CEE Professor Richard Bennett has directed the Engineering Fundamentals Program in the Tickle College of Engineering since 2008. On September 29 at the Tennessee Section ASCE (American Society for Civil Engineering) meeting, it was announced that he is this year’s recipient of the Peter G. Hoadley Award for Outstanding Engineering Educator.
The Engineering Fundamentals program incorporates a number of innovations to promote retention of Freshmen students while at the same time establishing a strong fundamental foundation for advanced coursework. This innovative program teaches physics in an engineering context to more than 800 students per year across all engineering majors through a mixture of lecture course and smaller hands on laboratory and engineering design projects. Professor Bennett leads a team of five faculty instructors, three staff members, and more than 25 graduate and undergraduate in delivering the program.
In addition to these duties, Professor Bennett also teaches a spring graduate-level course in Masonry Design, serves as a mentor to early-career faculty members in the structure area, and participates on various committees.
“Professor Bennett is a remarkable educator and leader who has made tremendous impacts on thousands of students from all engineering disciplines as they begin their engineering education,” said CEE Department Chair Chris Cox. “He also continues to remain active within the discipline of civil engineering through his teaching and through his service to the department and to ASCE in his technical specialization of masonry.”