Advisory Boards

Our Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) is made up of representatives from industry, government agencies, and academia. IPAC advises the department on academic issues, current trends, and future directions in the engineering profession. The council provides a forum for ideas and recommendations, and provides a link between industry and academia.

If you are interested in finding out how your company can strategically partner with the ME department, please contact us.

2025-2026 IPAC Members

• IPAC Chair: Bobby Noble, Program Manager, EPRI
• IPAC Vice Chair: Dr. Jeremy Frank, CEO, KCF Technologies
• Scott Augustine, Senior Director, Hot Section Engineering
• Michele Beisler, Deputy Program Manager, NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program
• Barry Blair, Site Vice President, Beaver Valley Power Station Vistra Corp.
• Todd Brezler, VP, Head of Marketing, Chief of Staff, Mitsubishi Power America
• Dr. Mary Frecker, Department Head, Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Dr. Marta C. Hatzell, Associate Professor, Woodruff Faculty Fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Dr. Tugba Kumru, Senior Scientist, Medtronic
• Greg Mensch, Director, Fleet Support and Naval Training, Naval Nuclear Laboratory
• Dr. Venke Sankaran, Chief Scientist, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Lab
• Brodie Schultz, Manufacturing Program Manager, Ford Motor Company
• Dr. Rafat Shehadeh, Global Head of Construction, Procurement and Essentials, Prologis
• Grier Wilt, EVA Operations Officer, NASA