School of Engineering Home
Favorites ()
Apply
St. Thomas Arches

Centers of Excellence

Our School of Engineering's Centers of Excellence partner with industry and educators to advance skills development in technology with practical, hands-on training for today's and tomorrow's workforce. We collaborate and form working partnerships in education and industry to support and advance STEM technology in the Twin Cities metro area and beyond.

Our Centers of Excellence

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing is dedicated to supporting the United States manufacturing industry with applied research and workforce development programs.

The Center for Appiled Artificial Intelligence is a place for industry to work on practical issues in data science in collaboration with the professors and graduate students of the University of St. Thomas.

The Center for Engineering Education prepares future and current PK-12 educators to teach STEM education with an emphasis on engineering and to increase students' engineering literacy in an ever-changing and complex world.

The Center for Microgrid Research is dedicated to improving the reliability and resiliency of our electric grid. Through our educational programs, research, and partnerships, we are building the human and operational capacity needed for the 21st century grid.

The St. Thomas Applied and Renewable Technology Center works with start-ups and supports regional corporations to advance new technologies.

More information on the START Center coming soon!

Associated Center Directors

Dr. John Wentz headshot

Dr. John Wentz

Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing

Dr. John Wentz is an associate professor in the mechanical engineering department and Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

Dr. John Wentz
Dr. Manjeet Rege headshot

Dr. Manjeet Rege

Director of the Center for Applied AI

Dr. Manjeet Rege is an AI expert, professor, Chair of the Software Engineering and Data Science department, and Director for the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at St. Thomas.

Dr. Manjeet Rege
Kelsey Irizarry

Kelsey Irizarry

Director of the Center for Engineering Education

Kelsey Irizarry is an experienced educator and facilitator who helps lead and coach educators on best practices for implementing educational technology and STEAM. 
Kelsey Irizarry
Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan headshot

Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan

Director of the Center for Microgrid Research

Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and the Founding Director of the Center for Microgrid Research at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan
Dr. Kundan Nepal headshot

Dr. Kundan Nepal

Director of the START Center

Dr. Kundan Nepal is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the St. Thomas Applied and Renewable Technology (START) Center.
Dr. Kundan Nepal