Dr. Dennis Merritt
Department Chair
Professor of Practice
Wilson Hall 109
(816) 271-5820
dmerritt1@missouriwestern.edu
Dr. Dennis Merritt
Department Chair
Professor of Practice
Office: Wilson Hall 109
Phone: (816) 271-5820
Email: dmerritt1@missouriwestern.edu
Dennis Merritt is an educator and industry leader with over 40 years of combined experience in manufacturing, machining and engineering education. He spent 20 years in a manufacturing machine shop, 22 years teaching Precision Machining and directing the Hillyard Technical Center, and the last 6 years teaching Manufacturing and Construction Engineering at MoWest. A former member of the Council of Occupational Education and an currently active community volunteer, Dennis is committed to advancing technical excellence, workforce readiness, and community development.
Shannin Mydland
Administrative Assistant
Wilson Hall
(816) 271-4293
smydland@missouriwestern.edu
Shannin Mydland
Administrative Assistant
Office: Wilson Hall
Office Phone: (816) 271-4293
Email: smydland@missouriwestern.edu
Goksu Avdan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Wilson Hall 191
(816) 271-4562
gavdan@missouriwestern.edu
Goksu Avdan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office: Wilson Hall 191
Email: gavdan@missouriwestern.edu
Phone: 816-271-4562
Dr. Goksu Avdan is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering at MoWest. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Science (Industrial and Quality Engineering) from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, and holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville and Istanbul Technical University. His research focuses on biomechanics, biomedical signal processing, wearable sensors and artificial intelligence to enhance ergonomics, human-robot collaboration, and healthcare systems.
He has published in journals such as Neural Computing and Applications, Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, and the Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering; as well as serving as a reviewer for high-impact outlets including npj Digital Medicine (Nature), Artificial Intelligence Review (Springer), and Scientific Reports (Nature).
Dr. Avdan has taught a wide range of courses with strong student evaluations, including Lean Production Systems, Engineering Materials, Dynamics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, CNC Machining Processes, Manufacturing Methods, Methods Design & Work Measurements, Technical Report Writing, and Programmable Logic Controllers. He is a member of IEEE and IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society.
Dr. Goksu Avdan supported the ABET accreditation efforts for the Construction Engineering Technology program, and the ABET visiting team’s initial feedback during the site visit was very positive. He further strengthened the program by enabling closed-loop continuous improvement efforts inspired by the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) framework. In parallel with these efforts, during Fall 2025, two student-led posters were presented through applied collaborations at the Multidisciplinary Research Day at Missouri Western State University. In an industry collaboration with Altec Industries, his student Haydn Richardson presented “Ergonomic Design and Validation of a Foldable Ladder for AOKI DM45/47 Operator Access,” and this work has also been accepted for presentation at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2026. In an interdisciplinary collaboration with the Department of Health Professions (Dr. Justin Kraft and Dr. Maureen Holtz), his student Zachary Catron presented “Effects of a Passive Neck Exoskeleton on NASA TLX, Perceived Fatigue, and Neck Pain During Milling and Lathe Operations.” In addition, he submitted a conference paper titled “Ergonomics Sensing in Industry 5.0 Human-Robot Collaboration: Current Trends and Future Directions” to the 11th North American International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. Also, during 2025, he published and disseminated research aligned with our commitment to applied, high-impact scholarship. His journal article, “IMU-Trans: Imputing Missing Motion Capture Data with Unsupervised Transformers,” was accepted in Neural Computing and Applications (Impact Factor: 4.5). He also published “Evaluating Worker Performance and Ergonomic Risks Using EMG and Kinematics: A MIMO Approach” in the Journal of Applied Research on Industrial Engineering in collaboration with Dr. Sohyung Cho (Kennesaw State University) and his graduate student. Additionally, he co-authored a conference proceedings paper with his student Kolby Scott Sweiger, “Bio-Based Neck Orthosis Design: Structural Comparison of Circular, Elliptical, and Honeycomb Patterns Using Finite Element Analysis,” which was presented at the 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Electrical, Electronics, and System Engineering (ICEESE). He also pursued external funding aligned with School and University goals by submitting an NSF Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) proposal, “ERI: Real-Time Multimodal Ergonomic Risk Prediction and Robotic Adaptation for Safety-Aware Human-Robot Collaboration,” to the ENG/CMMI M3X program; the proposal is currently pending. This project uses EMG and plantar pressure sensing to predict REBA scores during human-robot collaboration and enable real-time robot adaptation to reduce ergonomic risk, with a requested budget of $199,239.
Angela Caw
Professor of Practice
Wilson Hall 109
(816) 271-5820
acaw1@missouriwestern.edu
Angela Caw
Professor of Practice
Office: Wilson Hall 109
Phone: (816) 271-5820
Email: acaw1@missouriwestern.edu
Angela Caw is a full-time Professor of Practice in the Construction Engineering Technology program at MoWest; a role she began in 2024 after serving 10 years as an Adjunct Professor. She has 30 years of construction industry experience, with expertise in project management, quality assurance/quality control, and technical instruction. Angela also worked as a Project Manager/Scheduling Coordinator at CFS Engineers from 2019 to 2024 and holds multiple industry certifications including NICET Level III in Geotechnical – Construction.
Tiffany Davis
Professor of Practice
Wilson Hall 189
tdavis56@missouriwestern.edu
Tiffany Davis
Professor of Practice
B.S. Missouri Western State University
M.A.S. Missouri Western State University
Office: Wilson Hall 189
Email: tdavis56@missouriwestern.edu
Tiffany Davis, Professor of Practice, currently teaches: Construction Materials, Construction Management, Estimating, Statics, Engineering Statics, Construction Methods and Equipment, Financial Aspects of Engineering, Fluids and Hydraulics, and Contract Administration. She previously taught Mechanics of Materials and Surveying. She is proficient in utilization of all classroom aides, building student materials textbooks, publisher provided content, and researching different source information to combine into lecture and lab presentation. She also acts as a liaison with industry partners to enhance student learning through guest lecturers and field trip opportunities.
Her duties include mentoring students, including advising of all academic levels. She provides industry engagement and increases direct involvement with our industry partners as well as developing new courses and updating current courses to include new technology, such as BIM and using drones, to match the needs in the industry. She is currently a member of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, third year serving the University in this capacity, and a charter member of the Peer Observation Committee starting this fall.
In addition to her responsibilities at MoWest, she is also a guardsman in the Missouri Air National Guard as a Flight Engineer on the C120H. Her responsibilities there include pre and post flight inspections as well as the onboard system expert for all aircraft systems including hydraulics, electrical including AC and DC, and pneumatics. These areas of expertise, combined with her prior experience working for Summit Truck Bodies as a Manufacturing Process Engineer and Herzog Technologies Inc. as an Estimator give her a unique background and hands-on experience concerning all aspects of engineering technology.
Dr. Jinwen Zhu
Professor
Wilson Hall 110A
(816) 271-5822
jzhu@missouriwestern.edu
Dr. Jinwen Zhu
Professor
B.S., Southwest Jiaotong University
M.S., Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Office: Wilson Hall 110A
Office Phone: (816) 271-5822
Email: jzhu@missouriwestern.edu
Dr. Jinwen Zhu holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University. He has been a faculty member at MoWest since 2005, where he currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology.
Dr. Zhu’s teaching and research interests include electrical engineering, computer science applications, and space power systems. He has lead multiple NASA Missouri Space Grant projects focused on lunar construction technologies, sustainable energy for space exploration, and innovative student-driven design solutions. he has secured over $45,000 in external and internal research funding and actively mentors undergraduate students in research and conference presentations.
Part-Time Faculty
Roger Mapel
Part-Time Instructor of Construction
Wilson Hall 109
(816) 271-5820
rmapel@missouriwestern.edu
Roger Mapel
Part-Time Instructor of Construction
Office: Wilson Hall 109
Phone: (816) 271-5820
Email: rmapel@missouriwestern.edu
Roger Mapel is an experienced educator and construction professional with a strong background in architectural design, drafting, and project management. He currently teaches Architectural and Technical Drafting at Hillyard Technical Center, where he instructs high school and adult students in AutoCAD, 3D modeling, BIM, and related technologies.
Roger holds a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering Technology from Missouri Western State University and studied Architectural Engineering at Kansas State University. His career spans roles in teaching, code enforcement, project management with the Missouri Air National Guard, and architectural design through his own firm, RJ Mapel & Co. He is skilled in AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, ArcGIS, and Microsoft Office applications.
With over three decades of experience across education, code compliance, construction, and design, Roger combines technical expertise with a passion for developing the next generation of construction and engineering professionals.