Faculty and Staff

Education:
Ph.D., Purdue University;
M.S., Penn State University;
B.S., University of Minnesota.

Joel brought his expertise in civil and environmental engineering to the department in 2010. Joel earned his B.S. degree in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Minnesota, his M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Penn State, and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University. Joel has industry experience with private engineering consulting firms as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. While with the Army Corps of Engineers he spent 4 months in Iraq as the lead project engineer on several environmental rehabilitation projects.

Education:
Ph.D., Tennessee Technological University;
B.Sc. and M.Sc., Helwan University, Egypt

Research Interests:

• Mechatronics Systems
• Intelligent Monitoring and Control Systems
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)
• Industry 4.0 and 5.0
• Advanced Machine Learning and Optimization
• Smart Agriculture and Precision Dairy Farming
• Electric-Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Battery Management
• Renewable Energy and Smart Water Systems

Dr. Magdy Eissa joined the University of Wisconsin–River Falls in 2025 as an Assistant Professor of Mechatronics Engineering. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechatronics Engineering from Helwan University, Egypt, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University (TTU), USA.

Prior to joining UW-River Falls, Dr. Eissa served as a Researcher and Teaching Assistant at Helwan University. He has extensive international experience, holding visiting research appointments at the University of Lisbon (Portugal), the University of Cyprus (Cyprus), and the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (Germany). From 2018 to 2020, he was a Researcher with the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence in Cyprus, collaborating with Imperial College London on several funded European projects.

From 2022 to 2025, he worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TTU, contributing to U.S. Department of Energy projects on second-life battery integration and affordable electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for rural communities.

Education: 

• B.S., Urmia University (Agricultural Engineering-Water Engineering)  

• M.S., University of Tehran (Irrigation and Drainage) 

• M.S., Cornell University (Environmental Engineering) 

• Ph.D., Cornell University (Environmental Engineering) 

Courses Taught: 

• ENVN 280: Activities in Environmental Engineering 

• ENVN 330: Applied Engineering Hydrology 

• ENVN 430: Water Quality Modeling 

• ESM 360: Hydrology and Water Quality 

Professional Bio: 
Dr. Hassanpour’s area of expertise is agricultural water management and quality. Her research interests include remediation of non-point source pollution, water quality, nutrient cycling and the fate and transport of contaminants. She has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant, in collaboration with Dr. Coleman Wasik, to study carbon and nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils. 

Education:
Ph.D., Purdue University, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (2005)
M.E., Inha University, Biological Engineering (2001)
B.E., Inha University, Biological Engineering (1999)

Research Interests:

• Food process engineering
• Renewable energy (lignocellulosic biofuels and chemicals)
• Bioprocess engineering

Publications:

• Kim, Y.; Kreke, T.; Ko, J.K., Ladisch, M.R. 2015. Hydrolysis-Determining Substrate Characteristics in Liquid Hot Water Pretreated Hardwood, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 112: 677-687
• Ko, J.K.; Ximenes, E., Kim, Y.; Ladisch, M.R. 2015. Adsorption of Enzyme onto Lignins of Liquid Hot Water Pretreated Hardwoods, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 112: 447-456
• Ko, J.K.; Kim, Y.; Ximenes, E., Ladisch, M.R. 2015. Effect of Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment Severity on Properties of Hardwood Lignin and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 112: 252-262
• Kim, Y.; Kreke, T.; Mosier, N.S.,; Ladisch, M.R. 2013. Severity Factor Coefficients for Subcritical Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment of Hardwood Chips, Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 111: 254-263.
• Kim, Y.; Kreke, T.; Ladisch, M.R. 2013. Reaction Mechanisms and Kinetics of Xylo-oligosaccharide Hydrolysis by Dicarboxylic Acids, AIChE Journal. 59:188-199.
• Kim, Y.; Kreke, T.; Hendrickson, R.; Parenti, J.; Ladisch, M.R. 2013. Fractionation of Cellulase and Fermentation Inhibitors from Steam Pretreated Mixed Hardwood, Bioresource Technology. 135:30-38

Youngmi joined the department early in 2015. She holds a B.E. and M.E. both in Biological Engineering from Inha University in South Korea. Her Ph.D. is in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue University. After earning her doctorate Youngmi continued her affiliation with Purdue for eight more years as Bioprocess Research Engineer. Her expertise area is food and bioprocess engineering and renewable fuels.

Education:
Ph.D., Iowa State University
B.S., Pennsylvania State University

Patrick joined the UWRF team in 2019 after six years in North Carolina with Southern Research where he served as a Chemical Engineer. His industry experience includes a wide range of energy and environment related R&D, including thermochemical conversion, environmental remediation and other clean energy technologies. He brings mechanical, chemical, environmental and aviation experience to the department. Patrick grew up on a small family farm in rural Pennsylvania and completed his undergraduate studies at Penn State in Agricultural & Biological Engineering and International Studies. He received his doctorate from Iowa State in Biorenewable Resources & Technology and Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering focusing on thermochemical conversion of biomass and high temperature gas cleanup processes.

Education:
Ph.D., University of Manitoba, Canada
B.Sc., Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, China

Bob joined the UWRF Engineering Department in 2021 from the University of Manitoba, where he worked as a post-doc fellow collaborating with industrial partners in a wide range of machinery systems R&D for sustainable agricultural production. Bob earned his Ph.D. in Biosystems Engineering and a Certificate in Higher Education Teaching from the University of Manitoba. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in China. He is a licensed professional engineer with expertise in the areas of machinery systems modeling, testing, automation and numerical simulation.