent appointments
Four temporary faculty members will join the college’s permanent faculty this fall.
In the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Joseph Brickley becomes a continuing-track assistant professor focused on security threat analysis.
In the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Cecilia Arighi becomes a continuing-track assistant professor specializing in bioinformatics and health informatics, while Nazim Karaca and Lochlan Belford become continuing-track instructors. Karaca teaches at the crossroads of computer engineering, law and philosophy, while Belford specializes in game design and development, including PC, virtual reality and augmented reality games.
Faculty honors
Several college faculty members also received 2026 UD Faculty Senate awards.
Belford received the Excellence in Advising and Mentoring Award. Tyler Van Buren of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Ioanna Fampiou of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering both received Excellence in Teaching Awards.
Cathy Wu, Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science, received the Francis Alison Faculty Award, UD’s highest faculty honor, recognizing excellence as both scholar and educator.
Together, the appointments and honors reflect the faculty expertise and commitment to teaching, research and student success across the college.