Congratulations to Professors Sean Hum (ECE) and Jim Wallace (MIE), who were honoured at the 4th annual Celebrating Engineering Success event on April 27, for excellence in teaching.

Professor Hum was presented with the Early Career Teaching Award, which recognizes an instructor in the early stages of his career who has demonstrated exceptional classroom instruction and teaching methods.

Professor Wallace received the Faculty Teaching Award, presented to a teacher who demonstrates outstanding classroom instruction, develops and uses innovative teaching methods, and goes above and beyond to ensure the best possible learning experience for students.

Less than five years into his teaching career, Professor Hum has already been recognized with three departmental teaching awards and consistently receives teaching evaluations from his students which would be the envy of any educator. He has shown ongoing commitment to the improvement of the courses he teaches, evidenced by initiatives such as his rejuvenation of the undergraduate labs for Electromagnetics and his study on the use of tablet computer technology in the classroom. A popular and dedicated mentor, Sean has already supervised close to 50 students in the ECE fourth year design project. His students credit him with contributing not just to their academic success, but to their professional development and personal growth as well.

Professor Wallace served as Chair of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE) from 1998-2003, and has continued to provide outstanding leadership in curriculum development. He currently serves as Chair of the MIE Curriculum Committee and Vice-Chair of the Faculty’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, and has developed new undergraduate and graduate courses in energy systems.  As Chair, Jim spearheaded the creation of the Mechatronics and Information Engineering programs and developed the teaching mentor program for new faculty. His belief that a university professor’s primary responsibility is to students is evident in the quality of his teaching, which has been recognized with the MIE Teaching Award and several education awards from the Society of Automotive Engineers.

“I am delighted that these two devoted and inspiring teachers have been recognized for their commitment to engineering education,” said Dean Cristina Amon, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I congratulate them and thank all our teaching staff for their efforts in creating an exceptional learning environment for our students.”