The University of Portland has received a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to enhance the laboratory experiences of undergraduate students in the Shiley School of Engineering. The grant will allow the Shiley School of Engineering to develop 10 new laboratory modules that support developmental and technical learning objectives.
Engineering professor Heather Dillon is one of several who will be involved in the program. She will focus on the development of the laboratory modules in the area of thermodynamics and heat transfer. In 2007 she received the U.S. Department of Energy of Science Outstanding Mentor Award for her work with undergraduate students.
Engineering professor Tim Doughty will support development of the laboratory modules in the area of systems and dynamics. Doughty has a strong history of undergraduate research and is a co-principal investigator for a current National Science Foundation NOYCE Grant.
Karen Eifler, who specializes in educational assessment and works closely with experts in STEM education, will lead the efforts of education faculty who will work with mechanical engineering faculty. She is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the 2006 Carnegie Foundation’s Oregon Professor the Year award.
Ken Lulay, engineering, will provide department leadership to the project and support the development of laboratory modules in the mechanics area. In the last two years he led the mechanical engineering faculty in development of a “Design Spine” to incorporate elements of engineering design in all four years of the curriculum.
The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. In the area of education, the foundation supports undergraduate programs that promote inventive approaches to instruction and effective involvement of students in research.
For more information contact the Shiley School of Engineering at 7314 or spir@up.edu.