4/30/2009
Several Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty were recognized by the College of Engineering for their outstanding contributions to teaching and research.
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In a ceremony held on April 28th in the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, several Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty were recognized by the College of Engineering for their outstanding contributions to teaching and research at the University of Illinois.
Collins Award for Innovative Teaching
This award is in honor of W. Leighton Collins, who was a faculty member in the College of Engineering from 1929 to 1965. Professor Collins was also the former executive director of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and, as such, he helped to shape engineering instruction in the United States. This award is given to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding development of innovative teaching methods or the use of new and innovative teaching methods.
Professor Olson draws on his practical engineering experience to present difficult concepts about geologic systems in a fresh way that appeals to a new generation of tech-savvy students. He incorporates multimedia video and graphics, interactive learning, and practice-oriented activities to help students understand concepts about soil and rock-materials that are inherently variable by nature.
Xerox Awards for Faculty Research
These awards were established by the Xerox Foundation to honor faculty for outstanding research. Four awards are given to assistant professors who have been judged by their colleagues to have conducted the best research during the last academic year, and four awards are given to associate professors who have been judged by their colleagues to have conducted the best research during the past five academic years.
Professor Strathmann assesses the roles that metal–organic interactions play in natural biogeochemical processes, contaminant transport, and engineered treatment systems. He has identified key mechanisms involving iron species and metal oxide surfaces as they affect the transformation of chemicals used as pesticides, munitions, pharmaceuticals, and industrial solvents present in contaminated subsurface environments.
Professor Hashash has developed novel analytical tools and visualization software for material constitutive relations used for numerical modeling in a wide range of engineering applications. He is recognized for his work in the areas of visualization techniques, rock mechanics, discrete elements modeling, bio-material modeling and various information technology and data-manipulation topics.
2009 Engineering Council Outstanding Advisors
The Advisors List represents the top 10% of engineering advisors selected by College of Engineering students.
Kevin Finneran
Youssef Hashash
Susan Larson
Liang Liu
Arthur Schmidt
Timothy Strathmann