The Student Council |
Commitment to
Undergraduate Research
Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, research scientist "I'm the kind of person that you either like me a lot or you hate me," she said recently. "I don't elicit tepid emotions." Some of her students, it seems, agree. "It means a lot to me," she said. "I've received other citations; I have others for teaching. But this one they did very nicely, from the Student Council." Fernandez-Kelly said she sponsors between 10 and 15 research projects and independent studies each year. She encourages students to get involved in community projects, she said. "One of the things I've always loved about Johns Hopkins, it is an institution of advanced studies, one of few truly committed to scholarly pursuits," she said. "This graduate institution extends its hospitality to undergrads. It appreciates and tries to develop undergraduate talents. "I'm convinced that beyond the valuable knowledge of books is that which is obtained from firsthand experience, from talking to people," she added. A few years ago, Fernandez-Kelly said, she had some students who were very judgmental about teen pregnancies. She suggested they "interview the experts," that is, teenage mothers. "It did not change their values, but their judgments of the teenage women involved did change," she said. "Some kids who get pregnant tend to be like themselves, with dreams, goals and values. They hadn't realized that before." Senior political science major Daniyal Zuberi, who nominated Fernandez-Kelly for the award, said knowing her has changed his life. "I know it sounds like a cliche, but she's been a great influence on me," Zuberi said. "She's had an impact on my life. "During my four years at Hopkins, I personally have not come across a professor with a greater commitment to undergraduate education both in and out of the classroom," Zuberi wrote in his nomination of Fernandez-Kelly. "All the other undergraduates I know who either have or are working with Dr. Fernandez-Kelly on various research projects have highly praised her support." Zuberi also said Fernandez-Kelly's availability to students impressed him. "She actually has office hours all day Friday," he said. "But she's really flexible. People just mob her after class." Fernandez-Kelly has been a Charles Village resident for the past 10 years; she is a neighbor to many of her students. "Undergraduate students have a tendency to behave exactly how we think subsidized housing dwellers live," she said. "The wording is very important here. People think they create pollution, noise, litter and drinking. The reality is that these are very successful people, but they think of their residency as temporary. "I would like to see some series of initiatives that students become more invested in this neighborhood," she said. "When they realize what a wealth of history we have in this neighborhood, the more they will appreciate it."
Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching
Guy McKhann, professor After getting the interdisciplinary program on its feet, hiring research faculty and developing the graduate program, he recently turned his attention to undergraduate education. He was a major force behind organizing the first undergraduate course entitled Introduction to the Human Brain, which--along with his teaching--has been very well received.
Excellence in
Faculty Advising
Beverly J. Silver, assistant professor Silver is, however, happy to receive recognition from the students she has worked with for the past four years at Hopkins. "I really appreciate that they saw the efforts I was making as being valuable to them," she said. As chair of undergraduate studies in Sociology, Silver said she has attempted to involve undergraduate students more fully in the "intellectual and social life of the department." She also has been able to arrange research projects and internships for students after spending time with them, she said. "I try and listen to what it is that they're interested in, and encourage them to make the best use of their time at Hopkins," she said.
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Whiting School
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Commitment to
Undergraduate Research
Cila Herman, assistant professor Her award for commitment to undergraduate research "came as a complete surprise," said Herman, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. "That's very important to me, that it came from a student organization. I have many students who work with me in the lab. Several of them have gotten awards, and I guess they nominated me." Helping students to conduct outstanding research is a high priority to Herman, and some of her undergraduates have had their work published in scientific journals. "I'm totally proud of my students," she said. "They are very important to me. I'm very happy that message gets through." About two years ago, Herman demonstrated her dedication to the students by obtaining $10,000 to set up a heat transfer education and research lab specifically for undergraduates. The Latrobe Hall lab is now operational. "This setup was designed and built by undergraduates," she said proudly. Herman also works with undergraduates in her own research lab, where she is developing new ways to move heat away from electronic equipment, including computers. She is also working on an innovative refrigerator that uses sound waves to keep things cool, a method that promises to be more friendly to the environment than using conventional refrigerants. In addition, she recently received a grant from NASA to experiment with electric fields as a way to cause bubbles to move during boiling in the weightless conditions of outer space. In her research, Herman sometimes produces a visual record of temperature distribution through holographic interferometry, a process that involves lasers, cameras and high-speed film. Herman grew up in Yugoslavia, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1982 and a master of science degree in control engineering in 1988, both from the University of Novi Sad. In 1992, she received her doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Hannover in Germany. She joined the Hopkins faculty in December of that year. Herman, whose first name is pronounced "Chilla," is fluent in Hungarian, Serbocroat and German, as well as English. She also speaks some French and Spanish. She was honored primarily for work with undergraduates who conducted research at Hopkins during the fall semester. Much of the credit should go to the high caliber of engineering students with whom she worked, Herman said. "I was lucky," she said. "They were very good."
Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching
Roger Ghanem, assistant professor Ghanem was educated at the American University of Beirut and Rice University.
Excellence in
Faculty Advising
Lawrence Schramm, professor Schramm, who advises about 25 undergraduates annually, is a professor of biomedical engineering, a professor of neuroscience and director of the biomedical engineering doctoral program. He was educated at Haverford College and the University of Rochester. He joined the Hopkins faculty in 1970.
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