Mike Essl A'96 was a partner at the award-winning design firm The Chopping Block, Inc., which he cofounded in 1996 with a fellow graduate of the Cooper Union. During his six years with the firm, Essl's clients included Sony, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, MTV, Intel, Microsoft, Roadrunner Records, the band They Might Be Giants, and the rapper Warren G. After receiving his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Essl went on to work for Columbia University, Chronicle Books, and DC Comics.

Essl has taught at Parsons School of Design, School of the Visual Arts, and is now an Associate Professor at the Cooper Union. Essl's work has been recognized in numerous publications and by the AIGA and the Art Directors Club. In 2003 his work with the Chopping Block was featured in the National Design Triennial. Essl was recently a juror for PDN Pix magazine as well as ID magazine's Media Design review. He also loves Mr. T.

Jennifer Packer received her BFA from the Tyler School of Art in 2007 and her MFA from Yale University in 2012. She was a 2012-2013 Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem and a Visual Arts Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, from 2014- 2016. Her work was most recently featured in two major solo exhibitions: The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing, a 10-year survey at the Serpentine Galleries in London and Whitney Museum of American Art, and Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep at LA MOCA. Her first solo institutional exhibition, Tenderheaded, was shown at the Renaissance Society in Chicago in 2017 and at the Rose Museum at Brandeis University. Her work was included in the 2019 Whitney Biennial and P.5 - Prospect New Orleans (2021).

Professor Davis is an expert in sustainable chemical process design - the study of how to model and create safe, efficient, and environmentally-friendly manufacturing facilities.  He has published on identifying performance limits for networks of batch-wise (time-dependent) chemical reactors and on modeling and assessing the sustainability of corporations.

His research work is currently focused on sustainability assessment, sustainable process design (the economic, environmental, and social impacts of manufacturing or energy generation facilities), bioprocess design, biofuels, and operations research.  He teaches three required courses for chemical engineering undergraduate students regularly: Material and Energy Balances, Process Simulation and Mathematical Techniques for ChEs, and Process Evaluation and Design II.  Based on his research experience, he has offered elective courses on Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering, Convex Optimization Techniques, and Sustainability and Pollution Prevention.

Professor Davis has been an active member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) since 2004 and has given many presentations at their Annual Meetings.  He has been a member of the Education Division of AIChE since it began and has served as Secretary/Treasurer, 2nd Vice-Chair, Vice-Chair, and Chair of the division.

Professor Davis has been at Cooper Union since his graduation from UCLA in 2009 with his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.  He is originally from Grand Island, NY and received his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University.  His hobbies include board games, brewing beer, and ultimate frisbee.

See Professor Davis's faculty page here.

See Professor Davis's full CV here.

Dr. Kamau Wright holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics from Drexel University, specializing in thermo-fluids and plasma engineering. He uses electrical energy to generate plasma – the 4th state of matter – as classified by its energetic state compared to solids, liquids, and gases. His technical research interests include application of low temperature plasma (LTP) discharges to liquids and wastewaters; plasma decomposition of carbon dioxide (CO2); fouling mitigation for heat exchangers; oxidation of organic matter in water; and inactivation of pathogens using plasmas. His research activity has been funded in part through award of two NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium proposals, which he also used to facilitate undergraduate and graduate students through faculty-mentored research.

Dr. Wright has taught a range of courses, including thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and plasma engineering. His engineering education research interests encompass data-driven assessment of various pedagogical approaches such as collaborative learning and inquiry-based learning. He is also an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). His publication activity includes numerous peer-reviewed journal and conference publications. 

Wright received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and mechanics from Drexel University. From there, he served as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, and as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Hartford, in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Acoustical Engineering. Wright is a Brooklyn, NY native. Outside of the classroom, when he is not conducting research as part of his Thermo-fluid, Energy and Plasma Lab Group, he hopes to eventually identify good opportunities (when the appropriate pandemic-safe time comes) to play pick-up basketball games in and around New York City.

“I am excited to be a part of the re-imagining of Cooper’s future, rooted in the ideals of its founding, the possibilities of tomorrow, and the hearts and minds of the talented Cooper students, alumni, prospective students, faculty, staff, administrators, and greater New York City community – all those who hold this institution most dear. If you are interested in research related to plasmas, thermo-fluids, and/or energy, feel free to reach out. I look forward to using my teaching, research, and service, to make meaningful contributions as part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and the greater communities in which we thrive.”