Nidal Abu-Zahra, Ph.D., is Associate Dean in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University and Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He has more than 28 years of experience in higher education spanning academic administration, engineering education, accreditation, research, graduate education, curriculum development, and industry engagement.

Prior to joining Wright State, he served for approximately 18 years as a department chair at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His administrative interests include academic program development and assessment, accreditation and continuous improvement, faculty and resource planning, student success, interdisciplinary education, industry engagement, and the development of academic programs responsive to regional workforce needs.

He is also an experienced ABET Program Evaluator and has participated extensively in accreditation preparation, assessment, and continuous-improvement activities.

My leadership experience includes responsibility for:

• Academic program planning, development, review, and continuous improvement
• Faculty and staff leadership and development
• Budgeting, resource allocation, and strategic planning
• Accreditation, assessment, and ABET preparation
• Curriculum development and academic program review
• Faculty recruitment, evaluation, and development
• Graduate education and research administration
• Student success, retention, progression, and curriculum improvement
• Development of interdisciplinary academic and research initiatives
• Industry, government, and community partnerships
• Workforce development and experiential learning
• Academic organizational structure and program alignment
• Faculty governance and promotion and tenure processes

I have also served in numerous college- and university-level leadership and governance roles involving curriculum, academic programs, graduate education, promotion and tenure, post-tenure review, and faculty rights and responsibilities.

I have extensive experience with ABET accreditation and engineering-program assessment and serve as an ABET Program Evaluator in Materials Engineering. My experience includes multiple accreditation cycles involving self-study preparation, student outcomes assessment, curriculum review, continuous-improvement processes, and faculty preparation for accreditation visits.

Areas of interest include:

• ABET accreditation and continuous improvement
• Student outcomes assessment
• Curriculum mapping and program educational objectives
• Closing-the-loop assessment processes
• Program review and academic quality assurance
• Integration of accreditation with broader strategic and resource planning

• Doctoral degree, Industrial Engineering, Cleveland State University
• M.Sc., Advanced Manufacturing Technology, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST)
• B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, University of Jordan

My academic background spans manufacturing, materials science, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering. My research and professional interests have included advanced manufacturing, materials processing, polymer composites, membranes and water filtration, computational materials science, quantum sensing, quality and lean manufacturing, and Industry 4.0.

I have authored or co-authored more than 100 refereed journal publications and have advised more than 40 master's and doctoral students, including approximately 20 Ph.D. students.

For publications, I would prefer to include only a selected group of recent or representative works on the Wright State profile, with a link to my Google Scholar page for the complete publication and citation record:

Google Scholar Profile:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=uCy2QlcAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

I have extensive experience collaborating with industry on applied research, engineering education, workforce development, and manufacturing improvement. My work has included long-term partnerships with manufacturing companies and projects involving advanced manufacturing, materials, quality improvement, product and process development, and student experiential learning.

A major focus of my administrative work is strengthening partnerships among universities, industry, government, and regional organizations to support workforce development, applied research, experiential education, and economic development.

Relevant affiliations and professional activities include:

• ABET Program Evaluator, Materials Engineering
• American Society for Engineering Education
• Academic leadership and university governance committees
• Engineering accreditation, assessment, and continuous-improvement activities
• Industry and workforce-development partnerships