Callie Miller faculty spotlight

By: Maegan Regula, Creative Services

“Your dreams and interests will take you farther than you know is possible.” These are the words of new JMU engineering professor, Callie Miller. A JMU graduate herself, Miller returned to campus equipped with a master’s in mathematics and a doctorate in bioengineering. She currently teaches classes including Sophomore Design 1 and 2, Statics and Dynamics and Engineering 101.

Her freshman year at JMU, Miller majored in both piano performance and physics. After taking a math class her first semester, she discovered a love for math that a physics degree wouldn’t satisfy and recognized that she could still enjoy playing the piano without majoring in it so she changed her major to mathematics.

A project researching biological proteins sparked her interest in bioengineering, and she began to challenge assumptions made by engineers concerning the mechanics of proteins. This led her to earn both her master’s and doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh.

Besides teaching, Miller also has some projects of her own. She started Multiscale Mechanics, a research group at JMU dedicated to applying numbers to biological observations and using computer simulations to examine the forces at work within cells.

In addition to the engineering program at JMU, Miller was also drawn here because of the people. She has found that the faculty highly value undergraduate education and the students are ambitious with great attitudes. 

Outside of teaching and her research projects, Miller spends time with her husband and two children. She has continued to play piano, although she finds less time to play it with her busy schedule. In her free time, Miller loves to sew, knit and quilt and has recently begun to teach herself calligraphy.