Featured Faculty

Dr. Olles received an A.A.S in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Monroe Community College, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from RIT and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee focusing in propulsion. After graduation, he returned to RIT as a postdoctoral researcher in the bio-device laboratory in KGCOE. He was an Adjunct Lecturer at MCC and RIT followed by Clinical Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before returning to RIT in 2012 in his current role.

Olles’ research programs involve undergraduate and graduate students and span two primary focus areas: biomechanics and energetics with emphasis on highly engineered structural materials and additive manufacturing. His biomechanics research pairs undergraduate and graduate students with medical residents; the highly cross disciplinary collaborative work has been presented at national conferences and has appeared in clinically relevant surgical journals. His energetics work is funded through the Department of Defense and supports undergraduate and graduate students in conjunction with KGCOE. The energetics research program is recognized as being a pioneer in multiple areas and achieved milestones that are of critical importance to the Army. This work is disseminated through DoD controlled venues such as JANNAF conferences and journals as well as The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) in which five countries collaborate in defense scientific and technical information exchange. He is currently working on three collaborative projects funded and supported by grants and contracts from the Department of Defense and the US Army. This funding not only supports student researcher salaries but allows him to continue to be on the forefront of his fields of study ensuring he is a more effective educator in the classroom.

Dr. Olles is very student centered, encouraging and enabling undergraduate students to engage in NASA student competitions, traveling with his teams to historic NASA Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory for three years in a row. He is the RIT AIAA student chapter advisor and the RIT BAJA team co-advisor. Community involvement is important to him and he is currently leading a team of three undergraduate students in conjunction with a veterinarian at the Seneca Park Zoo to create a tiger enrichment device.

Mark Olles
Associate Professor
RIT College of Engineering Technology