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Beyond books

For many professors within the Engineering Division, the day’s schedule reflects their dynamic approach to teaching.

Amy Downey

Christa Kelleher ’08, who teaches courses about surveying and land development, takes students outside to try their hand at the equipment.

PhotoS by Adam Atkinson

When it comes to engineering education, faculty take a creative approach to engage students in practical problem-solving. Step inside Acopian Engineering Center, and you’ll find professors instructing in classrooms, conducting research in labs, advising on student projects in maker spaces, and guiding students as they bring ideas to life in the workshop. Some immersive learning experiences venture farther, working with equipment outdoors on campus, or conducting fieldwork in the Lehigh Valley. Here’s a sampling of observations from their schedules.

Inside Acopian, electrical and computer engineering professors lead students in hands-on learning.
Dave Brandes and integrative engineering students review a report on the Metzgar carbon neutrality project a few miles north of campus.
Melissa Gordon ’11 works closely with students who contribute to her award-winning research in the polymer lab.
For more than 20 years, Steve Kurtz has guided perennially elite steel bridge teams, including several national championship-winning teams.
Ben Cohen, who teaches the First-Year Seminar “Ten Ways to Know Nature,” digs into crops, and sustainability, at LaFarm.
Some of the mechanical engineering facilities, as seen here with Daniel Sabatino at the helm, include wind tunnel simulations.
In integrative engineering, Alex Brown explains a concept in Robotics Systems and Design.
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Amy Downey
Amy Downey is the editor-in-chief of Lafayette magazine. She has 20 years of experience in the magazine industry, including being on the editorial staffs at city regional publications such as Boston and Philadelphia. More recently, she was a senior editor for Penn Stater, the alumni magazine of Penn State University, from where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in creative writing and publishing. She and her family moved to the Lehigh Valley in 2017.

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