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.
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Koen Gieskes, Interim Director
Office: Library North, G110B
Phone: 607-777-2308Koen 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
Office: Library North, G106
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
Office: Library North, G110
Phone: 607-777-2500Nicole 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.
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Juliet Berling, Adjunct Instructor
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.
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Sarah Wallace, Half-Time Instructor
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.
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Bill Schiesser, Half-Time Instructor
Office: Library North, G316
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!
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Alyssa Leonard, Adjunct Instructor
Office: Library North, G105
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
- EDD: Kristen Allen
- BME: Emily Reitz
- ME: Joseph Green
- ISE: Kelli Palumbo
- EECE: Daniel Iacobacci
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
- Jonathan Albrecht
Manager, Electrical Design Engineering
BAE Systems Controls Endicott
jonathan.j.albrecht@baesystems.com
607.759.9713 - Peter Dionne
Principal Mechanical Engineering
SAAB Defense and Security
dionnp@stny.rr.com
315.214.2918 - Chris Kopec
Facilities Group Manager
McFarland-Johnson, Inc.
ckopec@mjinc.com
607.723.9421, ext. 230 - Robert Lofthouse
Associate Professor/Chairperson, Engineering Sciences/Physics
SUNY Broome
lofthouserw@sunybroome.edu
607.778.5214 - Dr. Gay E. Canough
President
ETM Solar Works
gec@etmsolar.com
607.785.6499