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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

Dr. Joe Salacuse is professor of mathematics. His area of interest is computational physics which includes molecular dynamic simulation of atomic and molecular systems in the fluid state to obtain equilibrium thermodynamic and structural properties of a substance. His most recent efforts involve comparing simulation results with real experimental results as a means of better understanding the interaction forces in a simple fluid such as krypton. Dr. Salacuse has published or presented several papers.

Fluid systems

Atomic/molecular modeling

Computer simulation