Dr. Terrence L. Chambers currently serves as Associate Professor and Director of the Louisiana Solar Technologies Applied Research and Testing (START) Lab. Prior to that appointment he served as Associate Dean of Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for six years. He has taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department for 17 years, and served for one year as the Interim Department Head. His research interests include engineering design and optimization, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and alternative energy. He is the author of numerous technical and pedagogical papers, and has been awarded roughly three million dollars in externally funded research grants. He regularly teaches classes in the areas of 3D Solid Modeling, Numerical Methods, Finite Element Analysis, and Design Optimization. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Louisiana.