Engineering

Dr. Geoffrey Akers is a native of Eminence, MO, and joined the College in the fall of 2016 after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. He is a radar and survivability expert with over 20 years of experience in research, development, and testing of military systems, including four years of teaching and research experience at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Dr. Akers is a professional engineer licensed in Missouri and has 17 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published journal and conference papers.

Mr. Hanson joined the College in the fall of 2016 to oversee the creation of the Dee Ann White Engineering Center.  Mr. Hanson started his career overseeing the retrofit of nuclear power plant control rooms for Sargent & Lundy.  He then joined CNH, a world leader in agricultural equipment where he oversaw development of new technologies with responsibilities for world-wide cotton, sugar cane, and coffee harvester business.  He subsequently applied his passion for process improvement to an educational tutoring business and wireless access control company.  Mr. Hanson supervises student workers in the engineering and agricultural technology work stations.

Dr. Nowack joined College of the Ozarks as the first engineering faculty in 2015.  Following graduation from Penn State, he spent 20 years in the Air Force in a variety of engineering and technical management positions in the United States and Japan.  He subsequently consulted to a major defense contractor and then to government programs ranging from ground vehicles to air and space vehicles as well as design and manufacturing research.  He continues to consult in the areas of design methodology, vehicle automation, and engineering education.  He was on the faculty of the US Air Force Academy for five years and the advisory board for the East Carolina University engineering program.  He is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado and Missouri.

Professor Joshua Lippert joined College of the Ozarks in 2019 after 17 years in the geotechnical and environmental engineering fields.  Professor Lippert began his career in consulting, working on large commercial and industrial development projects in the Southeast, combining experience in site development, foundation design, subsurface investigations, and environmental regulations.  He then transitioned to the electric utility industry where he served as a principal engineer and manager focusing primarily on issues related to coal ash impoundment closures, solid waste facility design and operation, dam safety, and environmental regulations.  His passions for research and innovative engineering have been applied to the mission field through his service as director of engineering for a ministry providing engineering solutions to churches and missionaries in developing countries.  He is a licensed professional engineer in Alabama and Georgia and is a licensed professional geologist in Alabama.

Dr. Otey joined College of the Ozarks in 2019 after over 20 years at Texas A&M University, most recently in the Zachary Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  His prior teaching posts included Engineering Design Graphics Program and the Department of Agricultural Engineering.  Dr. Otey has co-authored textbooks on engineering graphics and has written papers in the areas of agricultural engineering, computer-aided design, and engineering education.  His consulting work includes industrial equipment installation and hydrology site analysis.  Dr. Otey is an U.S. Army veteran.

Mr. Caron joined College of the Ozarks in 2020 after a long career in the telecommunications field. During the span of 27 years with AT&T Bell Labs and its successor companies he worked across mechanical, electrical, software, and industrial engineering disciplines with a special focus on operations research applications. He had roles in both research and development and customer facing systems engineering organizations supporting tier-1 customers in both international and North American wireline and wireless markets.

Dr. Shelli Starrett grew up in Mansfield, MO, and joined the College in fall of 2022. After gaining her Ph.D, she joined the faculty of Kansas State University teaching and doing research in the areas of power systems and engineering education. She was a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship for graduate study and also an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. In 2017 she joined the faculty at LeTourneau University, teaching hands-on classes in which students-built 3D printers and other machines as well as designing building and programming creations of their own.