Nakamura named engineering schools’ ‘Best Teacher’
Posted: May 28, 2010
Mutsumi Nakamura
Mutsumi Nakamura is the recipient of the Best Teacher Award for the 2009-2010 academic year in Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Nakamura, who has been teaching at ASU for the past decade, is a senior lecturer in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering.
Recipients of the engineering school’s Teaching Excellence Awards are chosen through a process that includes nominations by students and performance review by peers overseen by the school’s Quality of Instruction Committee.
In addition to the award for Nakamura, 11 other engineering faculty members received awards for ranking in the top 5 percent based on those evaluations.
The awards recognize exceptional contributions to the instruction and mentoring of students.
“Our highest priority is the education and development of our students,” said Deirdre Meldrum, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and the awards recognize faculty who are among “the most dedicated and tireless contributors to this part of our mission.”
Nakamura teaches core courses in computer science and engineering, including computer programming and software engineering.
“She challenges, motivates, and inspires her students by enhancing her lectures and providing all kinds of tools for students to learn the course material,” says colleague Faye Navabi, a computer science and engineering lecturer.
“She is an exceptional teacher who goes above and beyond her duties to provide students with an unforgettable learning experience,” Navabi says.
Nakamura puts in extra time and effort to give students individual help to understand difficult course material, “and her office door is always open,” Navabi says. “She is very well-respected by students and colleagues.”
Other faculty members in the engineering schools who ranked in the top 5 percent for teaching excellence are:
• Braden Allenby, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
• Mary Anderson-Rowland, School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering
• William Badger, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
• Bertan Bakkaloglu, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
• Yu Cao, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
• Lenore Dai, School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy
• Michael Goryll, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
• Kraig Knutson, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
• Brooke Mayer, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
• Patrick Phelan, School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy
• Ronald Roedel, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
• Dan Shunk, School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering
