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Awards Introduction
Excellence is something in
which we strive for daily in the pursuit of superiority
in our respective disciplines. Although there are
many ways to measure excellence, we would like to acknowledge
the many honors and awards that have been received by the
faculty, staff and students of the Department of Mechanical
and Nuclear Engineering as they continue to diligently
pursue professional excellence.
Our mechanical and nuclear
engineering faculties continue to receive numerous University
and national awards for their outstanding teaching and
research contributions. There
are currently nine faculty members who hold the University's special faculty
title of Distinguished
Professor. Only
12 individuals within the College of Engineering are permitted to hold the
title of Distinguished Professor. In addition, the University receives
endowments to fund faculty chairs, professorships, and fellowships. There
are five faculty members who hold endowed
professorships that provide
the holder of the professorship with the resources necessary to continue and
further their outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and public service. Teaching
excellence also prevails, and many of our faculty members have been recognized
with the most prestigious University teaching awards available
at Penn State. Faculty have received numerous awards for their outstanding
achievements in teaching and research by Penn State Engineering
Society (PSES) awards for
25 consecutive years for a total of 76 PSES awards. Several faculty are
renowned in their respective fields of study and have been recognized with national
and international awards and hold the rank of fellow in
one or more professional societies. There are 23 faculty members
who provide editorial service
or oversight to technical journals and 14 are textbook authors.
Our students also pursue excellence. Student organizations
have won important national recognition through competitions, such as:
- Penn State Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Team Places
2nd at the International 26th Annual Formula SAE Competition
in May 2006
- Challenge X Team Places
5th in the 2005 Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable
Mobility Competition Series
A large number
of staff have been recognized for their exceptional performance
over the years through the PSES Outstanding Staff Awards, College
of Engineering Administrative Fellows Program, and the Department
Head Staff Award.
Another
mark of excellence is that we are meeting and exceeding
our educational mission through the accreditation process
of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET). ABET,
Inc., is the recognized U.S. accreditor of college and university programs
in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. Accredition
of university programs ensures the quality of postsecondary
education that students will receive. That process
assures students of our school's academic excellence and
gives our programs a national stamp of approval. We
are delighted to have two ABET accredited programs within
our department: the mechanical engineering program and
the nuclear engineering program.
As you
can see from the numerous awards and recognition, our
department is never at rest in the pursuit of excellence
at Penn State.
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