Dr. Charles Roche

Assistant Professor of Practice

Western New England University

Dr. Roche has been dedicated to serving NAFEMS since 1999 and now serves on the NASC and the Composites Working Group boards. He is now full-time in academia teaching mechanical engineering courses. For both undergraduate and graduate courses, his strength is in solid mechanics and design. In his prior tenure, he worked in the gas turbine industry for 28 years in structural analysis and testing. His last position at Pratt & Whitney was as the structures integration manager overseeing about 19,000 engines in the commercial fleet. He has contracted with United Technologies Research Center, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Test Devices in Hudson, MA, Raytheon Data Systems, Teradyne Connection Systems, Cordell Engineering, and several research institutions. He is the recipient of several US and international patents, all related to gas turbine technology.

Dr. Roche has also taught in an adjunct position at the University of Connecticut, the University of Hartford, and Central Connecticut State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Lowell, his master’s at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his PhD at the University of Connecticut. He maintains his PE license in New Hampshire.