Society of Columbia Graduates

2014, Columbia Engineering

For the last decade, you have been one of the Engineering School’s most acclaimed teachers, but your ties to Columbia go back much further. You were born in nearby St. Luke's Hospital and spent your first five years in Morningside Heights. After earning your bachelor’s degree in physics from Yale in 1990, you returned to New York City, where you taught science and mathematics at the High School of Art and Design on Manhattan’s East Side and at Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene. You went on to earn your doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998.

You continued your research with in experimental condensed matter physics with postdoctoral appointments at the University of Pennsylvania (1998-2000) and at Caltech, where you were a Millikan Fellow (2001-2002). In 2003, you joined Columbia’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor, becoming an associate professor in 2007, and a full professor last year.

A renowned researcher in nanoscience and technology, you lead an interdisciplinary research group focused on novel low-dimensional materials and nanofabrication. Your group’s research spans many aspects of nanoscience, including exploring the fundamental properties and mechanical and electronic applications of atomically thin materials as well as nano-fabricated structures in the study mechanical forces in cell biology. Your research has applications in high-frequency and flexible electronics, optical devices, ultra-strong materials, and cancer therapy. You proved that graphene is the strongest material known, and has developed methods to “stack” atomically thin materials into new types of “heterostructures.” You are the author or co-author of more than 155 peer-reviewed articles.

Your reputation at Columbia relies as well on your commitment to your undergraduate students. One of the Engineering School’s most engaging teachers, you teach Mechanics I each spring. This demanding, four-credit class—which introduces basic techniques for analysis of force and motion—is required for Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering majors. Your approach emphasizes fundamental principles and basic skills, providing an organized framework designed to form structured problem-solving skills that your students will need in their engineering careers. Over ten years, you have used student feedback and exam performance to refine this approach, polishing lectures, revising readings, and updating assignments.

You have been praised for “the simplicity and clarity” of your teaching as well as for your “genuine desire for everyone to do well.” You are known for your energetic classroom delivery and your sense of humor. You encourage student questions and feedback, and emphasize small-group learning. You are always accessible to your students, famous for your “open door” and frequent office hours, including late on Thursday nights and before exams. “What kind of person nearly begs you to take up his time?,” one student asked.

In recognition of your deep commitment to your students, the Society of Columbia Graduates is honored to present you with the 2014 Great Teacher Award.