The College of Engineering Announces Three Distinguished Faculty Fellows

Associate Professor James C. Bird (ME, MSE) will be the inaugural holder of the Theo de Winter Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor Ahmad ‘Mo’ Khalil (BME) will be the next holder of the Dorf-Ebner Distinguished Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor Bobak Nazer (ECE, SE) will be the next holder of the College of Engineering Distinguished Faculty Fellow.

How to Make Self-Driving Vehicles Smarter, Bolder

Autonomous vehicles that can maneuver themselves around any city are already out on our public roads, says Yannis Paschalidis, but operating off-road remains a challenge. Paschalidis is testing a new self-driving vehicle with the goal of correcting that problem. These vehicles can operate on and off-road. “We are interested in developing fundamental principles that can be applied to autonomous vehicles capable of navigating themselves on the ground, underwater, and in the air,” he says.

State Representative Tackling Societal Challenges

Massachusetts State Representative Vitolo earned Bachelor’s Degrees of Science in Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics. His aptitude for solving mathematical applications and drive to address community problems led him towards operation research. At Boston University, he connected the dots. In 2011, he graduated from BU with a Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering and the know-how to make a difference in the world.