Clark School Faculty, Staff Honored for Achievement

Clark School faculty and staff were honored with achievement awards at the December 20, 2012 Commencement Ceremony. The awards were presented by Clark School Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor Dr. Darryll Pines.

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Teng Li won the 2012 E. Robert Kent Outstanding Teaching Award for Junior Faculty. The award has been given since 1986 to honor Clark School junior faculty members for excellence in teaching.

Li’s teaching philosophy – to help students “develop an inquisitive mind in seeking knowledge” - drives the way he approaches the undergraduate and graduate courses he teaches. Li has been honored not only for inspiring and motivating his students in the classroom, but also for developing educational and research collaborations through iMechanica.org, a blog he co-founded that has become the largest online community of mechanics in the world.

Dr. Li earns some of the highest teaching evaluations in the school. Students from all of his classes cite his clear presentation of course material, as well as his ability to motivate, engage and intellectually stimulate them. He is a Keystone Professor at the Clark School, helping to teach challenging engineering concepts to our newest students.

Dr. K.J. Ray Liu, Christine Kim Eminent Professor in Information Technology and Associate Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the recipient of the 2012 Faculty Service Award.

Dr. Liu was instrumental in revamping the Clark School’s Master’s in Telecommunications Program as ECE’s associate chair of graduate studies and research. He also revised the department’s graduate program to increase the size and number of Ph.D. students to rank among the largest and highest quality in the country, while leading curriculum reform at both the graduate and undergraduate level to enhance quality.

Meanwhile, Dr. Liu led by example with his research and service contributions in the field of signal processing. He is a world-renowned speaker and scholar, has been recognized as an ISI Highly Cited Researcher and serves as editor-in-chief of IEEE’s Signal Processing Magazine. Amidst all of this great work, he also has advised numerous graduate students who have gone on to tenured faculty positions across the nation.

The recipient of the 2012 Dr. Marilyn Berman Pollans Outstanding Service Award for Staff was Ms. Heidi Sauber, Director of the Engineering Co-op and Career Services Office. As Director of Co-op and Career Services, Ms. Sauber helps Clark School students find internship opportunities, as well as full-time employment upon graduation. Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Sauber and her staff, more than 1,000 Clark School students participate in a co-op or internship each year. She has forged relationships across the University, as well as with countless corporate and governmental recruiters, to ensure that our students are able to achieve their goals and advance their careers. She takes an active role in campus-wide career fairs, Maryland Day and Visit Maryland recruitment activities. One recruiter says Ms. Sauber is the measure by which he judges all other career services directors and that she is the essence of a team player.

Published January 15, 2013