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 for Research Development
Yoanna Ferrara works with engineering and computer science faculty to help enhance ECS research impact and build capacity for large and complex proposals. Ferrara collaborates with the Office of Research Development to help ECS faculty and ECS-led teams improve the competitiveness of their proposals. Services include:
• Individual consultation on funding opportunities, strategies, and program officer outreach
• Assistance with strategy and grantsmanship for proposals
• Consultation on Broader Impacts and workforce development plans; assistance with partnerships
• Feedback on proposal narratives for clarity and responsiveness to review criteria & requirements
• Drafting and coordinating ancillary documents
• Project management for large ECS-led proposals
• Coordinating external reviews, including Pink Team/Red Team reviews
• Coordinating compliance review and submission with OSP
Prior to Syracuse University, Ferrara served in research and graduate program administration roles at Cornell Engineering and at Central European University. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University.