November 20, 2020

About the speaker

From a young age, Dr. Constantine Tarawneh was fascinated by airplanes – trying to work out how they were able to fly and what allowed them to carry so much weight in cargo. He found himself contemplating engine design, and how to make them more efficient. His days were spent watching the Discovery channel and documentaries about machines, engines, and mechanical systems. It was then, at the age of six, that he knew he wanted to become a mechanical engineer. Not deterred by his father’s insistence he follow in his footsteps to become a medical doctor, Dr. Tarawneh knew he had the ability and passion to become an exceptional engineer.

Dr. Tarawneh was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Jordan Amman (1996). He continued his graduate education in the United States, receiving a Master of Science (1999) and a doctorate (2003) in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After graduating, he worked for an airline, maintaining large airplane engines, and completed an internship installing air-conditioning units in large supermarkets, hospitals, and industrial plants. In 2003, Dr. Tarawneh joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s (UTRGV) legacy institution, the University of Texas-Pan American, as a full-time lecturer in the mechanical engineering department. Though he was offered two tenure-track positions at other institutions, he made the decision to join UTRGV because he felt he could contribute to the growth of the University’s young engineering program.

Expanding on the need to grow the engineering program at UTRGV, Dr. Tarawneh noted the critical ethnic disparity in the education of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. According to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanics represent 20% of the U.S. population—and make up the largest minority group in the public school system—yet less than 2% of the STEM workforce is Hispanic. “Various research, education, workforce development, technology transfer, and community engagement activities aimed at attracting and recruiting underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM fields [are needed],” said Dr. Tarawneh.

Dr. Tarawneh has made significant contributions to the growth of the UTRGV engineering program and increased community outreach and education activities ten-fold. He took on the challenge of expanding Hispanic representation in the STEM field, and earnestly involves students in his work. Soon after being hired, he developed a railroad research team, consisting of seven faculty and staff, 10 undergraduate students, and eight graduate students, to tackle issues important to the railroad industry. The research group is committed to student education and training; by actively engaging students, the group provides the opportunity for students to contribute to the research and development of new technologies, effectively training a sophisticated workforce prepared to enter the field of transportation engineering. At inception, the group was able to attract $3 million in private funding to engage students in research and scholarship activities, and to provide students with a source of income to offset the cost of tuition.

In 2013, Dr. Tarawneh formed the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS), which was funded by a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). UTCRS operates as a consortium of three institutions – UTRGV, Texas A&M, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln – whose purpose is to improve railway safety outcomes through student engagement, research, workforce development and community outreach. One of the main goals of UTCRS is to coordinate outreach activities to teach young students about transportation engineering in an engaging, interactive and hands-on way. This is accomplished through STEM summer camps, research experiences for students and teachers, engineering workshops, K-12 curriculum development, and outreach activities.

“Creating pathways for students to pursue their master’s and doctoral studies in the areas of transportation engineering and railway safety is one of the most important center missions,” said Dr. Tarawneh. “The training of a sophisticated workforce, which is thoroughly grounded in the specific demands of rail service, will have a long-term effect on system safety through improved safety assessments, counter-measures, and decision-making tools.”

The research that Dr. Tarawneh conducts is as vast as it is varied. He is examining the health of railroad bearings using low power wireless sensors, developing and testing prototypes of railroad suspension pads made from electrically conductive thermoplastic polyurethane, demonstrating the monitoring of self-powered rail vehicle suspension components using magnetostrictive materials, performance testing of the efficacy of railroad bearings, and more. Students actively participate in this research—Dr. Tarawneh has submitted more than 30 external grants and 43 journal and conference peer-reviewed papers co-authored with students.