Jassim receives Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award

Emad Jassim, director of undergraduate programs for the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE), has received the University's 2013 Excellence in Undergraduate Advising award.

Every year, campus-level awards for excellence in instruction are given by the Office of the Provost. The Excellence in Undergraduate Advising award is given to a candidate who has sustained excellence in undergraduate advising and has had a major impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through sustained academic advising relationships.

Jassim earned his bachelor’s degree ('99), master’s degree ('01), and Ph.D. ('06) in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. After graduation, Jassim became involved in the department as a visiting research professor, during which time he advised graduate students. For almost seven years he has been a senior design project coordinator and lecturer, and he advised undergraduate students on their projects for their senior design course and their plans after graduation long before he joined the undergraduate programs office. He has now served as Director of Undergraduate Programs and Chief Advisor for three years.

"When I came to the undergraduate programs office, advising was one of the things I continued to do along with being involved in the senior design course," Jassim said. "I obtain projects from industry for the senior design course, work with students on their projects, but I'm now also involved with overseeing a lot of the operations of the undergraduate programs office. That includes recruiting students, making scholarship offers, involvement in curriculum revisions, and improving the student experience. I also teach. So I wear a lot of hats in this office, and I seem to be wearing more as every year progresses."

Jassim has been listed on the Center for Teaching Excellence’s "List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" consistently for several years, and recently received the MechSE Five-Year Effective Teaching Award. This will be the first award he has received for excellence in advising.

Jassim has stayed in contact with many of the students he has advised after graduation, saying it is "rewarding to see their success."

"As the senior design project coordinator, I see our students in companies that I visit," Jassim said. "I keep in contact with many of them well after graduation, and it's great to see how they’ve progressed through the curriculum. One student that worked for me as an undergraduate researcher is now a senior engineer. It’s really nice to see your students with these titles."

Jassim would like to thank Professor James Phillips for nominating him for the award. The award will be presented with the other Awards for Excellence in Instruction at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence Banquet in April.
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Contact: Emad Jassim, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, 217/377-8249.