Bioengineering Professor Honored with President’s Teaching Excellence Award

Five educators from The University of Texas at Dallas recently were recognized with President’s Teaching Excellence Awards for their positive impact on student learning and innovation in the classroom.

UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson honored the recipients for their outstanding efforts on May 2 at the third annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence. The Center for Teaching and Learning requests nominees for the awards each year. The honorees also were lauded May 13 during the Honors Convocation Ceremony.

Dr. Danieli Rodrigues, assistant professor of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, was awarded the President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Instruction.

How long have you taught at UT Dallas?

“I joined UT Dallas in July 2012 and taught my first class in the fall of that year.”

What is the most rewarding part of the teaching experience?

“As I teach applied topics in medical devices, I use real-life examples and current challenges in our field to get students excited about learning the material, emphasizing how they can use the information to contribute for the future generation of devices. It is just amazing to hear students’ ideas, conversations and questions as they learn the content. But, the most rewarding part of teaching is when you learn from students that your course made a positive impact, when you hear that the class opened their eyes for opportunities never considered, when you are told at the end of a semester that your lectures fostered the desire for continued learning and a career in the field.”

What is one of your favorite memories from teaching at UT Dallas?

“Preparing and teaching the first undergraduate course offered by the Department of Bioengineering in 2012. It was a bit intimidating because it was my first contact with students at UT Dallas and first time ever teaching the class content. This first classroom experience proved to be the most memorable. Students were very receptive of my teaching style, and I got to know and recruit amazing undergrads who joined my lab and helped me start my research program. And many of those undergraduate research assistants became my graduate students.”

Original News Center article here.