Tribunal Honors Elgafy and Students for Spring Semester

Ahmed Elgafy

has been named the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering and Applied Science’s (CEAS) Professor of the Semester, recognizing his outstanding contributions to students and to the university. He is a mechanical engineering technology (MET) assistant professor educator at the CEAS School of Dynamic Systems (SDS).

Elgafy was the faculty advisor for the CEAS Student Tribunal during the 2009-10 academic year. Since September 2010, he has served as the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) Coordinator for the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at CEAS SDS, which was awarded ABET accreditation for another six full years in 2012. 

Elgafy came to UC in January 2002 for his post-doc. In August 2002, he moved to the University of Dayton Research Institute before coming back to UC in 2007. Since 2007, Elgafy has taught more than 15 different UC courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Elgafy’s courses cover the spectrum of energy and mechanical design sciences along with numerical methods. Additionally, he’s established and taught new courses including “Introduction to Nanotechnology,” “Fundamentals and Applications of Solar Energy,” “Renewable Energy Systems” and “Internal Combustion Engines.”

Elgafy has worked on numerous grants which were sponsored by the United States Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright Brothers Institute, General Electric (GE), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). His experimental and computational approaches focus in “macro “and “nano” scaled research such as Nanotechnology and Thermo/Fluid Sciences to develop nanocomposites and advanced materials for thermal management and energy conversion/storage systems. These systems are used for terrestrial and space applications, the cooling of electronic devices, and the creation of firefighters’ garments and helmets.

To date, Elgafy has published more than 30 papers with the most recent one being “Renewable Energy Resources: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Undergraduate Engineering Education,” which has been approved for publication in the Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology, Taylor & Francis Group/CRC Press, 2013. Also, he has published a chapter titled, “Solar Energy Storage: An Approach for Terrestrial and Space Applications” in the handbook, “Handbook of Research on Solar Energy Systems and Technologies,” IGI Global, ONLINE version, July 2012.

One of Elgafy’s student nominators stated, “Dr. Elgafy has designed the teaching method of his lectures to include not only a lecture period, but also a ‘problem-solving’ period where one can work at their own pace. During these problem-solving periods, Dr. Elgafy is constantly circulating the room answering questions and re-enforcing the main points of the lecture to ensure that students understand the system as opposed to just ‘plugging it in to the equation.’ This is important given that these classes only meet once per week; his ensuring we understand the material before leaving class is of great benefit to us, the students.”

Another student nominator reflected, “Personal experience with Dr. Elgafy shows me his concern for students outside the classroom. I recently had a medical procedure that required the missing of two weeks of class. During this time, Dr. Elgafy contacted me via email to ensure I was up-to-date on lecture notes and aware of upcoming quizzes or tests. Without mentioning anything specifically to him, Dr. Elgafy could sense that something was different based on our interactions in these and previous classes. He actually stopped me outside of class to voice his concern and make sure that things were alright with me and my family.”

One student nominator added, “Based on interactions in class, Dr. Elgafy learns the strengths of his students and helps to guide them to classes that he thinks would interest and benefit them. I have not had any other professor during my time here recommend a class based on their understanding of me, the individual student.”

Elgafy said, “I am greatly honored by this award. It shows that hard work indeed pays off and it gives me more motivation. I want to thank my students and this award is theirs as much as it is mine; teaching and learning are what we accomplish together.”

Other awards given at the end of Spring Semester were the Teacher’s Assistant (TA) of the Semester, the Junior of the Year, and the Freshman of the Year Awards. These awards are sponsored and funded by the

CEAS Tribunal

. The CEAS Tribunal is a student organization that represents CEAS students on all relevant issues, specifically with curriculum, academic and professional standards, and university and college computing services. They also assist students with professional, social, and leadership development.

Logan Brooks

received the TA of the Semester Award. Brooks is a biomedical engineering pre-junior who assists in teaching Engineering Models II for Kathleen Ossman, PhD and associate professor at the CEAS School of Engineering Education.

Timothy Schafermeyer

was given the Junior of the Year Award. Schafermeyer is a double major junior studying chemical engineering and statistics.

John Lewnard

was named Freshman of the Year. Lewnard is majoring in mechanical engineering.

CEAS salutes Elgafy, Brooks, Schafermeyer and Lewnard for their outstanding contributions to students and to the college.