President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award
Winner:
Arindam Gan Chowdhury,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Arindam Gan Chowdhury is an expert in wind and structural engineering. He has published or had accepted for publication 23 papers based on research conducted at FIU. As a principal investigator, he has received more than $3.4 million in research funding from the National Science Foundation, NOAA, Florida Department of Emergency Management and others and was instrumental in developing the Center of Excellence proposal that brought $7.5 million to the wind engineering program. He is the 2012 recipient of the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Program Award. He was instrumental in bringing to life FIU’s revolutionary 12-fan Wall of Wind research facility, which has attracted worldwide attention to our International Hurricane Research Center. The Wall of Wind is already contributing to real-world applications in successful university-industry partnerships that will lead to the manufacture of mitigation devices and structurally safer homes.
Faculty Awards
Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching
Michael Brown,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and a degree in medicine, equipping him with the ideal background to provided undergraduate students with unique insights into the practical definition of biomedical engineering and how an engineer may contribute to the field of medicine. To boost the didactic value of two required courses, Dr. Brown worked with two other faculty members to creatively combine modeling and laboratory exercises with the principles of physiology. Another course taught by Dr. Brown and focused on clinical rotation would not exist without his industrial experience and connections, which have likewise supported student research and contributed to finding employment opportunities for graduates. Dr. Brown’s student evaluations are consistently high, due in large part due to his great preparation and organization. He willingly gives his time to serve on departmental committees, including taking on a very active and critical role in assisting with the preparation for ABET and SACS accreditation efforts, as well as universities committees, including the College of Medicine Admissions Committee and another that developed the medical school residency program.
Faculty Award for Excellence in Service
Gustavo Roig,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Dr. Gustavo Roig’s record of service to students and families, the field of engineering, the local community and FIU at large spans more than 30 years. His reputation for skillfully imparting technical knowledge to those who take his courses is equal to his expression of compassion, loyalty and dedication as a teacher. Those who study under him continue to seek his counsel long after they step out of his classroom and after they graduate from FIU. As an engineer, he has dedicated his life to exploring the field of electrical engineering and passing along that accumulated knowledge and experience to the next generation. Within his department, his door remains perpetually open, including to the faculty and staff who look to him to help manage and improve operations through his service on committees and eye toward successful and high-quality reaccreditation. To the benefit of the greater FIU community, Gus has promoted the university across the globe through his work with local, state, national and international organizations. His efforts on behalf of underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and math have generated millions of dollars in grants and scholarship funding. His leadership, his dedication to maintaining and promoting the highest ethics in the fields of research and training, and his unending advocacy of FIU provide the clearest examples of the quality and caliber of his service to this institution.
Faculty Awards for Excellence in Research
and Creative Activities
Dr. Jiuhua ChenJiuhua Chen,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Dr. Jiuhua Chen came to FIU in 2007 to be the associate director of the Center for the Study of Matter Under Extreme Conditions and to help create a world-class graduate materials science program. His initial work characterizing materials and minerals under high pressure and temperature and his continuing studies on the deformation of materials and minerals under various conditions have elevated FIU’s profile in this area. His use of experimental methods to measure material properties includes several that he devised. His work at FIU has garnered funding of more than 2.3 million dollars, or $407,000 per year, from NSF, DOE, the Sloan Foundation and the Department of Defense. During his time at FIU he has appeared as author or co-author of one edited book, 29 journal papers, 17 proceeding papers, nine book chapters and 30 presentations. Beyond FIU, he has served the field in his role as secretary of the High Pressure Science Society of America; a member of the editorial board of the Open Mineralogy Journal; the founding editor of the Consortium of Material Properties for Earth Sciences Newsletter; adviser to the Asian Network for Deep Earth Mineralogy; and a referee for numerous journals and government agencies.
Dr. Albert Gan
Albert Gan,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dr. Albert Gan’s exemplary dedication and contributions to his field encompass three areas in transportation engineering: public transit, highway safety and travel demand modeling. Since joining FIU he has directed more than $7. 5 million in sponsored research projects as principal investigator and another $4.1 million as co-principal Investigator. His scholarly productivity totals 117 publications, from refereed journal articles to software user manuals, 107 of them with his advisees. His articles and conference papers have been published in the most recognized journals and conferences of the transportation profession. Most importantly Dr. Gan’s research products, whether they are systems, methods or tools, are being used today by agencies and individuals to better allocate resources and improve safety in transportation. An example is the Integrated National Transit Database Analysis System, one component program of the Florida Transit Information System (FTIS), a nationally-recognized system developed by Dr. Gan’s research team, which was honored last year with a joint Florida Highway Administration (FHWA) and Florida Transit Administration Transportation Planning Excellence Award. His research has brought new opportunities and prestige to FIU as an international center.
Osama Mohammed,
College of Engineering & Computing,
Electrical & Computer Engineering
For years Dr. Osama Mohammed has been considered one of the most productive faculty members in research and scholarly accomplishment within the Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering. He has secured Federal research funding in excess of $350,000 annually. His overall research and scholarly production has been consistent, with more than 100 journal articles and more than 200 articles in national and international conference proceedings. His citations index is very high, indicating the exceptional quality of his work, and his many invited lectures at national and international conferences have likewise further elevated FIU’s profile in the power and energy systems field worldwide. Dr. Mohammed annually supports the research of five masters and 15 undergraduate students as interns within the Energy Systems Research Laboratory he established. Through Dr. Mohammed’s efforts, FIU is a member of a DOE-sponsored consortium of universities and, separately, part of a DOE project to develop new courses in energy systems. Dr. Mohammed serves as a resource professor to both of these, which further increases FIU’s visibility nationwide in this important area. He serves as chair or a member of the international steering committees of several major conferences in his fields of expertise. These activities are associating our university’s name with the scientific communities with major international and research expertise.
Adjunct Faculty Awards
Adjunct Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching
Patricia McDermott-Wells,
College of Engineering & Computing,
School of Computing & Information Sciences
Patricia McDermott-Wells has taught for FIU’s Department of Mathematics and the School of Computing & Information Sciences for more than 12 years. In her quest to “shape the next generation of technology specialists,” she encourages students to grapple with the ethical issues inherent in their use of technology. Ms. McDermott-Wells is also dedicated to addressing students’ individual and diverse needs, as is exemplified by her efforts to make her courses accessible to visually impaired students. She takes pride in being a role model for women in the IT field, hoping to convince them that they too can succeed in a male-dominated industry. “She is one of the most supportive and knowledgeable professors,” writes one student, who appreciated her “constant emails of support and encouragement.”