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The Batten College of Engineering and Technology welcomes eight new faculty members for the 2024-2025 academic year.
(Pictured above:��Top row, left to right: Ronnie Wang, Lisa Wang, Qing Tang and Lobat Tayebi
Bottom row, left to right: Ambrosio Valencia-Romero, Charles Lowe, Shelly Mann and Kristin Eden)

Their research expertise and industry experience span a diverse range of fields, including cyber-physical systems, smart transportation, hazard mitigation, multidisciplinary community resilience, traffic flow analysis, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, modeling and simulation of collective systems and the fluid dynamics of Martian dust devils.

Two faculty members, promoted from within the college, bring extensive industry experience and a focus on student success initiatives.

Qianlong “Ronnie” Wang, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, joins us from Towson University in Maryland.

His research interests include robust and secure deep learning networks, security and privacy in distributed and decentralized systems (e.g., Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things) and related applications such as smart transportation, smart cities and smart healthcare.

Wang, a 2023 recipient of the NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative Award, holds a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University, a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in automation engineering from Wuhan University in China.

Learn more about Wang

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Wanting (Lisa) Wang, an assistant professor in structural engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joins us from a postdoctoral fellowship at Colorado State University's NIST-funded Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning.

Her research expertise includes multi-disciplinary community resilience, hazard mitigation functionality and recovery, and post-disaster reconnaissance studies.

Wang is a licensed California Professional Engineer with previous industry design experience and a broad range of teaching experience.

She earned her Ph.D. in structural engineering from Colorado State University, a master’s in structural engineering from both Jilin University and the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Jilin University in China.

Wang’s website can be found

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Qing Tang, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joins us from a postdoctoral associate position at Georgia Tech.

Her research focuses on connected and automated vehicle modeling and control as well as traffic flow analysis and system modeling.

Tang earned her Ph.D. in transportation engineering from Penn State, a master's degree in insurance from the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, China, and a bachelor's in information and computing science from Hubei University of Education in China.

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Lobat Tayebi, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, holds the Batten Endowed Professorship and serves as the inaugural director of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, Health, and Human Performance (EnMed).

Tayebi joins Old Dominion after nearly a decade at Marquette University School of Dentistry, where she served as professor and director of research. She previously held a joint appointment as a professor in the School of Dentistry and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Her research expertise lies in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Tayebi earned her Ph.D. in applied science from UC Davis, a DPhil in engineering science from the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering, a master’s degree in engineering physics from McMaster University in Canada and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Sharif University of Technology in Iran.

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Ambrosio Valencia-Romero, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, joins us from the Roux Institute at Northeastern University where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher. Valencia-Romero brings expertise in engineering design, modeling and simulation of collective systems, and game theory. He strives to advance research in augmenting strategic decision-making and developing incentive mechanisms for collaborative systems development.

Valencia-Romero earned his Ph.D. in systems engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology and holds bachelor's and M.Sc. degrees in mechanical engineering, respectively, from the Universidad del Atlántico in Colombia and the Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico.

Learn more about Valencia-Romero .

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Charles Lowe has been promoted to a full-time lecturer from a temporary lecturer position in the Department of Engineering Technology.

He spent many years as an industry consultant, project manager and mechanical technician, as well as an adjunct at 51�鱨վ for nearly 10 years.

He earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

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Shelly Mann, a new lecturer in the Department of Engineering Technology, is pursuing her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at Old Dominion.

Her research includes fluid dynamics of Martian dust devils and developing a new method for estimating their strength and physical properties. Her interests include hypersonic flow control, electrohydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, aerothermodynamics and space flight mechanics.

She earned her master’s degree in aerospace engineering and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at 51�鱨վ.

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Kristin Eden, former director of Engineering Student Success at the Batten College, has transitioned to a lecturer role in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. She also serves as director of the new MAP2E program.

Eden��has been at Old Dominion for over 10 years and has worked in several departments including 51�鱨վ Athletics where, as��director of student-athlete academic services, she��oversaw��all tutoring efforts for the Monarchs, advised��the men's wrestling team and��men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

She holds an Ed.S. from 51�鱨վ, a master’s degree in sport and recreation from Western Kentucky University and a bachelor’s in mass communication and public relations from Pittsburg State University.