Professor of the Year to be Announced Saturday

On Saturday night, Feb. 23, the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science Tribunal will host its concluding E-Week event—the E-Week banquet. The E-Week banquet is to be held at Paul Brown Stadium and the entire college is invited to join the celebration as a reward for their scrupulous studies and hard work. The night is guaranteed to be a good time, with a full-course dinner, an awards ceremony, speeches and plenty of dancing.
 
The night of recognition consists of numerous awards including Professor of the Semester and Professor of the Year, the naming of the Herman Schneider Award nominees, Outstanding Senior Awards, Workforce Development Foundation Award, recognition of the College of Engineering Alumni Association Scholarship recipients, the Date Night Auction King and Queen, and the E-Week team winners.
 

The Professor of the Year award is of particular importance that night as students will wait anxiously to see which one of their nominated professors takes home the grand prize. Herbert Bill, professor in the School of Advanced Structures, and Paul Talaga, assistant professor educator in the School of Computing Sciences and Informatics, are candidates for this year's award recognizing their outstanding contributions to students and to the university.

Professor Bill has years of experience teaching and consulting in civil and structural engineering. He currently teaches and advises students in the areas of civil, structural and construction engineering. Professor Bill also serves on several graduate thesis/dissertation committees. He actively works with other faculty and staff members to improve the curriculum, to cover subject matter that improves each student's knowledge base that makes them more effective and valuable to employers after they graduate.
 
One student nominator wrote, “Professor Bill has the unique ability to relate to the subject matter in a manner that educates the students, enables students to grasp the material at a high rate and thereby improves their undergraduate education. He provides stories and insights into real world experiences that not only teaches the subject, but also applies the knowledge gained.”
 

Professor Talaga is new to the college (arriving just this past fall) but brings with him highly commendable experience ranging from working as an Assistant Network Administrator to a researcher for the Air Force Research Laboratory to a programmer. He is currently a faculty member of the Center for Robotics Research and the Collaboratory for Medical Innovation and Implementation. Professor Talaga stays busy teaching a lecture series for the student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery concerning web development, running his own technology company, Fuzzpault Technologies, and still he always has his door open to students.

“Professor Talaga always goes above and beyond to help and support his students. And his passion for computer science is noticeable within his teaching. Because of his enthusiasm for the subject, I find myself becoming more and more passionate about my major. I look forward to going to class and learning more about the field of computer science,” notes another student nominator.

Please join the college in celebration at the E-Week Banquet and don’t forget to cheer on your favorite award nominees. There will be free transportation to and from the banquet.

EWeek is a nationally recognized week dedicated to the positive contribution of engineers globally and here, at the University of Cincinnati. The National Engineers Week Foundation strives to be a global leader in cultivating and celebrating the engineering profession. For more information on these and other E-Week events visit www.tribunal.uc.edu/eweek.