New Faculty Members

ETCM welcomes new faculty members who bring to the department experience and education from some of the finest companies and institutions in the world.

Dr. Michael Benjamin

Teaching Assistant Professor, Fire and Safety Engineering Technology (Occupational Safety)
Ph.D. in Industrial Hygiene, University of Cincinnati, 2019

Dr. Benjamin’s interests focus on exposure to workplace hazards, particularly with chemical exposures in a variety of environmental conditions.

Research interests:

• Occupational chemical exposures
• Evaluation of mathematical models to predict chemical exposures
• Ergonomic stressors
• Under-represented groups in workplace safety/health training/education
• Technology use to improve awareness/reach of occupational safety and health topics (i.e. Wikipedia and apps)

Austin Fifield

Lecturer, Engineering Technology and Construction Management
​Master of Science in Applied Energy and Electromechanical Systems, UNC Charlotte, 2020

Before joining UNC Charlotte, Mr. Fifield gained experience as an avionics specialist on the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E fighter aircraft where he troubleshooted, repaired and tested mission critical avionics systems including radar, navigation, communication and electronic warfare systems. He has worked in industrial automation and volunteers as an engineering mentor for FIRST Robotics.

Academic interests:

• Robotics
• Biomechanical controls
• Automation for industrial solutions

John Wayne Goff

Lecturer, Engineering Technology and Construction Management
M.S. Construction Management, Western Carolina University, 2014

Mr. Goff has 28 years of experience in the commercial construction and facility management industry directly related to the expansion and maintenance of a “Big Box” retail chain. In addition to his commercial construction experience, Mr. Goff has 10 years of facility management experience and was responsible for the preventative, reactive and planned maintenance for more than 700 operating retail locations.

Areas of interest:

• Pre-construction services
• Project development and delivery
• Estimating, civil design and total Cost of ownership

Ronald Graham

Lecturer, Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering (water resource focus), Colorado State, 2014

Mr. Graham is a former assistant professor of Civil Engineering at Belmont College, and has experience in water resources and the steel industry.

Research interests:

• Water infrastructure
• Water resources planning management
• Infrastructure development and sustainability

Dr. Stephanie Pilkington

Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 2019

Dr. Pilkington’s research primarily focuses on large-scale or community-wide issues related to natural hazards and the subsequent impact and recovery of civil infrastructure and the affected community. Email

Research interests:

• Natural hazard impact and recovery modeling
• Community resilience and sustainability
• Human-infrastructure interaction
• AI applications for infrastructure and hazards

Dr. Rachael Sherman

Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Ph.D. in Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State, 2020

Dr. Sherman’s industry experience culminates an overlap of consulting, project management and power utility engineering. In addition to power infrastructure planning and construction, she is passionate about improving how we teach engineering and construction to the next generation of students.

Research interests:

• Front-end planning for large and small industrial projects
• Capital planning
• Power infrastructure planning
• Power infrastructure resiliency
• Power infrastructure construction
• Energy policy
• Engineering education

Dr. Elizabeth Smith

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Technology
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2016

Dr. Smith has 15 years of industry experience in modeling and simulation serving government customers. Her research focuses on computational modeling in fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and human physiology. She also incorporates augmented reality into simulations.

Research interests:

• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• Combining modeling and augmented reality for real-time experiences
• Human physiology modeling and training applications

Dr. Michael Smith

Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, UNC Charlotte, 2015

Dr. Smith has over 10 years of professional experience in the energy industry working for Orano (previously AREVA) and over 11 years of part-time teaching experience at Central Piedmont Community College. His research focuses on applied energy and process system modeling and control (e.g., process automation and optimization, real-time system modeling, adaptive control), electromechanical systems, and manufacturing. Email

Research Interests:

• Modeling and control of process systems and energy systems
• Electromechanical systems, magnetic circuits and shielding
• System dynamic, manufacturing, machining
• Instrumentation, metrology, and uncertainty evaluation
• Energy generation systems (e.g., nuclear energy)