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Workforce Development

The Office of Strategic Partnerships

Joanne Wang

44% of workers' core skills are expected to change in the next 5 years.

World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2023
Future of jobs 2023: These are the most in-demand skills now - and beyond

Featured Programs

Navigating the Future of Work

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AI-Driven Leadership: Leading with AI for Forward-Thinking Strategy and Operational Efficiency

 

Acquire skills to lead organizations by integrating AI and other emerging technologies for improved outcomes. Learn how to use data and analytical technology to identify, assess, and mitigate risks in strategic decision-making under uncertainty and build organizational reliability and resilience to navigate adversity and ambiguity. Apply practical skills to build a trustworthy and healthy organizational culture. Lead by example in the next generation of AI Natives.

Faculty Spotlight

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Data Science and Analytics

A fully customizable program designed to meet your organization's unique needs, whether your team is new to data analytics or experienced professionals. This course covers essential technologies and methodologies used in data science, offering a strong foundation in computing and computational thinking. Participants will explore fundamental programming concepts required for executing data science projects, including designing, debugging, and running Python programs with its powerful tools and libraries. Additionally, the program delves into constructing predictive models and guides learners through the entire lifecycle of machine learning projects, emphasizing best practices for success in this field.

Faculty Spotlight

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Radiation Effects in Electronics

This program covers a broad range of topics. Understand the foundational mechanisms and terminology associated with various types of radiation effects in electronic devices, the preparation of single event data for reliability estimation, CREME 96, radiation induced failures of semiconductor power devices, radiation enabled modeling and simulation, single event response and testing, the natural space radiation environment, and spacecraft charging.

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Program Overview

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Faculty Spotlight

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Institute for
Space and Defense Electronics

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Custom Programs

Looking for something unique? We specialize in designing custom programs tailored specifically to meet your organization’s needs.

With expertise spanning a wide range of cutting-edge topics, our custom solutions ensure you stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape. Here are just a few areas where we excel:

Application of Artificial Intelligence

Data Science

Electronics and Space Systems

Emerging Technologies and Cyber-Physical Systems

Leadership and Strategic Management

Browse Our Focus Areas for Collaboration

Team

Our expert-led programs are designed to align with your goals and deliver lasting impact. Let's collaborate to create solutions that drive success.

Contact us today to begin crafting your custom program!

To ensure successful deployment at a company level, business leaders can embrace four priorities: understand the potential, plan a strategic workforce shift, prioritize people development, and pursue the executive-education journey on automation technologies.

McKinsey Global Institute
A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond

Program Highlights: Delivering Success

Meet the Program Faculty

Leading with AI

Joanne Wang, EdD

Joanne Wang, EdD

Dr. Joanne Wang serves as Associate Dean and Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, where she also holds the position of Associate Professor of the Practice in Engineering Management and Science. Dr. Wang architects and implements the school's strategic vision for cultivating transformative partnerships with private industry, government agencies, and community stakeholders—driving sustainable growth in sponsored research, workforce development, and engineering services.

A pioneer in academic-industry collaboration, Dr. Wang leads the design and delivery of customized training and lifelong learning programs that address evolving industry demands. Her leadership philosophy centers on leveraging emerging technologies and strategic foresight to create meaningful connections between academic excellence and real-world application. Drawing from her comprehensive expertise in marketing, public relations, and business development, Dr. Wang uniquely positions Vanderbilt Engineering as a catalyst for innovation and partnership. Her ability to translate complex academic capabilities into tangible industry solutions has established her as a trusted bridge between higher education and the professional engineering community.

As an active member of the American Society for Engineering Management, Dr. Wang remains at the forefront of advancing engineering education and fostering strategic industry collaborations that shape the future of the profession.

Read Dr. Wang's full bio

Jesse Spencer-Smith, PhD

Jesse Spencer-Smith, PhD

Dr. Jesse Spencer-Smith is Director and Chief Data Scientist for the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt University, and is Professor of the Practice of Computer Science. He leads a team of data scientists and postdoctoral fellows who collaborate with researchers across the university and medical center and with industry partners, and teaches courses on artificial intelligence. He consults with researchers and business leaders on using, training and developing new AI models. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science from Indiana University, and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Florida. He was previously at HCA Healthcare for nine years, where as Director of Data Science he built the first data science team for the company and was charged with enabling data science across the enterprise through training, mentoring, skills assessments and consulting with business units on data science and AI preparedness. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he was an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Quantitative Methods and was a Beckman Fellow at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He was the founder of a software technology company that developed solutions for civil engineering.

Charleson Bell, PhD

Charleson Bell, PhD

Dr. Charleson S. Bell, is the National Chair of the NSF National Innovation Network, the Hub Director of the NSF I-Corps Hub, Mid-South Region (“Mid-South Hub”), Program Director of the NSF ExLENT Coalition Responsible for Excellence in Skills Training (CREST), and State Lead of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation, and Commercialization Hub (REACH) Hub. He is a Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Director of the Vanderbilt Innovation Corps unit at Vanderbilt University, and Associate Director of the Medical Innovators Development Program in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Dr. Bell is a “Triple ’Dore” earning his Bachelors in Engineering, Masters in Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering – the first African-American to earn a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt. Dr. Bell’s Department of Defense funded research seeks to improve point-of-care deployability, interoperability, and smartphone-compatibility. Dr. Bell has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit and embraces new endeavors and innovations with great enthusiasm and passion. The first graduate student at Vanderbilt to receive an investment of venture capital to launch a startup while in school, Dr. Bell uses his innovative mind to combine his engineering knowledge to create novel technologies of great impact. He has garnered multiple patents across many fields and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications. Most importantly, he is a staunch believer that the value and practice of convergent innovation is critical to optimize the way innovators empathize with humanity and ideate solutions that create positive change across the world.

Read Dr. Bell's full bio

Mandy Lalrindiki, PhD

Mandy Lalrindiki, PhD

Dr. Mandy Lalrindiki leads applied innovation and design strategy at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt University’s innovation center within the School of Engineering. Her work focuses on helping organizations navigate complexity, align stakeholders, and translate strategy into execution. She designs and leads applied innovation initiatives that bring together industry partners, interdisciplinary teams, and structured methodologies to address real-world challenges. Her work spans executive engagement, capability building, and innovation program design, enabling organizations to test ideas, develop internal capacity, and move from concept to implementation.

Dr. Lalrindiki has led programs across corporate and federally funded contexts, including partnerships with Fortune 500 organizations and multi-institution innovation initiatives. As Hub Evaluation Lead for the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub, she designed and oversees systems used to track performance, measure outcomes, and ensure consistency at scale. Her approach combines human-centered design with practical execution frameworks, operating in environments defined by ambiguity, constraints, and competing priorities.

Sankaran Mahadevan, PhD

Sankaran Mahadevan, PhD

Dr. Sankaran Mahadevan has over 35 years of expertise in reliability and risk analysis, decision-making under uncertainty, systems health monitoring, machine learning, and model verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (V&V and UQ). His research, supported by agencies such as NSF, NASA, FAA, DOE, DOT, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and major industry partners, has resulted in more than 350 journal articles, two textbooks, and significant contributions to engineering knowledge.

He has guided 56 Ph.D. dissertations and 24 M.S. theses and developed industry short courses on reliability and risk analysis. At Vanderbilt University, Dr. Mahadevan founded an NSF-funded multidisciplinary doctoral program in Reliability and Risk Engineering and Management, integrating expertise from 30 professors across engineering and business. He also leads a professional Master of Engineering program in Risk, Reliability, and Resilience Engineering.

Dr. Mahadevan earned his B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, his M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Read Dr. Mahadevan's full bio

Hussam Mahmoud, PhD

Hussam Mahmoud, PhD

Dr. Hussam Mahmoud is the Craig E. Philip Endowed Chair in Engineering and a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is also the director of the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate (VSEC), a National Geographic Explorer, and a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University. In his role as director of VSEC, he leads campus-wide, multidisciplinary collaborations and advances VSEC’s vision in research, education, innovative engagement, and global outreach. Dr. Mahmoud’s research focuses on sustainable and resilient infrastructure and communities, with an emphasis on developing detailed models to quantify damage to the built environment and infrastructure recovery as influenced by human behavior, supply chains, and socioeconomic policies. His recent work on assessing community vulnerability to wildfire is establishing a new paradigm for wildfire risk reduction across the United States.

Dr. Mahmoud is an international authority on infrastructure and community resilience and serves as an advisor to the World Bank, the International Science Council, the United Nations, insurance companies, and other agencies. He has authored over 350 publications and delivered more than 200 presentations at national and international venues and currently serves as the Chief Editor for the Resilience section of Frontiers in Sustainability. He has chaired and served on numerous committees including, the AAAS Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development, the New Voices of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Advisory Committee, the ASCE Committees on Fire Protection, and the ASCE Committee on Multi-hazard Mitigation. Dr. Mahmoud is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute and a recipient of numerous awards. He has been invited to attend and chair symposia and workshops convened by the U.S. National Academies, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. In 2026, he was selected by the leadership of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to serve on the international expert drafting group for the 2026 S20 Statement, “Strengthening Resilience to Natural Disasters through Emerging Technologies and International Collaboration,” coordinated by the NAS in its role as host of the 2026 G20 Summit. Dr. Mahmoud received his BS and MS in from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, all in civil engineering.

Read Dr. Mahmoud's full bio

Data Science and Analytics

Jesse Spencer-Smith, PhD

Jesse Spencer-Smith, PhD

Dr. Jesse Spencer-Smith is Director and Chief Data Scientist for the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt University, and is Professor of the Practice of Computer Science. He leads a team of data scientists and postdoctoral fellows who collaborate with researchers across the university and medical center and with industry partners, and teaches courses on artificial intelligence. He consults with researchers and business leaders on using, training and developing new AI models. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science from Indiana University, and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Florida. He was previously at HCA Healthcare for nine years, where as Director of Data Science he built the first data science team for the company and was charged with enabling data science across the enterprise through training, mentoring, skills assessments and consulting with business units on data science and AI preparedness. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he was an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Quantitative Methods and was a Beckman Fellow at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He was the founder of a software technology company that developed solutions for civil engineering.

Dana Zhang, PhD

Dana Zhang, PhD

Dr. Dana Zhang is is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Computer Science and a faculty member and advisor of the Data Science Institute. She serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the Online Masters program in Computer Science and leads research collaborations with industry and government entities as an instructor and data scientist with the DSI. She provided students with research directions and technical recommendations to process large-volume and unstructured data using models such as LLMs and led student teams to deliver replicable and cutting-edge research products for collaborators such as AllianceBernstein, Asurion, Bridgestone, and Centers for Disease Control. Over the last four years of teaching, she has taught over 20 different courses in computer science and data science and has supervised over 30 undergraduate and graduate students in independent research projects.

Radiation Effects in Electronics

Michael Alles, PhD

Michael Alles, PhD

Dr. Michael Alles is the Director of the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, which focuses on issues associated with using electronic devices in harsh environments. His research programs include theoretical and experimental study of radiation-response implication of materials and structures used in current and emerging advanced nano-scaled devices used for processing and memory applications, nano-scaled electro-mechanical applications, and new integration schemes such as used in 2.5/3D electronics integration.

Daniel Fleetwood, PhD

Daniel Fleetwood, PhD

Dr. Daniel Fleetwood received his Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University in 1984. He joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1984 and was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 1990. In 1999 Dan accepted a position as Professor of Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. From June 1, 2003, through June 30, 2020, he chaired the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. Since 2009, he is appointed Landreth Chair of Engineering. Dan is the author of ~600 publications on radiation effects in microelectronics, low-frequency noise, and defects in microelectronic devices and materials. He is the primary architect of the current testing flow for MOS devices in MIL-STD 883, Test Method 1019 and contributed significantly to establishing testing standard for linear bipolar devices. In 2009, he received the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society’s Merit Award, the society’s highest individual technical honor. Dan is a Fellow of the IEEE, American Physical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves as Senior Editor, Radiation Effects, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear and Distinguished Lecturers Chair, IEEE NPS.

Steven Kosier, PhD

Steven Kosier, PhD

Dr. Steven Kosier is a Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University and Associate Director for Business Development at the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE).  He joined the department full-time in January 2024.  New to academia, his career spans three decades in the semiconductor industry, holding various C-level roles in operations, technology, sales, and marketing for VTC Inc., PolarFab, Polar Semiconductor, Kanomax FMT, and SkyWater Technology.   Steve's research interests include radiation effects on wide-bandgap power devices, and the application of commercial off the shelf (COTS) parts in radiation environments.  Steve is a Senior Member of the IEEE, with over 30 publications and 16 US Patents.

Ronald Schrimpf, PhD

Ronald Schrimpf, PhD

Dr. Ronald Schrimpf is the Orrin H. Ingram Professor of Engineering and the founding Director of Vanderbilt’s Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE). Ron’s research activities focus on semiconductor device physics, particularly radiation effects and reliability in microelectronics and semiconductor devices. ISDE was formed in 2002 with the goal of applying the research conducted in Vanderbilt’s Radiation Effects and Reliability (RER) Group to the practical problems of companies and governmental organizations engaged in designing devices, integrated circuits, and systems for operation in radiation environments. The RER Group at Vanderbilt is the largest of its type at any US University. Ron has been a Principal Investigator for programs funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the U.S. Navy, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He has served as PI for two Multi-Disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) programs on radiation effects in electronics. He has published more than 500 papers in refereed journals, which have been cited more than 23,000 times. Ron received the Merit Award and the Early Achievement Award from the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society.

Brian Sierawski, PhD

Brian Sierawski, PhD

Dr. Brian Sierawski received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (12/11)from Vanderbilt University, M.S.E. in Computer Science and Engineering (4/04), and his B.S.E. in Computer Engineering (4/02) from the University of Michigan. Dr. Sierawski is a Research Associate Professor with Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE), where he works in the area of radiation effects modeling and test. Dr. Sierawski joined ISDE in 2005 and focuses on the proper operation of microelectronics in space environments. He developed and administers the CREME website for public access to space radiation environment models and error rate predictions, and maintains the MRED code for Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations. Additionally, he leads the development, assembly, and operation of small-satellite radiation effects experiments.

Andrew Sternberg, PhD

Andrew Sternberg, PhD

Dr. Andrew Sternberg received his B.S. in Engineering Science from Lipscomb University in 1999, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2003 and 2006 respectively. He works for the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) as a Research Engineer and has an appointment as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering department. Andrew’s research interests include single-event effect testing of devices and ICs using heavy-ions and pulsed lasers, modeling and simulation, analog and mixed-signal circuits, and embedded computing. Andrew has extensive experience with the test, simulation, and analysis of components and circuits in space and strategic radiation environments. He is author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications.

Arthur Witulski, PhD

Arthur Witulski, PhD

Dr. Arthur Witulski received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where his graduate work was in modeling the static and dynamic performance of resonant power converters. He is currently a Research Professor in ECE at Vanderbilt University and a researcher at the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE). His research interests include power electronics, power devices, and impacts of transistor-level radiation degradation on system performance. He has worked on power converters and device radiation modeling and testing projects for corporations and government agencies. He is interested in the effects of radiation on wide bandgap power devices such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride power transistors. He has been P.I. or Co-P.I. on many projects involving radiation effects on wide bandgap devices in the last decade, from both government and industry sponsors, including Co-P.I. of a NASA Early Stage Innovation (ESI) project on radiation effects on silicon carbide, and is now P.I. on a new NASA Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) silicon carbide radiation hardening program. He has also been P.I. of projects studying radiation effects on robots and C&DH boards in satellites. He is author or co-author of more than 180 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications with more than 5800 citations.