The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School announced Konstantina “Nina” Stavroulaki and Saeed Onsorynezhad as recipients of the 2019 Outstanding Teaching Assistant (OTA) award at the master’s and doctoral levels, respectively. Stavroulaki and Onsorynezhad received their awards and a $500 cash prize at last night's Graduate School Awards Reception.
The OTA award is designed to recognize and reward graduate students for outstanding performance in teaching and instruction.
Stavroulaki has served as a teaching assistant for microbiology and immunology during fall 2018, and for immunology and immunization training during spring 2019 under the guidance of Catherine Santanello, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the School of Pharmacy (SOP), and Connie Barber, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Management and Information Systems in the School of Business (SOB). Stavroulaki is pursuing a master’s in pharmaceutical sciences.
“Nina will be able to choose any career path, because she is such a bright, talented young woman” Santanello said.
According to her professors, Stavroulaki has excelled in the roles of student, researcher and teacher. As a student and researcher, she is enthusiastic, respectful, curious and tenacious. As a teaching assistant, she was integral in launching an innovative approach utilizing the concept of gaming in the immunology and immunization training course. The gaming software allowed students to understand the complex topic of immunology through creative pedagogical delivery involving a team-based approach that required critical thinking and strategy-based decision-making. The endeavor was quite successful, and the project is being submitted for publication to a pharmacy education journal.
Stavroulaki also received accolades from students in both of the courses in which she assisted, both for her commitment to providing students with prompt feedback and for her abilities to simplify complex scientific topics.
Onsorynezhad has served as a teaching assistant in the School of Engineering (SOE) since the fall 2016 semester for a diverse range of mechanical engineering courses, including thermodynamics I, stress laboratory, internal combustion engines and robotics dynamics. In the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, he has served under the guidance of Nima Lotfi, PhD, asst. professor; Kamran Shavezipour, PhD, asst. professor; Serdar Celik, PhD, professor and graduate program director; Keqin Gu, PhD, distinguished research professor and department chair; Fengxia Wang, PhD, assoc. professor; and Mingshao Zhang, PhD, asst. professor. Onsorynezhad is currently pursuing a PhD in engineering science with a focus in mechanical engineering.
Onsorynezhad’s faculty supervisors noted that he demonstrates an outstanding dedication to his duties, a mastery of class materials, and a commitment to go the extra mile to help students learn inside and outside of the classroom.
“Saeed is among the few students who have the expertise to handle all of these topics,” said Gu, Chair, as he noted that the broad range of engineering courses that Saeed has taught is more typical of a faculty teaching profile.
Onsorynezhad displayed even further breadth in his ability to teach effectively when he led the “Rockets 101” sessions during the School of Engineering summer camps in 2018 and 2019 for K-12 students.
“Saeed is among those exceptional graduate teaching assistants who portrays quality, excellence and service in performing his duties,” Selik said.
Onsorynezhad’s professors also praised his achievements in his own scholarly pursuits. His research in the area of impact dynamics of the piezoelectric beam has resulted in publication in a number of premium technical journals and conferences. His enthusiasm for the study of mechanical engineering and his care for students has been a valuable asset to the department.
Photo: (Upper Right L-R) - Konstantina “Nina” Stavroulaki receives the SIUE 2019 Outstanding Teaching Assistant award for the master’s level from Graduate School Dean Jerry Weinberg.
(Lower Right L-R) - Saeed Onsorynezhad receives the SIUE 2019 Outstanding Teaching Assistant award for the doctoral level from Graduate School Dean Jerry Weinberg.