Each year NIU CEET faculty and staff submit nominations for the Faculty of the Year Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. The goal of the award is to recognize a faculty member that has excelled in teaching effectively, educational research, lab innovations, and much more. This year, our faculty and staff thought that two professors equally exemplified these qualities resulting in Dr. Jenn-Tern Gau and Dr. Kevin Martin being co-recipients of the 2014 College of Engineering and Engineering Technology Faculty of the Year Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.
Dr. Gau has been with our Department of Mechanical Engineering since 2004 and has managed to stay busy the past 11 years. Gau’s main research areas involve sheet/foil metal forming, forging, and microforming. He is the director of two study abroad programs to Taiwan and China as well as being a faculty advisor for NIU’s Research Rookies program.
Dr. Martin is an assistant professor in our Department of Technology and has been at NIU since 2012. Primarily focusing on renewable energy systems and industrial energy efficiency, Martin has fully immersed himself in all that NIU has to offer in his three short years with us. In addition to teaching, Martin is a part of NIU’s Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, which brings together community engagement and interdisciplinary research on behalf of the environment. He also has been a faculty advisor for USOAR and the Student Engagement Fund.
/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Gau and Martin’s dedication to their students both inside and outside of the classroom make it clear why they were the college’s choice for Faculty of the Year. Congratulations to you both!
