Faculty and Staff

Dr. Kumon received his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in Physics with specialization in physical acoustics from The University of Texas at Austin. He subsequently worked as a research physicist at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (Materials Reliability Division), University of Windsor (Physics), Case Western Reserve University (Biomedical Engineering), and University of Michigan (Biomedical Engineering). 

Dr. Kumon's research interests are broadly themed around the use of ultrasound for materials characterization, diagnostic imaging, and therapeutic applications. In the biomedical arena, he has investigated high-frequency ultrasound for ex vivo characterization of breast cancer and endoscopic ultrasound for improved in vivo diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Kumon has also studied the mechanisms and bioeffects of sonoporation, the therapeutic use of ultrasound and microbubbles to enhance the delivery of drugs to cells, via fluorescence and high-speed brightfield microscopy.  His most recent work has investigated the effects of HIFU on cardiac electrophysiology using optical and infrared imaging.

Dr. Kumon’s teaching experience has ranged from introductory to upper-division physics courses, mentoring undergraduate and graduate research projects, and instructing radiology residents in the physics and technology of ultrasound.  He is currently the advisor for both sections of Kettering’s Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics Honor Society) chapters. He appreciates the dedication of Kettering students and faculty alike in their efforts to promote an environment for productive teaching and learning.

Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery (sonoporation)
Therapeutic High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)
Ultrasound imaging and tissue characterization for cancer diagnosis
Acoustical non-destructive evaluation and materials characterization
Nonlinear surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in crystalline and thin-film systems

Dr. Corneliu Rablau is an Associate Professor of Applied Physics at Kettering University and the Director of the Kettering University Photonics and Fiber Optics Lab, specializing in Applied Optics and Photonics/Opto-Electronics Materials and Devices. Dr. Rablau holds a BS in Engineering Physics from the University of Bucharest, and a MS and PhD in Physics from West Virginia University. Prior to joining the Applied Physics group at Kettering University, between 2000 and 2003, Dr. Rablau has served as a Sr. Fiber Optics Engineer at JDS Uniphase Corporation in San Jose, CA. Dr. Rablau's expertise includes characterization of optoelectronic semiconductor materials through such techniques as photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy, and design and characterization of photonic and fiber-optic materials and devices for various applications (such as optical communications, medical applications).

Here is more information on Dr. Rablau's lab:  http://www.kettering.edu/research/our-research-labs/photonics-lab

• Characterization of Optoelectronic Materials through Photoluminescence and Absorption Spectroscopy
• Nano-materials and nano-photonics 
• Optical Techniques for Measurement and Characterization - Optical Metrology
• Photonic/Fiber Optics Materials and Devices

Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, with expertise in Raman spectroscopy, optical and advanced characterization of electronic materials, nano-structured materials, and superconductors.

Roughani describes Kettering students as focused, career oriented, and application oriented. It is this focus on career and applications that he feels distinguishes a Kettering student from students at another college. He finds Kettering students are "motivated to learn by combining theory with application" and their work-integrated cooperative education experience makes them more aware of real-world problems.

Roughani originally came to Kettering to combine theory with practice and found that teaching at Kettering provided the opportunity to "draw from student's work experience in various courses." His favorite aspect of teaching at Kettering is that it gives him the "ability to tell students honestly that they have many choices after graduation, whether it is graduate school or a career."

In 2003, while working on a project on laser processing of an electronic material (SiC), three students involved in the project told Roughani that they had "smoked the sample" due to the high laser power used. However, after further investigation of these samples, he congratulated them for their good work. What the students first thought to be damaged samples was actually the discovery of a new method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes.

His advice to prospective students is "to prepare for the future you should try to experience work-integrated cooperative education, combine theory with practice, get involved in solving real world problems, and pursue a degree that gives you many options in the future."

Hidden talents and outside interests: When not leading the Physics Department, teaching courses, or researching Roughani enjoys sports, working out, learning new things, and reading.

• Electron Microscopy and surface analysis
• Electronics and Optical Materials characterization
• High temperature superconductor
• Laser processing of materials
• Nanotechnology: Carbon nanotube and artificial structures of semiconductors
• Raman spectroscopy and micro-Raman analysis 
• Systems modeling