MT Peaks Team
Grant Team
Dr. John Borkowski (Mathematical Sciences)
Dr. John Borkowski graduated with a PhD in Statistics from the University of Delaware. His research and teaching interests include response surface methodology, optimal experimental design, statistical quality control, and sampling. Dr. Borkowski has served as an Associate Editor or as a referee for numerous journals, and as a statistical consultant on many interdisciplinary research projects. He has established international research collaborations and doctoral student teaching and mentoring as a visiting professor at Thammasat University and Kasetsart University (Thailand).
Dr. Douglas Cairns (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering)
Dr. Douglas Cairns' teaching interests involve equipping engineering students with industrial, academic, and government knowledge for them to be successful in careers involving research, design, analysis and manufacturing. Additionally, Dr. Cairns' research interests include the understanding of advanced materials as applied to primary structure and understanding the materials, manufacturing, and structural performance link for new engineering systems.
Dr. Lisa Davis (Mathematical Sciences)
After completing her PhD from Virginia Tech, Dr. Davis has continued her academic career with the MSU Mathematical Sciences Department. Her research interests include sensitivity analysis, numerical methods for partial differential equations and modeling and computation for models in mathematical biology. With a strong dedication to graduate education, she currently serves as the Graduate Program Committee Chair as well as the PI on the NSF - EDT grant that is developing the MT PEAKS program.
Dr. Stephen Sofie (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering)
After obtaining his graduate degree from the University of Washington, Dr. Stephen Sofie moved to Bozeman and became both professor and the MSU Campus Director for the PhD Program in Materials Science. His research interests include advanced ceramics, ceramic processing, engineered porosity, nano-materials, catalysts, and amorphous alloys. These studies create a basis for his teaching of such topics as materials sciences and engineering, materials selection, and measurements/instrumentation.
Mentoring Faculty:
Dr. Roberta Amendola (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering)
Dr. Amendola came to MSU after graduating from the University of Genoa (Italy) with a PhD in Material Science and Technology. Her research focuses on both fundamental and applied investigations into materials degradation and durability in the extreme environments for energy, power, and propulsion. Currently, Dr. Amendola is focusing on oxidation and corrosion of metallic alloys, high temperature protective coating development and high temperature corrosive gases and water vapor interactions with metals and ceramics.
Dr. Michael Berry (Civil Engineering)
Dr. Michael Berry is an Associate Professor with a focus in structural engineering and mechanics. He completed both his Masters Degree and his Doctoral Degree from the University of Washington. Recently, his research has taken him in the direction of alternated concrete materials and the seismic performance of structural elements and systems.
Dr. Ross Carlson (Chemical & Biological Engineering)
Ross P. Carlson is a professor of chemical and biological engineering and has affiliations with the Center for Biofilm Engineering, Thermal Biology Institute, and the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology. His research group studies biofilms relevant to medical, environmental, and bioprocess fields. For example, his group is studying the systems biology of chronic wound consortia, microalgal growth and nutrient cycling with bacterial partners, fungal biomat production for NASA food applications, and synthetic consortia engineering for enhanced biocatalytic platforms.
Dr. Mark Jankauski (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering)
The Bio-Inspired Dynamics Laboratory is a state-of-the-art research facility focused on mathematical modeling and experimental studies of complex biological systems. Our goal is to develop a deep understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms in order to improve bio-inspired technologies. Alumni from our team will be well-versed in theoretical and applied dynamics and vibrations, and positioned to pursue positions in National Laboratories, Academia, or multiple industries including automotive, aerospace and more.
Dr. Anja Kunze (Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Dr. Anja Kunze is an Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at MSU, where she directs the Neuroengineering Research Laboratory. Dr. Kunze obtained her PhD from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) in Microsystems and Microelectronics in 2012. Her research interests include engineering neuronal network development and neuronal cell morphology, neurodegenerative diseases, developmental disorders, cell polarity, synapse formation, and vesicular transport. Dr. Kunze also focuses on engineering in-vivo like bio-microsystems, 2D and 3D cell culture assays.
Dr. Cecily Ryan (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering)
Dr. Ryan received her undergraduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT and her M.S. in Applied Physics from Caltech, where she worked with Dr. Harry Atwater. She earned a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, working with Drs. Craig Criddle and Sarah Billington to understand the end-of-life degradation mechanisms of sustainable biopolymer composites. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was on the research and development team for two Silicon Valley startups focused on sustainable cement and concrete. She is very interested in material structure, processing, properties relationships for composite materials and engineering sustainable material/energy product lifecycles.
Dr. Jack Skinner (Mechanical Engineering, Montana Technological Univ.)
Department Head and Professor Jack L. Skinner received his Ph.D. in in Mechanical Engineering in 2007 from the University of California, Davis. He was a graduate researcher with the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), Berkeley, CA, from 2004 to 2007, where he developed diffractive optical microsystems. From 2003 to 2012, he was with Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, where he was a Principal Member of the Technical Staff before accepting a position as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the General Engineering Department at Montana Tech. He has worked in the field of nanotechnology and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) since 2001. His research interests include technological advancements in the understanding and application of nanoscale devices, materials, and methods.
Dr. Rob Walker (Director of MUS Graduate Program in Materials Science)
After finishing his PhD at University of Wisconsin, Madison and doing his post-doc studies at the University of Oregon, Dr. Walker began his career as a PI at the University of Maryland, College Park. He moved to Montana State in 2009 as a professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Walker also serves as the statewide director for the University System's Montana Materials Science PhD Program. Dr. Walker's research group includes both graduate and undergraduate students and is focused on using optical spectroscopy to study chemical structure, organization and reactivity at a wide array of surfaces. Systems studied by researchers in the Walker Group range from electrocatalytic materials used in high temperature fuel cells to model biological membranes that absorb solutes from aqueous solution.
Grant Assessment, Evaluation, & Reporting:
Doreen Brown Ed.D. (Chemistry & Biochemistry, Graduate Program Director)
After completing her Ed.D. from MSU in higher education administration, Dr. Brown serves as both the graduate program director for Chemistry and Biochemistry and the graduate coordinator for the Materials Science Program. She specializes in program assessment.
