Rate My Professor Chean Chin Ngo

Dr. Chean Chin Ngo is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Interim Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Fullerton, where he previously served as Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 2006, after completing postdoctoral research there. Ngo joined California State University, Fullerton as Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering in August 2015, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017, and advanced to Professor thereafter. His expertise lies in thermal sciences, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mechanical engineering education. Office: CS-503A; Phone: (657) 278-7161.

Ngo's publications include early contributions such as "Teaching Thermodynamics With The Aid Of Web Based Module" (ASEE Annual Conference, 2001, with Feng C. Lai), "Web Based Thermodynamics Wizard" (ASEE Annual Conference, 2002, with Feng C. Lai), and "A Web Based Measurement Lab For Thermal Science" (ASEE). Recent works focus on engineering curricula: "Current Trends of Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Curricula in California" (ASME IMECE, 2019) and "Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Education in the United States" (ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, 2020, with Sang June Oh). In 2024, he became co-director of the SpaceIgnite Center for Advanced Research-Education in Combustion (SPARC Center), awarded a nearly $5 million five-year NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MIRO) grant. Partnering with Clemson University, University of Washington, and NASA Glenn Research Center, the center develops aerospace courses (e.g., space technology, propulsion, combustion), offers research in high-pressure combustion, supercritical fluid mixing, and water reclamation for space missions, and provides internships and pathways for underrepresented STEM students from community colleges to doctoral programs. Ngo contributes to university governance via the Fullerton Forward Strategic Plan Development Committee, Academic Senate, program performance reviews, ABET accreditation, and high-impact practices.