VOLUME 13, NO. 3     June 2001

Outstanding teacher, scholar, advisor

Devotion to undergraduate education, excellence in scholarship and research that keeps professors in touch with the cutting edges of their fields, and personal attention to students--these are the qualities that make a WPI education so powerful.

Trustees’ awards were presented this year to three distinguished faculty members during the annual faculty convocation in April:

Alexander E. Emanuel, professor of electrical and computer engineering, was honored as the outstanding academic advisor. "[Prof. Emanuel] brings a human dimension to advising," said one student. "He is not only a professor, he is a friend and a mentor, all of which truly describe the role of an advisor." A native of Romania, Emanuel received a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering and a D.Sc. in engineering from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. He spent several years as an engineer in Romania, Israel and Massachusetts before joining the WPI faculty in 1974. A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, his research interests encompass power quality, power electronics, electromagnetic design and high-voltage technology. He was honored with the Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Creative Scholarship in 1986.

Stephen N. Jasperson, professor of physics, is the outstanding teacher. He was cited for always treating students with respect and for promoting learning in many different settings. According to his citation, students say they feel he takes personal responsibility for their successes and failures. Jasperson earned a B.S. at the University of Wisconsin and an M.A. and Ph.D. at Princeton University. He joined the WPI faculty in 1979 and has served as head of the Physics Department. His research and teaching interests focus on optical properties of solids and thin films; his advising interests include computers and education, introducing new teaching materials, and education and technological literacy.

Barbara E. Wyslouzil, associate professor of chemical engineering, was honored for outstanding research and creative scholarship. She was cited for establishing a preeminent research program to determine the structure of multicomponent nanodroplets and nucleation. Her work with Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) holds the promise of being able to accurately measure both composition and concentration gradients in aerosol droplets--a feat that has not previously been accomplished. According to the citation, "Her work is critically important to the understanding of chemical processes in the atmosphere and to environmental quality." Wyslouzil holds a B.Sc. from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, an M.Sc. from the University of Alberta, and a Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology. A member of the faculty since 1993, she received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 1995.