2012-13 College of Engineering Awards

Peter M. Chen
Neil Van Eenam Memorial Undergraduate Teaching Award

Prof. Peter Chen has a history of dedication to undergraduate education innovation and excellence. In one example, he created a section of ENGR 100 that enables first year students to build a music synthesizer using a computer chip that they build. Students from the class have developed a voice-activated helicopter game, a digital DJ, a graphic music composer, and other innovative projects. In support of the course, Prof. Chen wrote more than 30,000 lines of code. Prof. Chen’s accomplishments as an educator have been recognized by the University with an Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship and the Amoco Undergraduate Teaching Award, by students with the HKN EECS Professor of the Year Award and the Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, by the College with its Teaching Excellence Award and 1938E Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, and with the EECS Teaching Award.

Jeffrey Fessler
Research Excellence Award

Prof. Jeff Fessler is an internationally recognized expert in computational medical imaging, working at the interface of applied mathematics and biomedical imaging. He assisted GE Medical Systems in their development of the first statistical reconstruction algorithms for their commercial PET scanner, and his research group’s work with GE Healthcare resulted in image reconstruction algorithms for low dose CT scanners, currently used at U-M Hospital. Indicative of his interdisciplinary research, he holds appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Radiology. He carefully mentors his students, and has received the Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award from the University of Michigan.

Andrew Yagle
Service Excellence Award

Prof. Andy Yagle is known for the care he brings to every service role he undertakes, from faculty colleagues to undergraduate students. In his role as Chief Program Advisor and advisor for the undergraduate EE program, he has assisted students through a variety of issues that have led to their ultimate success in the program. His colleagues have appreciated the effort and improvements he made while serving on the CoE Curriculum Committee, the CoE Admissions Committee, and as ABET coordinator for the EE program. In addition, he receives extremely high scores for his undergraduate teaching, including a course for which he co-authored the recent textbook, Engineering Signals and Systems. After just a year, this textbook has already been adopted by 12 institutions, including Michigan.