People
FACULTY
Prof. Ender A. Finol (PhD in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2002)
Professor and Department Chair of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial Engineering at UT San Antonio
Program Faculty of the Joint UTSA/UTHSCSA Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering
Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWS
Dr. Merjulah Roby, PhD in Computer Science (2020)
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Merjulah Roby is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial Engineering at UT San Antonio, where she contributes to an NIH-funded project. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2020 from CHRIST University, Bangalore, India. Her research focuses on developing deep learning approaches for the automatic segmentation and analysis of abdominal aortic aneurysms from computed tomography images.
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Combining expertise in artificial intelligence, image processing, and data visualization, Merjulah works to enhance diagnostic accuracy, improve disease prognosis monitoring, and support clinical decision-making. Proficient in Python and MATLAB, she also contributes to research funding acquisition. Her work reflects a deep commitment to advancing personalized healthcare and translating engineering innovation into practical medical applications.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Juan C. Restrepo, PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering
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Juan C. Restrepo develops patient-specific models to strengthen abdominal aortic aneurysm surveillance, integrating machine and deep learning with biomechanics, morphology quantification, and statistical analysis to predict growth and rupture risk for direct real-world application. His work spans medical image segmentation and finite element analysis, supported by proficiency in Python, MATLAB, PyTorch, and high-performance computing.
He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad EAFIT (Medellín, 2020) and previously led packaging operations at Bavaria Brewery (AB InBev subsidiary), and has expertise implementing autonomous operation/maintenance practices.
Pratik Mitra, PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering
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Pratik Mitra investigates patient-specific blood flow dynamics in abdominal aortic aneurysms, with emphasis on intraluminal thrombus formation and aneurysm progression under clinical surveillance.
His work integrates computational fluid dynamics and fluid–structure interaction with statistical analysis to predict aneurysm growth aided by multiprocessor simulations on high-performance computing resources from UT San Antonio and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC).
He earned a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from JNTU-Hyderabad (2013) and an M.Tech from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (2015). From 2015–2019, he served as a Project Associate at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He joined UT San Antonio in January 2020 for his M.S. (completed July 2022) and has been pursuing his Ph.D. since August 2022.
Julian Carvajal, PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering​​​
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Julian earned his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia in 2018. During the following two years, he worked in instrumentation and data acquisition at DAQ Solutions, a National Instruments partner. He then founded an independent consultancy supporting the development of medical devices, including a food image analysis tool for caloric intake monitoring and a high-flow tower for patients with pulmonary disease. He joined UT San Antonio to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2022 with an emphasis on machine learning, focusing on designing innovative models to address healthcare challenges such as predicting chronic conditions, and investigating Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to relate geometric and biomechanical features to abdominal aortic aneurysms and their rupture potential.​
Simon Rios, PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering
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Simon Rios Deossa is a Colombian mechanical engineer, pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UT San Antonio. He studies abdominal aortic aneurysms using in-house CT and MR imaging aided with finite element analysis. He has deep expertise in Python, MATLAB, and Abaqus. In his free time he enjoys cycling and computer games.
Simon earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad EAFIT in 2021 and worked at Familia Sancela, where he was dedicated to improve pressure performance on a production line and maintenance strategies.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Archer French, Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
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Archer French began attending the Klesse College of Engineering at UT San Antonio in Spring 2023, following several years in the physical therapy field and the completion of a B.S. in Applied Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M University in College Station.
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In Spring 2025, he joined Dr. Finol’s Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids Lab as an undergraduate research assistant. In the lab, he supports graduate-level research focused on blood flow dynamics and rupture risk in abdominal aortic aneurysms. His responsibilities include medical image segmentation of CT scans and conducting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to model vascular behavior. He plans to continue his education by pursuing a PhD following his graduation in the spring of 2026.​
Maria Bolaños, Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
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Maria Bolaños is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a certificate in Aerospace Engineering at UT San Antonio, where she is expected to graduate in May 2026. Originally from El Salvador, she moved to the United States after completing high school.
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Since the summer of 2025, Maria has been involved with VBBL, assisting graduate students with image segmentation and the analysis of aneurysm behavior. She is passionate about advancing her technical expertise, exploring innovative solutions, and embracing new learning opportunities within the field of engineering.
Aron San Mattel, Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
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Aron San Mattel is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at UT San Antonio. Originally from Kerala, India, he completed high school in San Antonio. In his free time, he enjoys working out and doing home improvement projects.
Emiliano Aguilar Lopez, Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
Emiliano is a third-year mechanical undergraduate student at UTSA. He joined the Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids Laboratory in the Fall of 2025. His research interests lie in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.
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GRADUATE ALUMNI
- Jorge Jimenez, MS in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2003)
- Christine Scotti, MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2004 and 2007)
- Sanna Gaspard, MS in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2005)
- Cheng-Shiu Chung, MS in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2009)
- Gail Siewiorek, PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2010)
- Peng Liu, MS in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2010)
- Abhay Ramachandra, MS in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2011)
- Judy Shum, PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2011)
- Natasha Loghmanpour, MS in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2011)
- Kibaek Lee, MS in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2012)
- Junjun Zhu, MS in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2012)
- Samarth Raut, PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2012)
- Gnanaruban Vimalatharmaiyah, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2014)
- Matthew Leroux, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2014)
- Rita Oluwaseun, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2015)
- Ernest Anoma, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2015)
- Carlos Gutierrez, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2015)
- Aman Mahipat, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2015)
- Sathyajeeth Chauhan, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2016)
- Shalin Parikh, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2017)
- Lawson Ishalaiye, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2017)
- Mirunalini Thirugnanasambandam, PhD in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2018)
- Reginald Vaughn, Jr., MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2019)
- Alifer Bordones-Crom, PhD in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2020)
- Frances Arnold, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2020)
- Venkata Pavan Pillalamarri Narasimha Rao, PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2020)
- Miguel Guerrero, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2021)
- Niusha Fathesami, MS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2021)
- Balaji Rengarajan, PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2021)
- Vivian Reyna, MS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (2023)
FORMER VISITING SCHOLARS
- Sergio Cornejo, MS, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile (2006-2007)
- Giampaolo Martufi, MS, Universita di Tor Vergata, Italy (2006-2007)
- Claudio Larenas, MS, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile (2007-2008)
- Dilana Hazer, MS, Universität Karlsruhe, Germany (2009)
- Dr. Jose Rodriguez, PhD, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain (2007 and 2009)
- Mauro Malve, PhD, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain (2009)
- Dr. Raul Anton, PhD, Universidad de Navarra, Spain (2010)
- Jorge Aramburu, MS, Universidad de Navarra, Spain (2011)
- Jesus Urrutia, MS, Universidad de Navarra, Spain (2011-2012)
- Sergio Ruiz, MS, Universidad de Navarra, Spain (2014)
- Tejas Canchi, MS, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2016)
- Nicolas Amigo, MS, Universidad de Chile, Chile (2017)
- Dr. Senol Piskin, PhD, Koc University, Turkey (2017-2018)
FORMER POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS
- Dr. Santanu Chandra, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University (2008-2010)
- Dr. Christopher Washington, MD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University (2009-2011)
- Dr. Hong Zhang, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University (2009-2011)
- Dr. Gail Siewiorek, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University (2010-2011)
- Dr. Ali Almuntashri, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2012)
- Dr. Vitaly Kheyfets, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2011-2013)
- Dr. Wei Wu, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2016-2019)
- Dr. Senol Piskin, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2018-2019)
- Dr. Sourav Patnaik, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2016-2020)
- Dr. Balaji Rengarajan, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas at San Antonio (2021-2022)