Stephanie Luster-Teasley

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Stephanie Luster-Teasley, PhD, is a professor and chair of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University.

She joined NCA&T in 2004 after working in private industry as an environmental engineer. Her research specializations include environmental remediation, water sustainability, and engineering education.

Dr. Luster-Teasley has established a strong record of excellence in teaching, research, and service and is known for bringing the excitement of real-world, hands-on experience into all of her engineering courses and mentoring activities.

Her research accomplishments include receiving patents from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada for her development of a controlled release chemical oxidation polymer system for the remediation of water and wastewater. This recognition designates her as the first African-American woman and the first faculty member at NCA&T to receive international patents. Her technology was licensed in 2017 by a company to market nationally as an emerging remediation method for groundwater and soil contamination.

Dr. Luster-Teasley has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education for developing a mentoring program for students in STEM disciplines; the National Science Foundation for developing and implementing case studies modules in science labs; and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to implement science programs for middle school girls. Overall, her science education research and professional development grants have yielded more than $7.5 million in funding.

Among her many service activities, she led the NCA&T team that developed the winning National 4-H Science Youth Day experiment used by millions of K-8 students worldwide to learn about global warming and energy use.

Her honors include the 2018 Black Engineer of the Year Innovation Award and the 2014 Dupont Minorities in Engineering Award. She is the past recipient of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, one of the highest awards conferred for teaching in the UNC System.

Dr. Luster-Teasley is the mother of two children, Edward Teasley, II, who recently completed his BS Computer Science degree at NCA&T and William Teasley who presently attends NCA&T to major in Industrial Engineering.

Recipients of the CEE Distinguished Alumni Award, first presented in 2003, must be: graduates of the department; national leaders in their profession; contributors to the department, the college, or the university in some meaningful way; and community leaders whose actions reflect favorably on Michigan State University. Nominations are made by faculty, alumni, and other supporters of the department. The department’s professional advisory board selects the winner.