I always loved science and engineering - science allows us to explore theoretical limits of knowledge while engineering gives us a chance to create something people use in their everyday lives. As a professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science I am in a unique position to pursue both of my passions and to share the joys of science and engineering with hundreds of students.
My students enjoy that I give them challenging real-world problems to work on, the freedom to decide on the tools to use to get the projects done, and an opportunity to publish their results. I also suspect that my good sense of humor and sense of fairness is appreciated both by students and colleagues alike. I try to provide students with problems similar to the ones they will encounter in the real world and I try to give them maximum freedom to decide on how to solve such problems and with what tools. I think that it is not my job to restrict them in what they do, but rather to help them if they get stock.
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! Some students need more support, encouragement, and guidance and nothing makes me happier than to see a struggling student work really hard and earn a solid grade in my course.
Staying on the cutting edge
Keeping up with the changing demands of the employers of students requires me to stay on the cutting edge of technology and even advance it at times. I read at least one new research paper every day and try to predict major technological trends for the next 5, 10, and even 20 years. As an instructor for an Artificial Intelligence course I constantly update my materials and incorporate recent research advances into my lectures and assignments.
Balancing professional priorities
The secret of balancing competing professional priorities is to combine research and education instead of treating them as separate and independent skills. For example in my Artificial Intelligence course I begin by educating students about the modern tools used in that field. In the second part of the course students get to apply what they learned (while experimenting with some modifications) to real world problems and if they are successful they get to present their results in local conferences. Students learn best by applying what they learned so my students are excellent at comprehending necessary material and at the same time help me advance my research.
Benefits of ASEE
ASEE offers excellent publications, such as Prism magazine, full of information relevant for engineering educators. Further, being an ASEE member provides great opportunities for meeting the best engineering educators and learning from them. I would be happy to see ASEE offer common teaching materials available for all members to share and to improve on.
To stay mentally sharp it is important for me to stay physically healthy. I enjoy competitive running, particularly races with a twist (Warrior Dash, Zombie Run). I am currently training for Toughest Mudder. I also play soccer, lift weights, and do Yoga.
I always loved science and engineering - science allows us to explore theoretical limits of knowledge while engineering gives us a chance to create something people use in their everyday lives. As a professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science I am in a unique position to pursue both of my passions and to share the joys of science and engineering with hundreds of students.
My students enjoy that I give them challenging real-world problems to work on, the freedom to decide on the tools to use to get the projects done, and an opportunity to publish their results. I also suspect that my good sense of humor and sense of fairness is appreciated both by students and colleagues alike. I try to provide students with problems similar to the ones they will encounter in the real world and I try to give them maximum freedom to decide on how to solve such problems and with what tools. I think that it is not my job to restrict them in what they do, but rather to help them if they get stock.
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! Some students need more support, encouragement, and guidance and nothing makes me happier than to see a struggling student work really hard and earn a solid grade in my course.
Staying on the cutting edge
Keeping up with the changing demands of the employers of students requires me to stay on the cutting edge of technology and even advance it at times. I read at least one new research paper every day and try to predict major technological trends for the next 5, 10, and even 20 years. As an instructor for an Artificial Intelligence course I constantly update my materials and incorporate recent research advances into my lectures and assignments.
Balancing professional priorities
The secret of balancing competing professional priorities is to combine research and education instead of treating them as separate and independent skills. For example in my Artificial Intelligence course I begin by educating students about the modern tools used in that field. In the second part of the course students get to apply what they learned (while experimenting with some modifications) to real world problems and if they are successful they get to present their results in local conferences. Students learn best by applying what they learned so my students are excellent at comprehending necessary material and at the same time help me advance my research.
Benefits of ASEE
ASEE offers excellent publications, such as Prism magazine, full of information relevant for engineering educators. Further, being an ASEE member provides great opportunities for meeting the best engineering educators and learning from them. I would be happy to see ASEE offer common teaching materials available for all members to share and to improve on.
To stay mentally sharp it is important for me to stay physically healthy. I enjoy competitive running, particularly races with a twist (Warrior Dash, Zombie Run). I am currently training for Toughest Mudder. I also play soccer, lift weights, and do Yoga.
