Dr. Gary Kuleck, Oregon Tech’s provost and vice president of academic affairs said, “Dr. Afjeh is joining us at a milestone point in Oregon Tech’s history. As we grow our relationships with industry through applied research efforts, he can build on the strengths and assets of our faculty’s expertise. We’re excited about the background that Dr. Afjeh brings to us in this new position, which will help us extend our engagement with industry, and bring in more opportunities for innovation and programming to elevate our educational and scholarship excellence.
“I also want to thank the Search Committee and its co-Chairs, Mike Myers and SophiaLyn Nathenson, for their hard work, commitment and time investment throughout this process,” added Kuleck. “It’s a very busy time of the year and because of the committee’s hard work, we’ll start the new academic year with Dr. Afjeh leading our research engagement and innovation efforts, and providing strong academic leadership on our Portland-Metro campus.”
Dr. Afjeh joined the University of Toledo in 1984, and has served in a variety of roles in the College of Engineering. In addition to those noted above, he has served as Director of Graduate Studies. More recently he was selected to the most prestigious faculty rank as Distinguished University Professor. He was also Resident Faculty at the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field and The Ohio Aerospace Institute. Dr. Afjeh is known for his focus on student success and has led comprehensive efforts focused on student achievement, fostering enrollment growth, and improving department visibility. Dr. Afjeh also developed a joint international graduate degree programs with PSG College of Technology in India in mechanical and industrial engineering.
Dr. Afjeh’s research successes include increasing departmental external research funding to over $4 million annually; building an on-site research program with more than 20 researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center; recruiting faculty and providing resources to enhance strength in advanced materials and biomedical engineering; and developing a master's degree program in engineering with an energy engineering focus, with participation of faculty and industry partners; and developing professional master’s degree programs for industry, as well as a multi-disciplinary, collaborative energy engineering program in partnership with the colleges of Business and Law. Dr. Afjeh’s research projects have been sponsored by industry as well as leading federal agencies such as NASA, Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health. His research focus areas include computational fluid dynamics in turbomachinery, propulsion systems, experimental investigation of bearings and rotating components, wind turbine design and analysis, and aerodynamics of phonation, a research project sponsored by the NIH.
Dr. Nagi Naganathan, Oregon Tech president said, “Dr. Afjeh, with his proven expertise as an academic leader and researcher, will extend Oregon Tech’s reputation as ‘industry’s university’ and extend our reach nationally and globally. With our growing involvement and leadership in efforts such as the global Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center and the Oregon Renewable Energy Center, Oregon Tech is supporting industry with both applied research and by supplying a strong workforce with our high quality graduates.”
Dr. Afjeh earned his Ph.D. and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo; and his B.S in Mechanical Engineering from Arya Mehr University of Technology (now Sharif University of Technology) in Iran. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
