Seeking Applications for the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching

The Center for Innovation in Engineering Education (CIEE) of Princeton University seeks applications for the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching for Academic Years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. This professorship continues the admirable tradition of previous holders who have set standards for exceptional scholarship and distinguished teaching which have become the hallmarks of the Kenan Trust Visiting Professorship.

The appointment will be for the full academic year and the visitor is required to teach a regular course in one semester. The University expects that this would be a high-profile course, with sizable enrollment. In the other semester, the visitor is expected to do something with a positive pedagogical impact on our campus. This can take the form of a course in the second semester; a series of off-the-books seminars on methods of teaching, etc. Pedagogical innovation is of particular interest in this appointment.

Candidates will be evaluated according to their teaching ability and scholarship, and their track records of new course innovations and innovative teaching methods that can bring new dimensions to what the members of the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty are already doing in their classrooms.

The application deadline is November 1 of each year. The applicant should indicate in his/her the preferred academic year for their visit. Applications should include the candidate’s c.v. and a statement of how the candidate proposes to spend the visiting year. (Applicants are encouraged to contact the chair of the appropriate Princeton department to discuss possible teaching opportunities.) Three reference letters that comment on the nominee’s qualifications and experiences relevant to the proposed activities will be required for top candidates.

Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action regulations. You may apply online at http://jobs.princeton.edu (search for requisition number 0700699). For general application information and how to self-identify, see http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm.

A tradition of high standards

This professorship continues the admirable tradition of Professors Brian Kernighan and Zellman Warhaft, who held the 250th William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching and set the standards for exceptional scholarship and distinguished record of teaching which has become the hallmark of this professorship. During the 2007-08 academic year, Professor Umesh Vazirani (Computer Science) holds this professorship. Previous holders of this professorship include:

• Professor Edward Coyle *82 from Purdue University as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching of Electrical Engineering. Professor Coyle taught an electrical engineering course entitled “The Wireless Revolution”, an interdisciplinary course addressing technological, regulatory, economic and social issues arising in the rapidly developing field of wireless communications and computing. In addition to his teaching, Professor Coyle, along with other faculty, launched the Princeton chapter of EPICS, Engineering Projects in Community Service. In the EPICS program, students earn academic credit for their participation in multidisciplinary design teams that solve technology-based problems for local not-for-profit organizations.



• Professor Richard De Veaux from Williams College as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching of Operations Research and Financial Engineering. Professor De Veaux taught a course entitled "Fundamentals of Engineering Statistics". With his prior teaching experience at Princeton, Professor De Veaux was a six-time winner of teaching awards from the Engineering Council. Professor De Veaux went on to receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the Engineering Council, in recognition his outstanding classroom achievements.



• Professor Christopher Rogers from Tufts University as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Professor Rogers taught a fall term Freshman Seminar entitled “Robots” to introduce students in a hands-on way to the concepts of engineering and physics. The class was enthusiastically received and revolved around weekly competitions between robots that students constructed from advanced Lego kits that include small computers, motors, gears, light and touch sensors and other gadgetry.



• Professor Eric Denardo of Yale University as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching of Operations Research and Financial Engineering. An international authority on dynamic programming, Professor Denardo taught a problem-based survey of ORFE using EXCEL as a learning tool, incorporating problems identified throughout his career to teach the techniques of quantitative modeling of decision making.



• Professor James A. Smith of the University of Virginia as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Associate Professor of Distinguished Teaching of Civil & Environmental Engineering. A civil engineer specializing in groundwater remediation, Professor Smith introduced a course on water for the developing world, in which he taught students, among other things, about water purification technologies that can be implemented in refugee camps.