Dr. Taraman joined LTU in 1986 and served as Dean and Associate Dean of Engineering.  He is currently the DIT Chair of Manufacturing Engineering and Director of Manufacturing Systems Graduate Programs (DEMS and MEMS).  He earned a BSME in 1964 and a MSME in 1967 from Ain Shams University in Egypt, a MSME in 1969 from University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. in 1971 from Texas Tech University.   He devoted 35 years to manufacturing engineering education.   He spearheaded two graduate programs at LTU: the Master of Engineering in 1989 and the Doctor of Engineering in 2002.

Prior to joining LTU, he was a professor at the University of Detroit for 16 years, where he was Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Institute and ME Chairman.   He served as a Senior Technical Consultant of several companies such as Bendix, Ford Motor Co., and GE.   Dr. Taraman has supervised more than 100 graduate students who obtained their Master and Doctorate of Engineering under his direction at GM, Ford, Bendix, Chrysler, Westinghouse, GE, and DaimlerChrysler. He served on the International Board of Editors, Computer Integrated Manufacturing Journal, and an editor of the Manufacturing Systems Journal.   He served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Michigan Technology Council, and the Society of Machine Intelligence.   He contributed to the National Academy of Engineering and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He served as the President of the Pacific Congress on Manufacturing & Management (PCMM) for 12 years (1990-2002).  Dr. Taraman has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Council on Engineering and Technology Education (INTERTECH) since 1990 and the SME Education Foundation since 1992.  In 2002 Dr. Taraman founded the Global Congress on Manufacturing and Management (GCMM).

Dr. Taraman has published 112 papers and 2 books on Computer Aided Manufacturing. He has made more than 270 presentations on six continents.   He received several international honors and awards for his distinguished contributions to engineering education and industry including, the 1985 President's Award for Education & Research, the 1988 Educator of the Year, SME Region VII, California, SME Fellow in 1991, Outstanding Industrial Engineer, Texas Tech Engineering Academy in 1991, the International Siegel Award for Significant and Unique Contributions to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1998, and the Outstanding Education Leadership Award in 1999 and 2000, World Congress on Engineering & Technology Education Excellence Award 2004 and 2005.