Contacts

Kostić uses deep learning, parallel computing and software/hardware co-design to do research, implement systems and optimize their performance.

He was a key contributor to research in signal processing and design of mobile wireless systems, and a lead system architect for a system-on-chip deployed in dozens of millions of devices. His present research covers applications in smart cities, Internet of Things, medicine and healthcare. He uses his integration skills to create complete solutions to problems at scale. He has a vigorous collaboration with industrial partners and academics from engineering and medical fields. His work resulted in a notable publication record, three dozen patents, and critical contributions to successful products. He has an extensive intellectual property development and consulting experience.

Zoran Kostić holds a Dipl. Ing. degree from the University of Novi Sad, and MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Rochester. Prior to joining the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University, he spent two decades working in research and product development and held leadership positions in Bell Laboratories, AT&T Research, Thomson Multimedia, The Mathworks and Broadcom.

Research Areas

• Communications
• Embedded Systems
• Hardware Accelerators
• Networking
• Signal Processing
• Computer Vision and Speech Processing
• Sensor Systems
• Machine Learning
• Deep Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Internet of Things
• Parallel Computing
• Systems

Professional Experience

• Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2014-
• Principal Scientist, Architecture Design Lead, Mobile System on Chip, Broadcom Inc.
• Principal Engineer, The Mathworks
• Principal MTS, AT&T Wireless Research
• Member of Technical Staff, Bell Laboratories Cellular Mobile Communications
• Academic Instructor, graduate level and executive courses, UCLA, UCSD, CU
• Founder, startup InnovICs , third generation cellular system design
• Intellectual Property Consulting

Honors & Awards

• IEEE, Senior Member
• Three dozen patents on signal processing, wireless and mobile communications (database link)

Education

• PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester
• MS, Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester
• Dipl. Ing. Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad

Our research is on magnetic thin films and heterostructures.

Modern ultrahigh vacuum deposition techniques have made it possible to create 'heterostructures,' ultrathin films (dozens of atoms thick, or thinner) of one material stacked upon another. Composition can be controlled routinely to the level of ~three atomic layers, with the potential for control of single monolayers. Heterostructures of ferromagnets with other sorts of materials (metals, insulators, semiconductors) offer entirely new functional properties due to the presence of the interface, going far beyond a simple averaging of the two components. 

A canonical example of a new property engineered in a heterostructure is giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in ferromagnet/noble metal heterostructures, topic of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for Albert Fert and Peter Gruenberg. The key idea is that the spin of the electrons that carry charge in a conductor can be controlled through magnetization.  This property had direct application as a magnetic field sensor in magnetic recording heads; GMR went from first laboratory discovery (1988) to incorporation as a 'spin valve' in mass-produced magnetic recording heads (1998) in just 10 years, something of a record in applied science.

Many new spin-transport-related phenomena have been discovered in the intervening years, with spin torque transfer (and magnetic random access memory, MRAM) devices serving as a focal point.  A relatively new direction for these studies, and one which has interested my group particularly in the past several years, is the possibility of controlling the flow of 'pure' spin currents (without charge, or electrical currents) in ferromagnetic heterostructures.  

The particular specialty of our lab is high-speed / high-frequency magnetization dynamics in sheet-level films.  We have developed some unique tools in magnetic materials deposition (UHV sputtering; see picture of chamber above) to optimize dynamical properties, and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) characterization of films in some novel configurations, in our labs at Columbia.  In collaboration with other groups, we have extended FMR to synchrotron pump-probe measurements, which allows us to probe the dynamics of different constituents of heterostructures at GHz frequencies.

The work done in our group is primarily experimental, with quantitative models (usually phenomenological) often used to interpret phenomena in better-developed materials systems.  The research area offers opportunities to work in materials development, fundamental science, and applications in magnetic information storage.

Research Areas

• Nanoscale Magnetic Films and Heterostructures 
• Materials Issues in Spin-Polarized Transport
• Materials Engineering of Magnetic Dynamics 
• Materials

Professional Experience

• NRC Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Magnetic Technology Division, Boulder CO 1999-2001

Honors & Awards

• NSF Career (2003)
• ARO Young Investigator (2002)

Vijay Modi is currently working closely with city and national agencies/utilities to understand how energy services can be more accessible, more efficient, and cleaner.

Modi’s areas of expertise are energy resources and energy conversion technologies. His recent project on mini-grids is providing a unique understanding of consumer behavior, demand for energy, and business models for deploying energy solutions and energy efficiency. While his early work was on computational fluid dynamics and micro-electro-mechanical systems, his recent work has been on energy infrastructure design and planning, solar energy, energy efficiency in agriculture, and data analytics spanning urban settings to remote rural settings.

Modi’s laboratory, the Quadracci Sustainable Engineering Lab (QSEL), has been responsible for technologies such as “SharedSolar” and widely used tools such as “Network Planner” and a free open-source app called “FormHub,” used over a million times. In 2011, Prof. Modi initiated a project called “SharedSolar” which was the first smartly managed pay-as-you-go solar minigrid project in Africa. Since then, 16 mini-grids have been deployed and 20 more are planned in 2017. Through use of real-time smart meters developed by Prof. Modi’s laboratory, low-cost, low-loss wireless meters with latching relays are made possible through the use of “Internet of Things” platforms.  A key aspect of this project was optimized storage management that takes into account variable supply and variable demand.

Modi received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1984 and worked as a post-doc at MIT from 1984 to 1986 before joining the faculty at Columbia University. He is past-Chair of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Between October 2011 and 2012, he was a member of the U.N. Secretary General’s high-level task force on “Sustainable Energy for All” and he currently leads the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network working group on Energy Access for All.

Research Areas

• Energy Systems
• Building design and energy conservation
• Human-Centered Design
• Microgrids & Minigrids
• Decarbonization
• Last-Mile Service Delivery

Professional Experience

• Department of Mechanical Engineering, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Professor (2001 - Present)
• Department Chair (2002-2005)
• Associate Professor (1993 - 2000)
• Assistant Professor (1986 -1992)

Professional Affiliations

• Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Member, ASHRAE
• Member, AAAS

Honors & Awards

• Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award 1996
• Great Teacher Award 1997 from Society of Columbia Graduates, 1997
• McMullen Fellowship, Cornell University
• Silver Medal in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology                
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, 1984
• Tuition Scholarship, ASEE

Scott Kelly has been a part of the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department staff since 2012.

As the Manager of Graduate Admissions and Student Affairs, Scott advises undergraduate and graduate students about department and Engineering School policies and program requirements and he works closely with our student groups in the planning of department events. In addition, he manages all aspects of the graduate admissions process, including speaking with prospective applicants and organizing recruiting events.

Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Bates College and a Master of Arts degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Pierre Gentine investigates the continental hydrologic cycle using multi scale modeling and big data (machine learning, remote sensing, high-resolution turbulent simulations) in the context of rising CO2 concentrations.

Gentine hopes to answer questions such as what will be the future of droughts and extreme dryness/precipitations with a changing climate, and how will they impact ecosystems?

Pierre Gentine received his undergraduate degree from SupAéro, the French National Aeronautical and Space Engineering School in Applied Mathematics in Toulouse, France. He obtained a MSc and PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006 and 2010, respectively. He joined the faculty of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics at Columbia Engineering in 2010. He is the recipient of the NASA, DOE, and NSF Early Career Award, as well as American Geophysical Union Macelwane medalist.

Research Areas

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computational Engineering Science
• Data Science
• Imaging
• Modeling & Simulation
• Sensing
• Hydrologic cycle
• Land-atmosphere interactions
• Turbulence
• Convection
• Soil Moisture

Professional Experience

• Director, National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center (STC) Learning the Earth with Artificial intelligence and Physics (LEAP), Columbia University, 2021-
• Maurice Ewing and J. Lamar Worzel Professor of Geophysics, Columbia University, 2021-
• Full Professor, Columbia University, 2021-
• Faculty member, Earth Institute, Columbia University (by nomination), 2018-
• Faculty member, Data Institute, Columbia University (by nomination), 2018-
• Tenured Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2017-
• Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2016-2017
• Junior faculty, Earth Institute, Columbia University (by nomination), 2013-2017         
• Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2011-2016

Professional Affiliations

• American Geophysical Union

Honors & Awards

• Great Teacher Award, Society of Columbia Graduates, 2021
• First place in INFORMS Junior Faculty Interest Group (JFIG) Paper Competition, 2020
• NSF CAREER Award, 2020
• Forbes 30 under 30 in science, 2016
• IBM Faculty Award, 2016

Education

• PhD, Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• BS, Operations Research and Engineering, Cornell University

Michael K. Tippett uses mathematical and statistical methods to address societally important questions about climate and weather.

He has developed, implemented, and assessed seasonal climate forecast systems and his work connects climate with the risks from extreme weather, such as tornadoes and hurricanes. 

Tippett’s research provided the first evidence for skillful prediction of monthly tornado activity. For his work, he has been sought out as a collaborator with the national weather and climate forecasters and the insurance industry.

Tippett’s climate research ranges from the detection and attribution of climate change in models and observations on centennial time-scales, to decadal prediction of Atlantic sea surface temperatures, to forecasts of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) a year in advance, as well as seasonal outlooks for temperature and precipitation for coming months. On shorter weather time scales, Tippett investigates how severe thunderstorms (those resulting in tornadoes, hail, or damaging wind) and tropical cyclones are related to climate, now and in the future. He analyzes data from numerical weather prediction models, meteorological observations, and storm reports to find patterns that can improve understanding, facilitate prediction, and manage risk.

Tippett received BS degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics from North Carolina State University in 1983 and an MS (1990) and PhD (1992) in mathematics from New York University’s Courant Institute.

Research Areas

• Data Science
• Modeling & Simulation
• Visualization
• Seasonal climate prediction
• ENSO prediction and impacts
• Extreme weather and climate
• Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms
• Hurricanes and tropical cyclones
• Forecast verification

Professional Experience

• Associate Professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, 2016–
• Lecturer in the Discipline of Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, 2013-2016
• Senior Research Scientist, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University, 2013
• Senior Research Scientist, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University, 2003-2013
• Associate Research Scientist, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University, 1999-2003
• Visiting Scientist, Center for Weather Prediction and Climate Studies (CPTEC), Brazil, 1996-1999

Honors & Awards

• 2016 Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Geophysical Research Letters

Michael E. Mauel builds experiments to study high-temperature ionized gas, called plasma, and explores how strong magnetic fields guide plasma motion in the space surrounding Earth, at the surfaces of stars, and inside the cores of fusion energy reactors that may someday produce cleaner, healthier, and nearly unlimited power.

Plasma within these experiments have very high temperatures, more than 10 million degrees, and can become hotter than the centers of stars. Together with his students and collaborators, Mauel uses real-time systems to control how plasma mixes within the containment vessels, shapes magnetic bottles to better confine high pressure plasma, and launches electromagnetic waves to generate electrons that move through the plasma at speeds near the speed of light. He also identifies, images, and controls the instabilities that may destroy plasma confinement and inhibit fusion energy production.

Mauel’s current research interests include nonlinear turbulent transport in magnetized plasma, energetic particle modes, the relationship between laboratory and space plasma physics, and feedback techniques to control instabilities in advanced tokamak operating regimes. He injects currents, waves, and magnetic fields to reveal the processes that transform energy within the plasma, move particles across magnetic flux tubes, and generate flows.

Mauel received his doctorate from MIT in 1983 and joined the Columbia University faculty in 1985. He a fellow for the American Physical Society and served as a Jefferson Science Fellow in the U.S. Department of State. He received the Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering, Leadership Award from the Fusion Power Associates, the Teacher of the Year award from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Certificates of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of State. He served as chair of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society, chair of the Department of Applied Physics an Applied Math at Columbia University, chair of the U.S. Burning Plasma Council, and as chair of the NRC Plasma Science Committee. Mauel co-chaired the National Academics of Sciences Committee for a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research (2019) and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Physics of Plasmas. In 2020, Mauel was named a lifetime Associate of the U.S. National Academies.

Research Areas

• Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Plasma Physics (Controlled Fusion)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Energy Science
• Advanced Materials

Professional Experience

• Professor, Applied Physics, Columbia University, 1995 –
• Editor-in-Chief, Physics of Plasmas, 2016 –
• Chairman, Dept. of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, 2000-2006
• Associate Editor, Physics of Plasmas, 2003-2015
• Associate Editor, Journal of Fusion Energy, 2014-2015
• Associate Professor, Dept. of Applied Physics, Columbia University, 1990 – 1995
• Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Physics, Columbia University, 1985 – 1990
• Instructor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, M.I.T., 1984 – 1984

Professional Affiliations

• American Physical Society

Honors & Awards

• Leadership Award, Fusion Power Associates, 2020
• Associate of the U.S. National Academies, 2020
• Jefferson Science Fellow, National Academies, U.S. Dept. of State, 2006-2007
• Certificate of Appreciation, U.S. Dept. of State, 2007
• Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering, Fusion Power Associates, 2000
• Fellow, American Physical Society, 1995
• Teacher of the Year, 1994, elected by Columbia’s School of Engineering Undergraduates
• Certificate of Appreciation, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1989
• I.E.E.E. Fortesque Fellowship, 1978 – 1979
• Guillemin Prize for undergraduate thesis in Electrical Engineering

Professor Ren works in a few different directions in applied and computational mathematics.

His recent efforts include performing theoretical and numerical analysis of inverse problems for partial differential equations (for applications in various areas of imaging science), developing methods for computational optimization problems in physical systems, studying the propagation of acoustic/electromagnetic waves in complex media, characterizing emerging phenomenon in large dense random graphs and networks, as well as developing computational algorithms for simulating particle transport in heterogeneous media.

Professor Ren received his BS from Nanjing University in China. He obtained his PhD from the Applied Mathematics Program at Columbia University in May 2006. He moved to the University of Chicago as an L. E. Dickson instructor in 2007 and joined the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and the Oden Institute in Fall 2008. He returned to Columbia in 2018 as a Professor of Applied Mathematics.

Research Areas

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Computational Science and Engineering
• Computational Imaging
• Mathematical Modeling
• Scientific Machine Learning
• Optimal Control
• Control Theory
• Real and Complex Analysis
• Harmonic Analysis
• Approximation Theory
• Functional Analysis and Operator Theory
• Numerical Analysis
• Partial Differential Equations
• Probability and Statistics
• Computational (Mathematical) Biology
• Data Science
• Network Science
• Numerical Analysis
• Novel Wave Phenomena in Heterogeneous, Nonlinear, and Random Media
• Quantum Computing
• Image Reconstruction

Education

• PhD, Applied Mathematics, Columbia University
• MS, School of Physics, Peking University
• BS, Nanjing University

Dr. Hung has been pursuing multidisciplinary research using state-of-the-art biological and engineering tools to perform studies to investigate physical effects (e.g., cell deformation, fluid flow effects, osmotic pressure) on cells and tissues comprising the synovial joint.

These efforts aim to elucidate the role of joint loading on synovial joint maintenance under normal and pathologic conditions, as well as the utility of applied physiologic loading to foster growth of functional  engineered cartilage. Using native or engineered synovium and articular cartilage, his team has developed a biofidelic culture system that captures the natural cross-talk between human joint tissues with applied physiologic loading and cytokine parameters. This model can serve as a platform technology for investigating the role that synovial cells play in joint injury, inflammation as well as healing/repair.

Such studies may lead to strategies aimed at alleviating the most prevalent and chronic problems afflicting the musculoskeletal system, such as arthritis, and problems related to sports and occupational injuries. His research has been funded by agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation. His work has been published in over 180 full-length publications and 17 book chapters.

Of particular interest to Hung is the mechanobiology of synovial joint tissues and cells. A better understanding of how cells perceive and respond to applied physical stimuli may provide greater insights into the role that physical forces play in the etiology of degenerative joint disease and osteoarthritis, as well as in the normal maintenance of articular cartilage. These studies have formed the underpinning of his lab’s functional tissue engineering efforts using applied physiologic deformational loading and osmotic loading to promote engineered cartilage tissue development in culture. His team also explores the role of other physical forces, including applied electric fields, to guide cell migration in healing or forming tissues as well as to optimize cell sources.

His research has led to five issued US patents, including those describing 1) an engineered osteochondral graft with native functional properties (https://www.google.com/patents/US20100036492), 2) lipid shell microbubbles as porogens for tissue engineering scaffolds (https://www.google.com/patents/US8617892), 3) MOPS preservation media for osteochondral allograft storage (https://google.com/patents/US9220258), 4) chondrogenic media formulation including TMAO (https://www.google.com/patents/US20130202567). MOPS has been licensed by the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation and is the storage media for their clinical osteochondral grafts. The media preserves grafts twice as long as the industry standard media, with the benefit of no serum or refrigeration.

He is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), International Combined Orthopedic Research Society (ICORS), and Orthopedic Research Society (ORS). In 2016 he received the Marshall R. Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research and the Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society in 2021.

Research Areas

• Biology
• Biomechanics
• Medicine
• Cartilage Tissue Engineering
• Osteoarthritis
• Mechanobiology
• Electrotherapeutics

Professional Experience

• Vice Chair, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2023-
• Professor of biomedical engineering, Columbia University, 2009
• Undergraduate chair of biomedical engineering, Columbia University, 2015-2020
• Associate professor of biomedical engineering, Columbia University, 2002–2009
• Assistant professor of biomedical engineering, Columbia University, 1997–2002
• Director, Biomedical Engineering: Physical Effects on Cells, summer high school course, School of Professional Studies (1999-2019)

Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
• American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) – Bioengineering Division
• Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
• International Combined Orthopedic Research Society (ICORS)
• Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS)

Honors & Awards

• Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award, ORS (2021)
• Fellow, ICORS (2019)
• Fellow, BMES (2018)
• Marshall R. Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research, ORS (2016)
• Fellow, ASME (2010)
• Fellow, AIMBE (2009)
• NEGMA-LERADS Prize; 3rd International Symposium on Mechanobiology of Cartilage and Chondrocyte, Brussels, Belgium (2003)
• Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement, FFSEAS, Columbia University (2002)
• Editor in Chief, Journal of Orthopaedic Research & Reviews (2009-)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Orthopaedic Research (2008-)
• Editorial Board, Tissue Engineering , Parts A, B and C (2011-2014, 2016-2019)

Education

• PhD, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
• MSE, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
• ScB, Bioengineering, Brown University

Christopher V.H.-H. Chen is Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemical Engineering, focused on chemical engineering education and the training of engineering educators, and serves as a Director of Masters Studies for the department.

Christopher V.H.-H. Chen is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemical Engineering, focused on chemical engineering education and the training of engineering educators, and serves as a Director of Masters Studies for the department. As an engineering education researcher, his work looks at the importance of social and emotional elements of engineering training, how to motivate students beyond the technical "can we do this" questions to the human "should we do this" challenges, and pedagogical approaches to show students how to bring their values, cultures, and experiences into their engineering practice. Chen's teaching focuses on social impact and sustainability in engineering across all course levels. Chen is also an active educational developer, creating and facilitating 100+ trainings for teachers in higher education, and actively writes about educational design and supporting educational developers. He also has developed and supported inter-university teaching development initiatives through the 40-university Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) network as an elected member of CIRTL’s Leadership Team (2020-2024), and as an experienced instructor for their online courses and workshops.

Chen received a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University in 2017, specializing in interfacial phenomena and the chemical synthesis of surfactants; and received his BS & MS in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University in 2011. Chen also received an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2022, where he focused on topics of innovation and social enterprise. Chen has experience working at Centers of Teaching and Learning (CTLs), including as the senior assistant director at the Columbia CTL (2017-2022), and as a graduate fellow at Princeton’s McGraw Center (2013-2017). Chen is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education. He serves on the publication board of Chemical Engineering Education journal.

Research Areas

• Sustainability, Engineering Education

Professional Experience

• Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, 2022-
• Senior Assistant Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Columbia University, 2019-2022
• Assistant Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Columbia University, 2017-2019

Professional Affiliations

• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
• American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE)
• American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education

Honors & Awards

• Joseph J. Martin Award, Chemical Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), 2023

Education

• PhD, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University
• MBA, Columbia Business School
• MS, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
• BS, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University