Faculty and Staff (Updated Spring 2026)
Mohsen Kivy | Professor and Department Chair
Email: mbeyrama@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1357
Office: Building 41A, Room 230 (Inside the department office, Room 229)
Office Hours:
Thursdays: 10:00 - 11:30 am
Research & Teaching Interests: Developing various materials (e.g. alloys and ceramics) by studying their microstructures and properties using multiscale computational materials engineering. Integrating modeling and simulation approaches throughout MATE curriculum.
Trevor Harding | Professor
Email: tharding@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-7163
Office: Building 41A-226
Office Hours:
Monday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Research & Teaching Interests: Dr. Harding's research focuses on the development of polymers (a.k.a. plastics) that are either renewable, or biodegradable, or both, and are known as biopolymers. He works alongside his students to understand how nanomaterials can be used to increase the strength, stability and degradation of biopolymers such as chitosan (which is produced from waste shrimp shells) and PHBV (which we grow by feeding waste streams to bacteria). In addition, Dr. Harding works with colleagues around the United States on the development of innovative teaching practices. Currently he is developing methods of helping engineering students learn habits of reflection that can be beneficial in their professional formation as engineers and as human beings. Dr. Harding teaches a wide range of courses including introductory materials engineering, polymers, biopolymers, nanocomposites, material selection, design for sustainability, and failure of materials.
Eric Beaton | Instructional Technician & Lecturer
Email: erbeaton@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-2518 | Cell: (805) 704-2897
Office: Building 41B, Room 142
Office Hours:
Tuesdays: 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Thursdays: 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Or By Appointment
Roger Benham | Lecturer
Email: rbenham@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1270
Office: Building 92M, Room A105
Office Hours:
Wednesday: 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Research and Teaching Interests: My area of specialty is Corrosion Engineering. This is my fourth year of teaching Mate 425 Corrosion Engineering at Cal Poly. I have 38 years of experience working in the field of corrosion engineering.
Karla Carichner | Lecturer
Email: kcarichn@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1180
Office: Building 92M, Room A103
Office Hours:
Tuesdays: 11:10 am - 12:00 pm
Thursdays: 11:10 am - 12:00 pm
or by appointment via email
Research & Teaching Interests: Basic introduction to materials, ceramics/glass, product design.
Nahmoon Kim| Lecturer
Email: nkim113@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1846
Office: Building 92M, Room C106
Office Hours:
Wednesday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Thursday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Friday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Joel Galos | Assistant Professor
Email: jgalos@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-6426
Office: Building 41A, Room 224
Office Hours:
On leave for Winter and Spring 2026
Research & Teaching Interests: The design, characterization, and optimization of multifunctional engineering materials, especially polymer composites. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) of polymers and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Materials selection for mechanical design and environmental sustainability.
Allison Marcus | Administrative Coordinator
Email: almarcus@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-6439
Office: Building 41A, Room 229
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 2:30 pm
Nicole Johnson-Glauch | Assistant Professor
Email: njohns66@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-6634 Ext. 2
Office: Building 41A, Room 225 / Building 192, Room 320
Office Hours:
Fridays: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Research & Teaching Interests: Electronic materials and thermodynamics. Improving student learning from visual representations and promoting mental health across the curriculum.
Seamus Jones | Assistant Professor
Email: sjones97@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-0731
Office: Building 41A, Room 221
Office Hours:
Mondays: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Tuesdays: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Wednesdays: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Research & Teaching Interests: Dr. Jones's work primarily focuses on the design of ionic fluids including the design of ionic liquids, polymeric ionic liquids, and water-soluble organic compounds that undergo reversible oxidation and reduction reactions (so-called 'redoxolytes'). He has interest in translating these materials into industrial processes in energy storage and greenhouse gas capture. Dr. Jones' teaching interests include thermodynamics, transport, polymer science, and textile engineering.
Jerry Anzalone | Lecturer
Email: janzalon@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1844
Office: Building 92M, Room C105
Office Hours:
By appointment only
Christine Kurtz | Lecturer
Email: cghent@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1845
Office: Building 92M, Room C105
Office Hours:
Monday 11:00 am - 12:00 pm in the MATE 215 Lab
Research & Teaching Interests: Professor Kurtz has a background as an Automotive Reseach and Development Engineer focusing on Noise and Vibration.
Jean Lee | Associate Professor
Email: jlee473@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-6571
Office: Building 13, Room 227
Office Hours:
Please contact Prof. Lee at jlee473@calpoly.edu to schedule a meeting with her.
Ryan Smith | Lecturer
Email: rsmith91@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-1270
Office: Building 92M, Room A105
Office Hours:
By Appointment
Research & Teaching Interests: Alloy Development, Welding Process Development, Computational Thermodynamics, Level-Set FEA, In-situ X-ray diffraction, Electrochemical deposition and surface treatment.
Thale Smith | Assistant Professor
Email: tsmith50@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-0699
Office: Building 41A, Room 227
Office Hours:
Wednesdays: 11:10 am - 12:00 pm
Tuesdays: 12:10 - 1:30 pm
Thursdays: 12:10 - 1:30 pm
Research & Teaching Interests: Advanced metallurgical technologies, materials structure-property relationships in extreme environments, quantitative microstructural characterization.
Kareesa Kron | Assistant Professor
Email: kkron@calpoly.edu
Phone: (805) 756-6634
Office: Building 92M, Room A108
Office Hours:
Tuesday: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Wednesday: 11:00pm - 12:00pm
Thursday: 11:00pm- 12:00pm
Masoud Daneshi| Lecturer
Email: mdaneshi@calpoly.edu
Office: Building 92M, Room C106
Office Hours:
Mondays and Thursdays: 11:10 am – 12:10 pm in Mate Conference Room (41A - 217)
Research & Teaching Interests: My expertise is in material characterization, rheology, and complex fluids. My research focuses on non-Newtonian fluids, with an emphasis on understanding how their rheology governs flow behavior in engineering systems.
Student Assistants: Adva Harel | Ari Ferdiansyah | Natalie Elliott-Cisneros | Nicholas Walter
Office: Building 41A, Room 229
