Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars (ADTS) - 2009 Inductees

Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars:  2009 Inductees

The Provost announces the 2009 inductees into the University of Florida's Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars

Each year the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars honors University of Florida’s exceptional teaching andscholarship accomplishments by inducting into its membership faculty members who have demonstrated sustained innovation and commitment in both areas. Please join Provost Joseph Glover in welcoming to the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars its 2009 inductees:

These teacher-scholars were selected based on portfolio submissions that provided strong evidence of the integration of superior teaching and research and a record of distinguished scholarly accomplishment that has garnered recognition at the national and/or international level.

To assist them in advancing their vision for scholarly excellence and faculty enhancement at UF, these Academy teacher-scholar inductees will serve for three years on the advisory board for Faculty Development. In this capacity they will assist the Associate Provost in developing programs and promoting policies that enhance the professional careers and experiences of faculty. Academy members also promote a university-wide discourse on key issues surrounding the integration of teaching and research at the University.

After completing their three-year terms on the advisory board, members will retain the title of Distinguished Teaching Scholar and continue to be a part of the Academy.

 

Elliot Douglas Dr. Elliot P. Douglas is Associate Chair, Associate Professor, and Distinguished Teaching Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. His research activities are in the areas of active learning, problem solving, critical thinking, and use of qualitative methodologies in engineering education. Specifically, he has published and presented work on the use of guided inquiry as an active learning technique for engineering; how critical thinking is used in practice by students; and how different epistemological stances are enacted in engineering education research. He has been involved in faculty development activities since 1998, through the ExCEEd Teaching Workshops of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Essential Teaching Seminars of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the US National Science Foundation-sponsored SUCCEED Coalition. He has also been active in promoting qualitative research methods in engineering education through workshops presented as part of an NSF project. He has received several awards for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the Ralph Teetor Education Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers, being named a University of Florida Distinguished Teaching Scholar, and being named the University of Florida Teacher of the Year for 2003-04. He is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education and the American Educational Research Association, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Polymer Reviews.
Ranga Narayanan’s research is in the area of pattern formation. This field has applications ranging from earth science, to the making of materials in outer space and on earth, to biomedical science and even to cell biology. As an engineer, Ranga is concerned with science questions as to why patterns are formed and what fundamental connections can be made between the various physical situations that generate patterns. His research will lead to ways to “tune” patterns to create better and useful products such as better drug delivery systems and better semiconductor and energy efficient devices. As a result of his work he now directs a major NSF funded research training “center” grant in the field of patterns in fluids and interfacial science that will affect over 35 doctoral students in the College of Engineering.  In addition to research, this project seeks to internationalize graduate education.

Narayanan’s group has comprised over 20 doctoral students in the past, 15 post doctoral and visiting scientists and 37 undergraduate students. Nine of his former doctoral students are in academe. He currently supervises four doctoral students. The research funding for his program including the recent “PIRE center grant” has amounted to around 6.5 million dollars, primarily from NSF, NASA and Industry. With this funding he has directed two major outer space experiments, designed to confirm theories on the effect of microgravity on crystal quality. These widely publicized space flight experiments were conducted in 1996 and 1997.   This research has led to a new and clear interpretation of fluid dynamical patterns seen during convection and the transition of such patterns to near chaos.

He has over two hundred published papers and conference presentations and four authored and edited books. Narayanan serves as editor and is on the editorial board of several scholarly journals and has been invited several times as a visiting faculty to major universities in France, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Israel and India. Among his many awards are the J.W. Fulbright Distinguished Chair Fellowship (Israel 2012), European Commission Senior Scientist (2011-12), Distinguished Foreign Scientist Award from the Government of India (2011), a Chevron Chair at IIT Madras (2011), Japan Society for Science Foundation Fellowship (2009), J.W. Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship (Belgium, 2001), Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1989) and election to the International Aeronautics Academy (2006). The University of Florida has honored him with a Florida Blue Key Distinguished Faculty Award (2010), an International Educator of the Year Senior Faculty Award (2010), a UF Research Foundation Professorship (2002), a Chemical Eng. Department Charles Stokes Professorship (2003), two College of Eng. Teaching Awards (1995, 2000), a Professorial Excellence Award (1998) and a Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995).