Ambitious goals require exceptional people. At Rice Engineering and Computing, new faculty members are strengthening the school’s expertise in three research areas central to its strategic vision: health and well-being, sustainability and resilience, and computing and AI.
Our new faculty members bring outstanding expertise and fresh perspectives that will strengthen our research, enrich the education we provide and create new opportunities for collaboration. Their work aligns closely with the priorities we have established for our school, and they will be an important part of our efforts to push the boundaries of engineering and computing and expand what is possible.
— Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering and Computing
The appointments reflect the priorities outlined in Vision 2030, the school’s strategic plan to become one of the nation’s top five engineering and computing schools. They also support Rice University’s broader ambitions through its strategic plan, Momentous, which calls for Rice to become the world's premier university for teaching and research.
All new faculty joined Rice on July 1, 2026, unless noted otherwise.
Tenured
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Farshid Alambeiji
Joined as an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Using artificial intelligence, medical imaging, advanced sensing and robotic systems, he develops safer, more precise and intelligent surgical robots and medical technologies. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2019.
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Christine Peterson
Joined as an associate professor in the Department of Statistics on Jan. 1, 2026. She develops statistical methods to analyze complex biomedical data from microbiome and network studies to improve human health. She earned her Ph.D. in statistics from Rice University in 2013.
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David Sholl
Joined as Rice University’s Executive Vice President for Research and professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering on Jan. 1, 2026. He uses materials modeling to develop novel materials and processes for industrial chemical separations and energy applications. He earned his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Tenure-Track
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Sangyeon (Fred) Cho
Joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering. He develops nanolaser particles, a new class of optical probes that tracks cellular dynamics for applications in cell therapy, cancer immunotherapy and basic research. He earned his Ph.D. in medical engineering and medical physics jointly from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2019.
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Vivek Garimella
Joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He studies fluid mechanics and heat transfer processes to develop fabrication techniques and energy efficient solutions for buildings, electronics, energy, manufacturing and transportation. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2026.
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Kyungmi Lee
Joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science. She studies computer architecture to design hardware for secure and trustworthy AI computing and develops frameworks to understand emerging AI hardware. She earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2024.
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Jiaqi Li
Joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics. She studies the mathematical foundations of AI to understand how and why these methods work. She is applying these insights to biomedical data to better understand how the human brain is wired. She earned her Ph.D. in statistics from Washington University in St. Louis in 2024.
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Guilherme Migliato Marega
Joined the Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering as an assistant professor on Jan. 1, 2026. Using emerging nanomaterials, he builds energy efficient computing hardware to reduce power consumption by data centers. He earned his Ph.D. in microelectronics and microsystems from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2023.
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Shomik Verma
Will join as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on July 1, 2027. He develops solid-state heat engines, advanced thermal reactors, and other high-performance materials for clean energy generation and industrial heat delivery. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2026.
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Yan Zhang
Will join the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as an assistant professor on Jan. 1, 2027. She builds minimal cell-free gene expression systems for point-of-need biosensing, enabling new approaches to design and deploy biological solutions for healthcare and environmental applications. She earned her Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022.
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Everett Zofchak
Joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering on Jan. 1, 2026. He combines polymer synthesis, materials characterization, and molecular simulations to develop next-generation polymeric materials for chemical separation, energy storage, and energy generation. He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2023.
Non-Tenure Track
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Christopher Braun
Joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an assistant teaching professor. He will develop and teach digital health courses on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning in medical care to improve patient outcomes. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science and bioinformatics from Indiana University in 2022.
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Dylan Chiu
Joined the School of Engineering and Computing as the Associate Dean for Research Translation and Venture Development and the Department of Computer Science as the Von Blücher Professor in the Practice of Engineering and Computing Venture Development. With ten years of venture capital experience across corporate innovation, family office investing, and fund management, he will enhance and build the school’s venture engines, moving more research into fundable companies. He earned bachelor's degrees in political economy and public health from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017.
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Matthew Elliott
Joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an associate teaching professor. He will serve as the undergraduate program director for mechanical engineering and teach courses in thermodynamics, mechanics and control systems. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2014.