Jahan Eftekhar, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Lars Hansen,
senior lecturer in electrical engineering
Distinguished Achievement Awards: Jahan G. Eftekhar and Lars Hansen
(April 30, 2002)--Jahan Eftekhar, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanics in the College of Engineering, is the winner of the 2002 President's Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in University Service.
Jahan "John" Eftekhar has a sterling record of service to the department, to the college and to the university. To his credit are a lot of "firsts." He wrote the ABET report for mechanical engineering in 1992 and assisted in the preparation of the initial proposal to establish a graduate program in mechanical engineering.
He was the founding director of the engineering machine shop, for which he single-handedly purchased equipment, laid out the floor plans, hired personnel and devised use protocols. He also directed the shop for 12 years.
In 1987, he founded the UTSA student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), serving ever since as its faculty adviser.
Under his guidance, UTSA's engineering students have annually designed two different types of cars for SAE competitions. UTSA also hosted the national formula SAE competition in spring 1989, and UTSA's current formula car is scheduled to be featured in a national TV show and will be competing in Detroit next month against other universities' designs.
As a teacher, he brings to his students vast industrial experience and knowledge in practical engineering application. In his 18-year tenure at UTSA, he has taught 27 different subjects, in addition to thesis and independent study courses.
When it comes to academic advising and consulting, he is known as one of the most reliable and responsible faculty members, dedicating time and thought to helping students find the most appropriate courses for them. He is the first academic adviser of record for the undergraduate civil, electrical and mechanical engineering programs and the graduate mechanical engineering program.
He has sat on numerous committees for the department, college and university, chairing groups at each level.
He regularly visits area high schools, where he is a mentor to both teachers and students. His community outreach efforts also include numerous presentations on automobile safety.
During his UTSA tenure, he has been nominated and selected for teaching awards 11 times by the former Division of Engineering and five times by the College of Engineering and College of Sciences and Engineering.
His peers outside the university also hold Eftekhar is the highest regard. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has received five SAE awards for his dedication to the engineering profession and to education.
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Lars Hansen, senior lecturer in electrical engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering, is the winner of the 2002 President's Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.
Hansen is a valuable faculty asset within the electrical engineering department and to the College of Engineering. His association with UTSA began in 1998. During that time, he has maintained a robust courseload, teaching four courses per semester for the past three years.
The courses he teaches are at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and have included engineering analysis, network theory, communication systems, digital communications, random signals and noise, and foundations of communication theory.
Not only does he teach a lot of classes, there are a lot of students in them. He averages more than 70 students in lower-division courses and more than 20 per class in some graduate classes. And while he teaches a high volume of students, his course evaluation ratings are also consistently high. In fact, they are above average for the department among all non-tenure track faculty.
Hansen also finds the time to mentor students, who seek him out, not only to talk about the classes they have with him each semester, but also with others they are taking.
He has been recognized by students for his service to them with an Amber Award, presented by the UTSA Ambassadors for 2002. Last year, he also received a faculty excellence award for service to UTSA students with disabilities.
In his "spare" time, Hansen also chaired several ad hoc committees and developed a communications lab for the college. He also played an active role in helping the department and college prepare for site visits from the UT System Board of Regents and Texas Coordinating Board for Higher Education prior to their approval of UTSA's new doctoral program in electrical engineering.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Poster
for 31st Annual Texas Folklife Festival unveiled at ITC
Academic
enrichment summer camps offered at Downtown Campus
Distinguished
Achievement Award: Daniel A. Engster
Distinguished
Achievement Awards: Robert J. Bayley and Mark T. Leung
Distinguished Achievement Awards: Jahan G. Eftekhar and Lars Hansen
Distinguished
Achievement Awards: Su Zhou and Dhiraj K. Sardar
Distinguished
Achievement Awards: Deanna M. White and Neil Maurer
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002