UA Engineering Appoints First Nine Education Fellows
The education fellows were only eligible for this new fellowship program if their departmental heads and committees had regularly evaluated them as "exceeds expectations" or "truly outstanding" in their teaching.
"The objective of creating this new fellows program is to develop a faculty team that can improve the undergraduate experience," said College of Engineering Dean Jeff Goldberg. "One way to do that is to recognize the best instructors."
Three-Year Fellows
- Cho Lik Chan, professor, aerospace and mechanical engineering
- Armin Sorooshian, assistant professor, chemical and environmental engineering
- Ted Trouard, associate professor, biomedical engineering
Two-Year Fellows
- Rob Erdmann, assistant professor, materials science and engineering
- Achintya Haldar, professor, civil engineering and engineering mechanics
- Kathie Melde, professor, electrical and computer engineering
One-Year Fellows
- Paul Blowers, associate professor, chemical and environmental engineering
- Rob Fleischman, associate professor, civil engineering and engineering mechanics
- Mike Marcellin, Regents Professor, electrical and computer engineering
Each year of fellowship includes a $5,000 stipend, and the College of Engineering will provide a pool of at least $5,000 annually for the fellows to spend on teaching materials and training to improve education of lower-division students.
"The education fellows can use the money to bring new teaching approaches to the College of Engineering," Goldberg said. "They can go to conferences to show other educators what we are doing and bring back best practices." Goldberg also expects the fellows to stimulate faculty development. "They can transfer ideas to other faculty," he said.
Goldberg described undergraduate education as "a critical piece of our mission at this college," and said he wants the educational fellows to address a common criticism of engineering education: that students do not get enough practical experience. "We need more hands-on aspects to make the educational experience more like what students will see when they leave UA," he said. "Why not use our best instructors to do that?"
In this, the first year of the program, nine education fellows were selected. Three were appointed for a three-year term, three for a two-year term, and three for a one-year term. In subsequent years, three new fellows will be added per year, all with three-year appointments.