Berkeley Engineering welcomes four new faculty to campus

This fall, UC Berkeley Engineering welcomes four new faculty members to its roster. These tenure-track professors will bring their wide range of expertise to four departments across the college.

Behcet Açıkmeşe, Chancellor’s Professor of aerospace engineering

With a storied background in aerospace, Açıkmeşe developed control algorithms for planetary landing, spacecraft formation flying and asteroid and comet sample return missions. He also invented a novel planetary landing guidance algorithm (G-FOLD) that was flight-tested by JPL. He holds a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University.

YoungJu Jo, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences

Jo earned a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University, and he is a neuroscientist working at the intersection of neurobiology and engineering. His research integrates systems and computational neuroscience with optical and genetic engineering.

Michael Sangid, Chancellor’s Professor of aerospace engineering

With a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sangid’s research activities combine knowledge of materials science, solid mechanics and advanced manufacturing to solve complex problems in materials behavior and processing. 

Chenyang Zhong, assistant professor of industrial engineering and operations research

Zhong earned a Ph.D. in statistics from Stanford University. His research develops mathematical and computational methods for stochastic modeling, inference and optimization, addressing emerging challenges in modern operations research and machine learning.

Two of the new professors are Berkeley Engineering Faculty Fellows, a program that supports incoming faculty with startup funding to launch high-risk, high-reward labs. Jo is the Brody Family Faculty Fellow, and he will use his expertise in biomedical imaging and AI to work on using optics to diagnose diseases faster. Sangid is the Lynden F. Davis Faculty Fellow, and he will focus on structural mechanics, using data to predict and prevent failure in aerospace materials.

An additional two new fellows – Carmen Amo Alonso and Qian Xu – will join the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in 2027. These four fellows represent the continued success of a program that has now supported 18 new faculty members since its inception in 2019, launching 18 world-class careers at Berkeley.