Walters earns national award for chemical engineering education
April 23, 2012
Starkville, Miss. – A member of Mississippi State University’s chemical engineering faculty will be honored this summer by a national engineering education organization.
Keisha B. Walters, an associate professor, will receive the Raymond W. Fahien Award from the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Chemical Engineering Division at its June conference in San Antonio, Texas. The award is given annually to recognize early-career faculty who have shown evidence of vision and contribution to education in the field.
“I was familiar with Keisha’s work even before I came to Mississippi State,” explained Jason Keith, director of the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. “She has been one of the most balanced members of our program, and has excelled in both teaching and research.”
Since joining the Mississippi State faculty in 2005, Walters has earned numerous awards for innovative teaching and devotion to her students including being named to the Bagley College of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers and earning a StatePride Faculty Award from the university. She has been selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium and is a noted author within ASEE.
Beyond earning recognition from national organizations and her peers, Walters’ outreach and classroom activities have captured the attention of her students who in evaluations have commented on her obvious passion for teaching and ability to motivate them to be better engineers.
She says it is her passion for promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics that has encouraged her to be innovative in the classroom and reach out to students and teachers at all levels.
“One of my goals as an educator is to not only share knowledge with my students, but also my passion for learning,” Walters said. “By initiating or supporting the spark of intellectual curiosity, I hope to impact my students throughout their lives.”
Walters holds doctoral and master’s degrees in chemical engineering, and a bachelor’s in biological sciences, all from Clemson University.
The Fahien Award is given in honor of Ray Fahien who is considered the founding father of ASEE’s Journal of Engineering Education. It is presented annually to an educator who has been faculty for less than 10 years and has demonstrated outstanding teaching effectiveness and educational scholarship.
The American Society for Engineering Education is a non-profit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. For more information, visit www.asee.org.