Three Drexel Engineering faculty have been promoted to full teaching/clinical positions, effective September 1, 2020. The College greatly values the contributions of our committed teaching and clinical faculty members and appreciates their continued service to the improvement of engineering education.
Yalcin Ertekin
Professor Yalcin Ertekin will be promoted to full clinical professor in the Department of Engineering Technology (ET). He received his BS degree from Istanbul Technical University, an MSc in Production Management from the University of Istanbul, and an MSc in Engineering Management and MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. In addition to positions in industry, Ertekin has held faculty positions at Western Kentucky University and Trine University. In 2010, he joined the College as an associate clinical professor. He has been instrumental in course development and the assessment and improvement of the ET curriculum, including integrated laboratories, project-based learning, and practicum-based assessment. In addition to ET students, Ertekin’s classes have an interdisciplinary appeal and are taken by students in at least three other majors. He serves as associate department head for the undergraduate program, and, as such, has been ET’s ABET coordinator, authoring the ET self-studies in both 2014 and 2019. Ertekin serves as the faculty advisor for the student chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and is a member of the College’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Involved in research, Ertekin has received funding from the National Science Foundation, private foundations, and industry. His research has focused on the improvement of manufacturing laboratories and curricula and the adoption of simulation into machining practices.
“My goals include making the ET program a national model and leader in ET education and applied research while focusing on the quality of student learning, with the integration of a laboratory environment and applied learning with lectures,” shares Ertekin. “I will strive to increase the strength of industrial collaboration and secure funding for applied research, scholarships, and donations.”
Andrei Jablokow
Professor Andrei Jablokow will be promoted to full teaching professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM). He received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University and his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining Drexel, Jablokow held positions in academia (Penn State University) as well as technology and financial companies. In 2008, he joined our College as an adjunct instructor and in 2009 was appointed associate teaching professor and assistant department head. He was promoted to associate department head for undergraduate affairs in 2015 and, as such, oversees the advising for MEM’s undergraduate population. He also serves on the College Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and has served on the University Advisory Committee on Access.
Robert Swan, Jr.
Professor Robert Swan, Jr. will be promoted to full teaching professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE). He received his BS and MS degrees from Drexel University in Civil Engineering and currently is a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering (expected graduation September 2020), also at Drexel. Upon graduating with his MS degree in 1987, he worked at a variety of geotechnical engineering consulting companies until 2008, when he served as a faculty associate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 2013, he joined our College as an associate teaching professor. He additionally continues to consult and own HI2L Consultants. Swan has been instrumental in revising the undergraduate geotechnical engineering curriculum and has contributed extensively to the accreditation and assessment processes within CAEE and the College, including authoring the Civil Engineering ABET self-study in 2019.
“I have really enjoyed my return to Drexel after being a way for just over 25 years,” says Swan. “Working alongside some of the professors that were my instructors when I was an undergraduate and graduate student has been a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more years teaching future generations of Drexel Dragons.”