People in the Engineering Design Division

The program, provides an environment that encourages and supports a diverse faculty, as well as graduate teaching assistants, undergraduate course assistants and staff.

We focus on the skills, talents, knowledge, and abilities that individuals bring to our collective effort to provide the best possible education to our engineering first-year students.

Our faculty and graduate teaching assistants represent each engineering department within The Watson College.

Our adjunct lecturers represent the liberal arts, the humanities, art, the legal profession as well as engineering.

Contact Us

Engineering Design Division
Binghamton University
4400 Vestal Parkway East
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

Phone: (607) 777-2500   Email: nalfaran@binghamton.edu

(Please note there may be a 24-hour turnaround response time.)

How to Find Us

Here is a map showing directions from the Visitor's Paid Parking Lot to the Engineering Design Division.

You will see a pedestrian walking ramp between the Engineering Building and the Bartle Library.  Walk up that ramp and follow the arrows on the map. The arrows point you to a walking area between the Technology Hub and the Bartle Library.  There is an outside door designated by the "star" on the map.  Go in that door, take the stairs down to the bottom, turn right, and you will come directly into the Engineering Design Division area. The main office is LN-G110.

  • Koen Gieskes, Interim Director

    gieskes@binghamton.edu

    Office:  Library North, G110B
    Phone: 607-777-2308

    Koen Gieskes

    Koen Gieskes currently serves as the Interim Director and Engineering Lab Coordinator for the Engineering Design Division. After joining the Engineering Design Division as a graduate student in 2004, in 2009, he was hired on as a full-time lecturer, and in 2017 he became the Assistant Director. In 2022, Koen began serving as the Interim Director. In this role, he also serves as the engineering lab coordinator for the EDD 111/112 courses. 

    Along with his roles for the first-year engineering program, Mr. Gieskes teaches Sustainability Engineering courses, serves as co-Director for the Upward Bound Math Science (UBMS) program and Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), and has taught in STEM and STEAM summer camps for K-12 students for over 15 years. In 2019, Mr. Gieskes received the Chancellor's Award in Teaching.

    Mr. Gieskes received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University. His research is now primarily focused on Engineering Education. 

    Mr. Gieskes was born in the Netherlands, and after moving to the United States in the early 90s, currently resides in Binghamton.  In his free time he experiments with many forms of art including sculpture, painting, and etching.

    Courses taught:
    EDD 111 -- Introduction to Engineering Design
    EDD 112 -- Introduction to Engineering Analysis
    EDD 305 -- Intro to Sustainable Engineering & Design
    EDD 306 -- Engineering Sustainable Energy (co-taught)
    EDD 492 -- Practicum in Engineering Education
    ME 211 -- Solid Mechanics (Summer Session -- Distance Learning Course)
    ME 273 -- Statics (Summer Session -- Distance Learning Course)
    WTSN 301 -- Graduate School Prep
    WTSN 380B/CINE 417A -- Interactive Installation Art

  • Melissa Simonik, Instructor

    msimonik@binghamton.edu

    Office: Library North, G106                           Melissa Simonik

    Dr. Melissa Simonik started at
    Binghamton University in 2015 as a Mechanical Engineering doctoral student. She served as a teaching assistant (TA) for Watson Capstone Projects for two years. She continued as a TA for the Engineering Design Division in 2017 where she taught both EDD 111/112 labs and EDD103/104 communications classes. She became a full-time instructor in 2020 and serves as the engineering communications coordinator for the EDD 103/104 courses.

    Melissa received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College (Schenectady, NY) in 2014 and her M.Eng. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in 2015. She has completed her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University in 2020.

    Melissa's research interests include design, biomechanics and finite element modeling.

    Courses taught:
    EDD 103 -- Engineering Communications I
    EDD 104 -- Engineering Communications II

  • Nicole Alfarano, Administrative Assistant

     nalfaran@binghamton.edu

    Office: Library North, G110 EDD Ad Min
    Phone: 607-777-2500

    Nicole Alfarano started working at Binghamton University in the Fall of 2017, before joining the Engineering Design Division in Spring 2020.

    Nicole received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Human Resource Management from Excelsior College.

    Nicole is a member of Sigma Beta Delta International Society for Business, Management and Administration.

  • Juliet Berling, Adjunct Instructor

    jberling@binghamton.edu

    Dr. Juliet Berling has taught EDD 307 Ecology for Engineers for the Sustainability Engineering Minor since fall 2015.  She is also an Adjunct Faculty in the Geology and Environmental Studies Department while working full-time for the City of Binghamton as Director of Planning, Housing and Community Development.  In the past, Dr. Berling has also been Planning Commissioner for the City of Binghamton and the Director of Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship, Department of Green Initiatives, at Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital.

    Berling has received numerous awards including the Practice GreenHealth Partner Recognition Award, Who’s Who in America Listing, Department of Energy Meritorious Performance Award, and Secretary of Energy Gold Medal Award.

    Berling received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Binghamton University; M.S. in Environmental Science & Law from Baylor University; and her Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Science from Texas A&M University.

  • Sarah Wallace, Half-Time Instructor

    swallace@binghamton.edu

    wallace

    Office: Library North, G314

    Sarah Wallace joined Binghamton University in 2021 as a lecturer in the Engineering Design Division.

    Sarah works as Mental Health Therapist at Intuitive Strengths Family Services. She graduated with her Bachelors of Science and  Masters in Social Work from Roberts Wesleyan College. She is currently a Licensed LCSW.

    Sarah has lived in the Binghamton area her whole life. Her interests include communicating with others and hearing people’s stories, and spending time with her dog. 

  • Bill Schiesser, Half-Time Instructor

    wschiess@binghamton.edu

    Office: Library North, G316Bill

    Prior to joining the Engineering Design Division in 2021, William E. Schiesser was a Consulting Patent Agent at the IBM Corporation. Bill is admitted to practice in patent cases before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  He has deep expertise in Patent Strategy, Portfolio Management, and International Patent Practice, including prosecuting cases filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Paris Convention.

    Bill received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, and his Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY.  His research interests include hardening computing infrastructure against cyber-attacks by minimizing attack surfaces, as well as abstraction and virtualization of computing resources, such as cloud and edge computing.

    Bill’s other interests include Astronomy, Planetary Science, Paleoanthropology, Aviation and Aerospace, Cruiser and Sport Motorcycles, MotoGP and Stock Car Racing, and Classical Music – especially Beethoven, Puccini, and Tchaikovsky!

  • Alyssa Leonard, Adjunct Instructor

    awheelo1@binghamton.edu

    Office: Library North, G105alyssa

    Alyssa currently works as a K-12 teacher for the Montrose Area School District. She lives in Vestal, NY, with her husband and three kids. Her interests include running, biking, gardening, paddle boarding, and playing the piano. 

    She graduated from Binghamton University in '06 with a BS in Human Development. She received her MAT in Elementary Education in 2015 and her EdD in Curriculum Development and Instruction in 2021 from Liberty University.

2022-2023 EDD Student Advisory Board

2022-2023 EDD Internal Advisory Board

  • L. William (Bill) Kazmierczak, Ph.D.
    Director of Calculus, Department of Mathematical Sciences
    WH 228
    kaz@math.binghamton.edu
    607.777.4276
  • Mohammad T. Khasawneh, Ph.D.
    Chair, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering
    Graduate Director, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering
    Associate Director, Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE)
    BI 1608
    mkhasawn@binghamton.edu
    607.777.4408
  • Aiyakrishnan Meenakshi, Ph.D.
    Teaching Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Applied Physics and
      Astronomy
    S2 156
    ameenaks@binghamton.edu
    607.777.4288
  • Paul Chiarot, Ph.D.
    Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
    ES 1312
    pchiarot@binghamton.edu
    607.777.3208
  • Alexsa Silva, Ph.D.
    Director of Instruction and Outreach, Department of Chemistry
    S2 123
    asilva@binghamton.edu
    607.777.3829
  • Douglas Summerville, Ph.D.
    Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
    ES 2312
    dsummer@binghamton.edu
    607.777.2942
  • Kaiming Ye, Ph.D.
    Chair, Biomedical Engineering
    BI 2623
    kye@binghamton.edu
    607.777.5887

2022-2023 EDD External Advisory Board