Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. Dacheng Ren received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Connecticut in 2003. After finishing postdoctoral training at Cornell University, he joined Syracuse University in 2006. Currently, he is the Stevenson Endowed Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, director of Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, and interim Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Dr. Ren received an Early Career Translational Research Award in Biomedical Engineering from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation in 2009 and a NSF CAREER award in 2011. He was named the College Technology Educator of the Year by the Technology Alliance of Central New York in 2010. Dr. Ren is also a recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award from the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University in 2014, and Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction in 2018. Dr. Ren currently has 63 journal publications over 4,500 citations and an h-index of 31, 10 issued/pending patents, and more than 40 invited talks. Dr. Ren has broad research interests in biotechnology and biofilm control. His research has been supported by NSF, NIH, EPA, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and industrial sponsors.
Director of Research, Graduate Programs and Corporate Relations
Yoanna L. Ferrara is the college’s director of research, graduate programs and corporate relations. Prior to joining Syracuse University, she served as the director of research and graduate programs and as director of the research administration service center for Cornell Engineering. Prior to Cornell, she was the divisional research and student services officer for Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Ferrara holds a master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University.
Assistant to Associate Dean Dacheng Ren
Terrie Monto is the assistant to the associate dean for research and doctoral programs, and previously within the Admissions office in the College of Engineering & Computer Science. Prior to joining Engineering and Computer Science, she worked in the Admissions office in the College of Law, and also in the university’s Undergraduate Domestic and International Admissions in Enrollment Management. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Syracuse University. Monto supports the daily activities of the associate dean for research and doctoral programs, and has a supporting role in the daily activities of graduate admissions.