March 22, 2021
Awards of distinction presented for contributions to students
Each year students in the MSU College of Engineering nominate their favorite faculty members for coveted Teaching Excellence Awards – recognitions that are presented during the annual Engineering Awards celebration.
The honors are part of the annual Withrow Endowed Award program, which was established through a gift from MSU alumni Jack Withrow (BS, MECH EGR, ’54; MBA ’71) and Dottie Withrow (BA, speech therapy and elementary education, ’55). The teaching distinction is for distinguished service to the university and the student body. The honors are being awarded virtually this year due to the novel coronavirus.
The 2021 Withrow Teaching Excellence Awards recipients are:
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering – Jade Mitchell
Associate Professor Jade Mitchell cares deeply about the success of her students. She regularly teaches BE 449, Human Health Risk Analysis for Engineering Controls, which prepares students to characterize human health risk from microbial stressors and design engineering controls for risk management. Her teaching approach is supportive of students, continually improving through reflection and outcomes. During the recent challenging year, she went above and beyond expectations by developing and delivering a new course in summer 2020 entitled, “Coronavirus and Quantitative Science.” The class was especially timely and well received. Students best summarized her commitment to teaching by saying that “Dr. Mitchell … cares about the success of her students,” “…is accommodating and available to help,” “has a wonderful energy,” “and cared about our well-being during these COVID times.”
Biomedical Engineering – Dana Spence
Professor Dana Spence is a recognized scholar in analytical chemistry and an innovative educator who effectively transfers knowledge gained through his research to students in the new Biomedical Engineering (BME) department. Spence is also the associate chair for graduate studies in the BME department. His pioneering research has been funded by major NIH grants. He provided an exceptional learning environment and an enthusiasm for the material taught in the graduate-level class BME 803 during fall semesters in 2019 and 2020. He has taught how to apply for an NIH grant and the process of reviewing grants. He provided insights on how papers are reviewed by journals for publication and how to conduct proper statistical analysis when writing results. Ratings consistently show that students like his lectures and appreciate his tremendous efforts.
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science – Carl Boehlert
Professor Carl Boehlert is a committed educator who truly cares about his students’ learning and success. He makes time for students who need help, and collaborates with them so they can learn the course material and be excited about materials science. Students often comment on his accessibility and willingness to make extra time to answer questions. Many students praise his enthusiasm and his review sessions that run as long as needed to ensure students feel confident in their studies. Students were particularly impressed at how he adapted to the virtual environment, not just through course materials, but also his understanding of the challenges that students face being fully online. He focused his efforts to make “his online instruction just as good as, if not better than, what in-person instruction would be.”
Civil and Environmental Engineering – Ali Zockaie
Assistant Professor of Transportation Engineering Ali Zockaie is a passionate and caring educator who is dedicated to student learning, inside and outside the classroom. He works hard to simplify difficult course material and always makes himself available to answer students' questions. As one student said, "While the material may be confusing and the grading could be hard, he helps bridge that gap." Student comments were consistent: "His response to emails is almost instantaneous, and he is always willing to meet when it is best for the student. He is by far the most organized professor I've met.” Another student notes: “Overall, one of the kindest and encouraging professors I've had at MSU. Dr. Zockaie makes every effort to make the classroom an enjoyable place to be and, importantly, a place conducive to learning.”
Computer Science and Engineering – Yolanda Anderson
Teaching specialist Yolanda Anderson is considered “an outstanding educator,” who introduces programming to more than a thousand students every semester as one of the instructors for CSE102. Her students say she is excellent at making complex topics understandable and engaging, which personalizes a very large class in the college. She also serves as an adviser and mentor to hundreds of students through programs including Women in Computing and the National Society of Black Engineers. States one of her students: “Dr. Anderson [has] incredible dedication to educating her students and supporting diversity in the College of Engineering. Her job is not easy…. yet she still found time to develop the summer program Engage to help freshmen transition to MSU.”
Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering – Jianrong Wang
Nominators called out the innovative efforts and “infectious enthusiasm” of assistant professor Jianrong Wang for his development of a new course, Computational Medicine – a “remarkable interdisciplinary course that spans a broad range of cutting-edge topics.” The class was described as fun, filled with rich content, journal-club style presentations and projects, as well as detailed development of computational skills. “Through a very well-designed course, he creates a learning environment that helps put content into practice, propelling students toward potential research publications. His active learning exercises help foster collaborative learning and higher-order thinking … with materials that are well-aligned to clearly defined learning outcomes.” Another nominator said: “This course exemplifies CMSE’s twin goals of building bridges between academic disciplines and putting state-of-the-art educational research into practice.”
Electrical and Computer Engineering – Wen Li
Professor Wen Li is an excellent instructor, according to her students, demonstrating her passion for teaching in all of her classes. Her high level of enthusiasm is evident in her interactions with students and through her sustained teaching effectiveness and dedicated service. Her evaluations in the Student Instructional Rating System are among the best in the department. Students say: “You did a great job!!!”, “very structured/organized, which made the course a lot more manageable,” “always willing and available to answer questions,” “Dr. Li was friendly and approachable and explained the material well,” “she is awesome,” “great professor! Perfectly taught the course with plenty of helpful supplementary handouts and materials,” “great at communicating and eager to help students learn. Overall one of the best professors.”
Mechanical Engineering – Geoffrey Recktenwald
Academic Specialist Geoffrey Recktenwald is described by many of his students as a professor who is engaging and invested in making sure that students have a really deep understanding of the topics he teaches. Students are quick to say, “He is extremely passionate about the students’ experiences in class. He is always available to help any student.” He is “one of the most rigorous but fair professors that I have encountered.” As one student said, “Dr. Recktenwald had a huge impact on my development as an engineer both in class and in extracurricular activities.” His interests focus on student needs in class and out. He advocates the high expectations he espouses. “By being thought provoking and fair, Dr. Recktenwald resonates, inspires, and drives one to succeed.”
Join the celebration! Read more on the 2021 MSU Engineering Awards that also honored Diversity, Leadership and Service, Distinguished Scholars, Staff Service.
