Panelist: Johnathon Barbish

After graduating from Virginia Tech, Johnathon (John) Barbish taught at Virginia Tech (VT) for a year as an instructor, and is now a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University (JMU). JMU is an R2 institution with an engineering department which offers an engineering degree with recently introduced concentrations. As a visiting faculty member, his job responsibilities are teaching focused. He has co-taught three courses in the Fall semester. In the spring semester, he is teaching 4 classes: 2 sections of Materials and Mechanics, and 2 sections of Engineering Design II. For research, his work examines the driven and stochastic dynamics of microscale devices immersed in fluid. While at JMU, he is also learning how to incorporate and mentor undergraduate students into his research efforts to prepare for a tenured-track position. As the visiting appointment is temporary, he is balancing his teaching responsibilities with finishing up research with his PhD advisor, developing his own research direction, and applying to jobs.