Dr. Barakat is currently serving as a Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Barakat is a professionally registered engineer in Ontario, Canada, a Fulbright Specialist, and is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Dr. Barakat holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University, Ontario, and a Master Degree from Concordia University, Canada. He is also the recipient of multiple awards including the ASME Edwin Church Medal (2020), ASME McDonald Mentoring Award (2014), ASME Dedicated Service Award (2011), and GVSU Distinguished Early-Career Award (2010). Dr. Barakat has served in many leadership positions for professional organizations such as ASME and ASEE. Dr. Barakat is also a program evaluator for ABET, currently serving as ABET commissioner, and a consultant for engineering programs development and evaluation under other systems. Dr. Barakat is an active consultant who is currently collaborating with international teams of professionals from academia and industry to build capacity and education programs in areas such as: Engineering Leadership, Engineering Ethics, Professionalism, Societal Impact of Technology, Curriculum Development, and Communication. Dr. Barakat expertise and interest include also the areas of Mechatronics, Control, Robotics, Automation, and Nanotechnology Education. Dr. Barakat contributed with multiple workshops during multiple EDUCON meetings and the TALE meeting in New Zealand.