Excellence in Education

The end of the academic school year is an opportunity to celebrate the best-of-the-best when it comes to educators and tutors. In May, the department recognized two outstanding teachers and one teaching assistant.

The TEAChE Award was established to recognize and honor ongoing excellence in undergraduate teaching in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering.  The award, given every other year, was established in honor of three outstanding professors emeriti: Dr. Bob S. Schechter, James E. Stice and Eugene H. Wissler. Together they contributed 109 years of service to the department.  Honorees are selected in large part by feedback solicited from recent graduates with an emphasis on the importance of teaching excellence.

This year, the TEAChE Award went to Professors Adrianne Rosales and Venkat Ganesan. Venkat Ganesan teaches introductory undergrad courses on thermodynamics. He has been with the department for eighteen years and currently serves as the graduate program advisor. Adrianne Rosales teaches undergraduate chemical reactor analysis and design. She is an undergraduate alumna of the department and returned as a faculty member in 2016.

One outstanding teaching assistant was also singled out for an award this semester. Driven and funded by the Senior Class Gift Endowment, current chemical engineering students voted to recognize an Outstanding TA/Tutor with a cash award. This year, the honor went to Yu-Heng “Henry” Cheng, a graduate student in Dr. Benny Freeman’s lab and a familiar face and dedicated mentor to many undergraduates. Henry and Professors Ganesan and Rosales were honored at the 2019 graduation reception and presented with their awards.