Skip to main content
arc logo
Automotive Research Center
hero image

Center Leadership

The ARC Director is responsible for the leadership and administration of the center. The center also has an Executive Committee (ExCom) that reviews and approves research projects in ARC’s portfolio.

Dr. Bogdan Epureanu

Dr. Bogdan Epureanu
ARC Director and ExCom Chair, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, U of M

Dr. David Gorsich

Dr. David Gorsich
ExCom Member, Chief Scientist, U.S. Army GVSC

Dr. Kira Barton

Dr. Kira Barton
ARC Associate Director and ExCom Member, Professor, U of M

Dr. Ram Vasudevan

Dr. Ram Vasudevan
ARC Associate Director and ExCom Member, Associate Professor, U of M

Dr. Robert Sadowski

Dr. Robert Sadowski
ExCom Member, Chief Roboticist U.S. Army GVSC

Dr. Philip A Frederick

Dr. Philip A Frederick
ExCom Member, Deputy Chief Scientist U.S. Army GVSC

Dr. Mark Brudnak

Dr. Mark Brudnak
ExCom Member, Senior Technical Expert for GVSC’s Immersive Simulation Directorate, U.S. Army GVSC

Dr. Zoran Filipi

Dr. Zoran Filipi
ExCom Member, Timken Endowed Chair in Vehicle System Design, Clemson University

Dr. Tulga Ersal

Dr. Tulga Ersal
ARC Chief Scientist
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, U of M

Dr. Alauddin Ahmed

Dr. Alauddin Ahmed
ARC Principal Scientist
Assistant Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering, U of M

External Review Board

The ARC leadership receives input critical for long term and strategic decisions as well as individual project evaluations from an External Review Board (ERB) that consists of distinguished researchers from academia, government, and industry.

Dr. Susan Adams
ERB Member, Manager of Applied Cognitive Science Group, Sandia National Labs

Dr. Jian Cao
ERB Member, Cardiss Collins Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University

Dr. Cinzia Cirillo
ERB Member, Interim Director, Maryland Transportation Institute, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland

Dr. Reza Langari
ERB Member, JR Thompson Department Head Chair, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University

Dr. Raju Namburu
ERB Member, Chief Technology Officer, Sr. Scientific & Technical Manager, Info. Technology Lab., US Army Engineer Research & Development Center

Mr. Reid Steiger
ERB Member, Technical Expert in Automated Driving, Ford Motor Company

Industry Advisory Board

Mr. Andrew Bayley
Vice President Performance Materials, BASF

Dr. Dipankar Choudhury
Vice President Research, Ansys

Mr. Christopher Davey
Sr. Tech. Leader & Manager – Vehicle Controls & Systems, Ford

Dr. Paul Fanson
Senior Manager, Toyota

Dr. Tim Frazier
Vice President Research and Technology, Cummins

Dr. David Gorsich
Chief Scientist – US Army GVSC, Army Futures Command

Mr. Nand Kochhar
Vice President Automotive & Transportation, Siemens Digital Industries

Dr. Victor Oancea
Sr. Technology Director, Dassault Systems

Mr. Scott Redman
Director of Global Supply Chain, Lockheed Martin

Mr. Jim Tung
MathWorks Fellow, MathWorks

GVSC Thrust Area Leads

The ARC activities are coordinated with our government partners. GVSC Thrust Area Leads spearhead the transition of technologies developed in the ARC to the U.S. Army. They also provide advisory opinions to the ExCom regarding projects and initiatives. Link to biographies.

Thrust Area 1 Co-Leaders: Dr. Jonathon Smereka and Dr. Paramsothy (Jay) Jayakumar

Thrust Area 2 Leader: Mr. Victor Paul

Thrust Area 3 Leader: Dr. Katie Sebeck

Thrust Area 4 Co-Leaders: Dr. Peter Schihl and Dr. Vamshi Korivi

Thrust Area 5 Co-Leaders: Dr. Matt Castanier and Dr. Steve Rapp

Previous ARC Leaders

Dr. Panos Palambros

Prof. Panos Papalambros
ARC Founding Director (1994-2002)

Dr. Walter Bryzik

Dr. Walter Bryzik
Government Leader (1994-2007)

Dr. Dennis Assanis

Prof. Dennis Assanis
ARC Director (2002-2009)

Dr. Zoran Filipi

Prof. Zoran Filipi
ARC Assistant Director (2002-2009), ARC Deputy Director (2009-2011)

Dr. Anna Stefanopoulou

Prof. Anna Stefanopoulou
ARC Director (2010-2018)

Dr. Dawn Tilbury

Prof. Dawn Tilbury
ARC Deputy Director (2011-2013)

Dr. Andre Boehman

Prof. Andre Boehman
ARC Deputy Director (2014-2020)