Team

Jennifer Atchison – Chair (2020 – Present), Drexel University

Dr. Atchison is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Senior Design Coordinator in the Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics Department at Drexel University. She completed her Post-Doctoral studies at the INM Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbruecken Germany, where she exercised her entrepreneurial muscles in the INM-Innovation Center leading a small team on a pilot project to scale-up a custom designed needless electrospinning process for depositing conductive transparent nanofiber webs on roll to roll system. Her work resulted in a patent and was featured at the 2017 Hannover Messe, in Hannover Germany and the 2017 International Exhibition and Conference for the Printed Electronics Industry (LOPEC) in Munich, Germany.

Jennifer completed her Ph.D. at Drexel University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2012 under the supervision of Professor Caroline Schauer and she is an avid hiker and singer.

Marcus Besser – Secretary/Former Chair (2019 – 2020), Penn State Abington

Marcus Besser is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Penn State University Abington College In Abington, PA. He completed his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering at Drexel University. Marc did post-doctoral training in Rehabilitation Engineering at the University of Michigan. Current research interests include walkway slip resistance (especially barefoot), and gait indicators of increased risk of falls in older populations.

Marc has been an ASME member since 1991 and was a student member before that (University of Michigan) since about 1979. 

Nikhil Menezes – Former Chair (2017 – 2019), Atlantic Sub-Sea

Nikhil is currently working for Atlantic Subsea, Inc. a marine construction services company as Staff Engineer (Mechanical – Marine). Nikhil graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. He served as the section Secretary from 2016 -2017.

Nikhil is actively involved with attracting young professionals and cross collaborates with the section outreach. He is also a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers. (ASHRAE)

Arulselvi Selvaraja – Outreach Director, LCT

Selvi is a Mechanical Engineer at Load Control Technologies. She is one of the newest members in the Philadelphia section (2018) and graduated with her Master’s degree from Drexel University (2019). She is passionate about bringing together the local student sections and the engineers in the area to foster active collaboration, and promoting programs on impact-based engineering. During her free time, you will find her writing poems, taking pictures, and fussing over mangas.  

Dean Cave – Treasurer, Lockheed Martin

Dean has been active in the ASME Philadelphia Section since 1990.  He was chair of the Section back in 1996.  Much has changed over the years, but Dean believes that the Section has maintained its mission to provide outreach in the way of local programs for its members, and for financial and volunteer support for university level and K-12 projects.  To provide this support has been an amazing way to connect with the outstanding local colleges and universities in our area.  Dean has seen many motivated members bring their ideas to the Section, and witnessed the Section providing resources to translate the ideas into action.  Dean has recently be serving as Section treasurer.  Dean is a senior staff systems engineer for Lockheed Martin, working in Valley Forge, PA.