Academic and administrative colleagues of the Tickle College of Engineering show appreciation for each other every day as a matter of course. Each spring, the college makes the highest of these acknowledgements official with the annual Faculty and Staff Awards.
The accolades are traditionally observed with a banquet gathering, but due to measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, that event has been rescheduled to the fall. Until then, we’re happy to present here the winners from NE and a few words in honor of their accomplishments.
Pass the Torch Award
Recognizes the outstanding all-around achievement of one staff member who demonstrates exceptional service to the college and/or community at large. This individual goes above and beyond in their work to help others and does so with a high degree of excellence, professionalism, and integrity; thus, contributing significantly to improving the overall environment and experience of the college.
Amanda Lovelace
Undergraduate Advisor
Colleagues describe Lovelace as extremely tuned-in to the needs of students and passionate about identifying the best opportunities for students to succeed. She is also passionate about service and goes out of her way to help with recruitment and community outreach efforts.
Teaching Fellow
Recognize and reward superior teaching in the college.
David Donovan
Assistant Professor
Donovan is clearly an exceptional teacher, with peer-teaching evaluations noting his ability to communicate challenging subject matter to students while maintaining both rigor and high student satisfaction. In addition, he has been instrumental in bringing new nuclear-fusion coursework to the department while maintaining a very active research program. While the latter isn’t required for this award, it is still noteworthy and appreciated that he maintains full faculty responsibilities at a high level of accomplishment and quality.
Professional Promise in Research Award
Recognize tenured or tenure-track faculty members at the assistant or associate professor rank who have received national and/or international recognition in their fields and show professional promise in their research.
Jamie Coble
Associate Professor and Southern Company Faculty Fellow
Coble’s research focuses on the application of data analytics and system dynamic modeling for process and equipment monitoring, anomaly detection and diagnostics, equipment prognostics, enhanced risk assessment, and system control. She employs these methodologies in a wide variety of applications to support the safety, security, and economics of nuclear power systems. Her research has been recognized by colleagues through several awards, including two PNNL Outstanding Performance awards and the ANS Ted Quinn Early Career Award.
Research Achievement Award
Recognize tenured faculty members who have been tenure-line for more than 10 years and have received national and/or international recognition in their field.
Jason Hayward
Professor and UCOR Fellow
Hayward’s research, which focuses on radiation instrumentation and imaging, especially for nonproliferation technologies, has received extensive funding and multiple grants from sources including DoE, DHS, and DTRA. His work has led to advancements in the neutron instrumentation used by the IAEA, the creation and demonstration of the highest resolution scintillating fiber achieved for cold neutron imaging, and the design and demonstration of a wearable radiation detection system capable of detecting and tracking nuclear threats in congested areas, among many other achievements.