Five new faculty members are joining the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science for the 2024–25 academic year, bringing with them a range of expertise in various areas.
Fei Liu
Assistant Professor
Liu comes to UT after working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Advanced Robotics and Controls Lab at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Prior to that, he conducted research at the Biorobotics Institute and at the Center for Bioinspired Soft Robotics at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Italy. Liu earned his PhD from INSA de Lyon, one of France’s top-ranked engineering institutions.
Liu’s research interests lie at the intersection of robotics, autonomous systems, and computational AI, with a particular focus on applications in unstructured environments. His work spans various fields, including biomedical, healthcare, manufacturing, industrial, and aerospace sectors.
Over the past years, Liu has authored more than 30 papers in leading journals and conferences such as IEEE RA-L, T-BME, Robotica, ICRA, IROS, RSS, EMBC, among others. He also serves as a reviewer and committee member for these venues. In 2021, Liu received a nomination for the Best Paper Award at ICRA for his contributions to autonomous blood suction in surgical robotics.
“Simplicity in robotics and AI unveils the complexity, where each equation powers systems to solve real-world challenges.”
JiangBiao He
Associate Professor
He joins UT from the University of Kentucky, where he was an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Previously, He worked in multiple top-tier industry R&D centers, most recently as a lead engineer at GE Global Research in Niskayuna, New York. He obtained his PhD in electrical engineering from Marquette University. He’s research interests include advanced motor-drive systems and power electronics for broad emerging applications, including transportation electrifications, renewable energies, and others. He is the author/co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed technical articles and 10 U.S. patents.
“I’m excited to join the UT EECS department, the largest department in the Tickle College of Engineering, with diverse teaching and cutting-edge research programs. As a cluster hire, I look forward to collaborating with our faculty in various disciplines and pursuing research and scholarship goals that are impossible to realize individually.”
Rakshith Saligram
Assistant Professor
Saligram obtained his PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2024. Before his academic appointment, he worked as research intern at Arm Inc. and IMEC USA Nanoelectronics Design Center and Graphics Hardware Engineer at Intel Corporation. Saligram has master’s degree with honors in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore. He is the recipient of the GT-ORNL seed research grant, the DAC 2024 Ph.D. forum award and was a finalist for the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship award. Saligram’s research interests include cryogenic CMOS, heterogeneous integration, low power digital and mixed signal circuit design and quantum interface circuits.
“At the University of Tennessee, I see a perfect blend of cutting-edge research, immense potential, and a commitment to shaping future engineers. It’s an inspiring place to drive innovation and make a lasting impact”
Rodrigo Castellanos
Assistant Professor
Prior to joining UT, Castellanos received his PhD in electrical engineering from Purdue University and worked as postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas and North Carolina State University. Castellanos’ research focuses on the next generation of wireless networks, including wideband wireless communications systems, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, reconfigurable antennas, and signal processing for wireless communications. His work has been published in a variety of top venues such as the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, and the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing.
“I’m very proud to join UT as a new faculty member. EECS has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, and I’m looking forward to contributing to this exciting period for the department. I’m also greatly enjoying the vibrant campus atmosphere and the beautiful natural landscape of Knoxville.”
Fnu Suya
Assistant Professor
Suya earned his PhD in computer science in 2023 from the University of Virginia, where he focused on exploring the limits of data poisoning attacks against machine learning classifiers. Before joining UT, Suya was an MC2 postdoctoral fellow at the Maryland Cybersecurity Center at the University of Maryland from 2023 to 2024. His research interests include the intersection of machine learning and security, specifically applying advanced machine learning techniques to security-critical applications like malware detection (ML for security) and investigating the vulnerabilities of machine learning models in adversarial settings (trustworthy machine learning). Suya received the Best Paper Award at the VISxAI 2022 workshop and the CS Graduate Research Award in 2018. Originally from a remote region in Inner Mongolia, China, Suya lived a nomadic lifestyle before pursuing academia. He is fluent in Mongolian, his native language, as well as Mandarin and English.
“I am excited to join the EECS department at UT, which has strong interdisciplinary research and close collaborations with the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These connections offer excellent opportunities for advancing AI safety research. I look forward to contributing to the department through my work in research, teaching, and service.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)