Cheryl Bodnar (Unversity of Pittsburgh) Although it is very important to develop competency within your specific discipline while in a college setting, the ability to guide students in how to approach an open ended problem, break it down to its components, and then go through the assumptions that can be made in order to reach a solution will help them significantly when they work within industry.
Kemper Lewis (SUNY, Buffalo) I try to pass on certain practices, including discipline, commitment, character, and integrity that will help the students beyond their own engineering competencies. I instill in them that persistence brings about character and character will increase the impact a student can make over his or her lifetime.
Yusuf Mehta (Rowan University) When my students are struggling, the most important thing I tell them is to keep trying at the face of adversity. I want to teach them to think and not be discouraged if they do not get the “right” answer the first time. Real learning happens when things are difficult.
Michael Senra (Lafayette College) I think the best benefit of being a member of ASEE is being a member of a community where people from all different majors from a variety of institution types come together and are excited about teaching – and more importantly – about exchanging ideas about best practices and improving the quality of our graduates. Although what works at a small college such as Lafayette may not exactly fit at a large state university and vice versa, ASEE provides a means for these people to come together and learn from one another and modify these ideas for appropriate implementation elsewhere.
Jeff LaBelle (Arizona State University) I believe the best way (to balance teaching and research) is to weave both together. I can teach someone about antibody-antigen interactions AND show them how to build a sensor to measure them. Mix the math with wet chemistry! Practice-based learning mixed with old school didactic education plus weave in industry and clinical needs and standards.
Kerry Meyers (Youngstown State University) I realized just how different engineering education can be from professional practice, which is why it is my goal to help students find their pathway through engineering to a professional career of their interest where they can make positive contributions to the community and society as a whole.
Bing Hu (University of Maryland, College Park) I was drawn to a career in engineering education because of the freedom to do fundamental and applied research and a strong desire to share my knowledge with students.
Roman Yampolskiy (University of Louisville) The engineering curriculum can be challenging, but talented students don’t need very much encouragement; they are good at what they do and are very independent. Give them a cool project to work on and they are hooked!
Dimitris E. Anagnostou (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) I want to motivate students to be interested in “why” things happen and “how” things work, versus memorizing and taking things for granted without getting down to the fundamentals. As an educator, I have the opportunity to live and work in a dynamic environment full of young driven people who help me become a better teacher year after year.
Smitesh Bakrania (Rowan University) One of my favorite professors approached me and suggested, “Smitesh, you might want to consider teaching as a career. You have a knack for visually explaining things.” Suddenly everything fit. I realized being an educator will combine all that I cherish about engineering and draw from my strengths.
Sharon Weiss (Vanderbilt University) As an engineering educator, I have been able to bridge the gap between fundamental topics traditionally taught in the classroom and emerging technologies whose development is possible through an understanding of those concepts.
George Youssef (California State University, Northridge) I try to integrate teaching and research by bringing lessons learned and research outcomes from the lab to the lecture room. I view being a good teacher requires me to be a good researcher.
Adam Hollinger (Pennsylvania State University, Erie) I value personal interaction with each of the students in my courses, and I am very intentional about fostering interaction with students. Students find me very approachable, and this naturally leads to questions and conversations outside of class where I have the opportunity to mentor students.
Steven Marra (Johns Hopkins University) When a student comes to me wondering if all of the hard work is worth it, I remind them of the extreme versatility of an engineering degree. I tell them about the world of opportunities that an engineering degree unlocks. I tell them about friends and colleagues and the joys that engineering has brought to them. And I tell them about my own struggles as a student and how glad I am that I persisted.
Carolyn Seepersad (University of Texas, Austin) I incorporate hands-on activities in many of my lectures, bring physical products as demos to many of my classes, and encourage students to pursue challenging and relevant course projects.
Jason Hicks (Notre Dame) I structure my lectures on the engineering fundamentals and provide direct applications as examples, homework problems, and projects. I think employers do a good job of recognizing students that know how to think through problems using fundamentals.
Tonya Nilsson (Santa Clara University) During my Ph.D., I was fortunate to have an advisor who valued teaching and supported my efforts to learn about pedagogy. After my first year as a tenured-track faculty member, I was lucky enough to attend the ExCEEd teaching workshops, which allowed me to make huge leaps in my teaching ability and were a jumping off point for my own interest in improving engineering education.
Jeff Hieb (University of Louisville) I usually try to set aside specific times that are for research, regardless of my teaching obligations. You can balance both teaching and research, but one of them will always be “more important” than the other, and for me teaching takes precedent. However, I do leave time in my schedule for research and I always remind myself how nice it is to share my research experiences with students in my classes.
Annmarie Thomas (University of St. Thomas) I consider myself lucky that I get to work with both PK-12 educators and engineering undergraduates. For both of these groups, I try to share how to approach challenges with a full "toolbox" of techniques and knowledge, but also with curiosity and playfulness.
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali (University of New Haven) I think my passion for my chosen profession comes through in my teaching and my attitude on a day to day basis – I see what I do as my way of imparting change and impacting the world we all live in.
Michelle Soupir (Iowa State University) I am able to bring current examples of projects that I am working on for my research to the classroom, and I often use data from research projects as homework problems. I think the students appreciate the connection between classroom content and current research.
Lola Eniola-Adefeso (University of Chicago, University of Michigan) I let my students know every minute they are in my classroom the importance of why they need to be there in terms of their future and (frankly) the future of our nation.
Eric Ledet (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) When students are struggling for motivation, I often discuss with them the difference between performance in a class (i.e. grades) and learning, suggesting they focus on learning the material and less on grades.
Cheryl Bodnar (Unversity of Pittsburgh) Although it is very important to develop competency within your specific discipline while in a college setting, the ability to guide students in how to approach an open ended problem, break it down to its components, and then go through the assumptions that can be made in order to reach a solution will help them significantly when they work within industry.
Kemper Lewis (SUNY, Buffalo) I try to pass on certain practices, including discipline, commitment, character, and integrity that will help the students beyond their own engineering competencies. I instill in them that persistence brings about character and character will increase the impact a student can make over his or her lifetime.
Yusuf Mehta (Rowan University) When my students are struggling, the most important thing I tell them is to keep trying at the face of adversity. I want to teach them to think and not be discouraged if they do not get the “right” answer the first time. Real learning happens when things are difficult.
Michael Senra (Lafayette College) I think the best benefit of being a member of ASEE is being a member of a community where people from all different majors from a variety of institution types come together and are excited about teaching – and more importantly – about exchanging ideas about best practices and improving the quality of our graduates. Although what works at a small college such as Lafayette may not exactly fit at a large state university and vice versa, ASEE provides a means for these people to come together and learn from one another and modify these ideas for appropriate implementation elsewhere.
Jeff LaBelle (Arizona State University) I believe the best way (to balance teaching and research) is to weave both together. I can teach someone about antibody-antigen interactions AND show them how to build a sensor to measure them. Mix the math with wet chemistry! Practice-based learning mixed with old school didactic education plus weave in industry and clinical needs and standards.
Kerry Meyers (Youngstown State University) I realized just how different engineering education can be from professional practice, which is why it is my goal to help students find their pathway through engineering to a professional career of their interest where they can make positive contributions to the community and society as a whole.
Bing Hu (University of Maryland, College Park) I was drawn to a career in engineering education because of the freedom to do fundamental and applied research and a strong desire to share my knowledge with students.
Roman Yampolskiy (University of Louisville) The engineering curriculum can be challenging, but talented students don’t need very much encouragement; they are good at what they do and are very independent. Give them a cool project to work on and they are hooked!
Dimitris E. Anagnostou (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) I want to motivate students to be interested in “why” things happen and “how” things work, versus memorizing and taking things for granted without getting down to the fundamentals. As an educator, I have the opportunity to live and work in a dynamic environment full of young driven people who help me become a better teacher year after year.
Smitesh Bakrania (Rowan University) One of my favorite professors approached me and suggested, “Smitesh, you might want to consider teaching as a career. You have a knack for visually explaining things.” Suddenly everything fit. I realized being an educator will combine all that I cherish about engineering and draw from my strengths.
Sharon Weiss (Vanderbilt University) As an engineering educator, I have been able to bridge the gap between fundamental topics traditionally taught in the classroom and emerging technologies whose development is possible through an understanding of those concepts.
George Youssef (California State University, Northridge) I try to integrate teaching and research by bringing lessons learned and research outcomes from the lab to the lecture room. I view being a good teacher requires me to be a good researcher.
Adam Hollinger (Pennsylvania State University, Erie) I value personal interaction with each of the students in my courses, and I am very intentional about fostering interaction with students. Students find me very approachable, and this naturally leads to questions and conversations outside of class where I have the opportunity to mentor students.
Steven Marra (Johns Hopkins University) When a student comes to me wondering if all of the hard work is worth it, I remind them of the extreme versatility of an engineering degree. I tell them about the world of opportunities that an engineering degree unlocks. I tell them about friends and colleagues and the joys that engineering has brought to them. And I tell them about my own struggles as a student and how glad I am that I persisted.
Carolyn Seepersad (University of Texas, Austin) I incorporate hands-on activities in many of my lectures, bring physical products as demos to many of my classes, and encourage students to pursue challenging and relevant course projects.
Jason Hicks (Notre Dame) I structure my lectures on the engineering fundamentals and provide direct applications as examples, homework problems, and projects. I think employers do a good job of recognizing students that know how to think through problems using fundamentals.
Tonya Nilsson (Santa Clara University) During my Ph.D., I was fortunate to have an advisor who valued teaching and supported my efforts to learn about pedagogy. After my first year as a tenured-track faculty member, I was lucky enough to attend the ExCEEd teaching workshops, which allowed me to make huge leaps in my teaching ability and were a jumping off point for my own interest in improving engineering education.
Jeff Hieb (University of Louisville) I usually try to set aside specific times that are for research, regardless of my teaching obligations. You can balance both teaching and research, but one of them will always be “more important” than the other, and for me teaching takes precedent. However, I do leave time in my schedule for research and I always remind myself how nice it is to share my research experiences with students in my classes.
Annmarie Thomas (University of St. Thomas) I consider myself lucky that I get to work with both PK-12 educators and engineering undergraduates. For both of these groups, I try to share how to approach challenges with a full "toolbox" of techniques and knowledge, but also with curiosity and playfulness.
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali (University of New Haven) I think my passion for my chosen profession comes through in my teaching and my attitude on a day to day basis – I see what I do as my way of imparting change and impacting the world we all live in.
Michelle Soupir (Iowa State University) I am able to bring current examples of projects that I am working on for my research to the classroom, and I often use data from research projects as homework problems. I think the students appreciate the connection between classroom content and current research.
Lola Eniola-Adefeso (University of Chicago, University of Michigan) I let my students know every minute they are in my classroom the importance of why they need to be there in terms of their future and (frankly) the future of our nation.
Eric Ledet (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) When students are struggling for motivation, I often discuss with them the difference between performance in a class (i.e. grades) and learning, suggesting they focus on learning the material and less on grades.
