Eileen Haase, associate teaching professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and chair of the Applied Biomedical Engineering program, has been named the inaugural William R. Kenan, Jr. Scholar/Teacher. This honor, effective on January 1, 2020, extends for two years.
The William R. Kenan, Jr. Fund was established to stimulate the adoption of sound innovative teaching methods, particularly in undergraduate education. The Whiting School has re-envisioned this program to help teaching and tenure-track faculty members pursue research in engineering education. Faculty members interested in the fund were invited to submit proposals for projects that would provide long-term benefits to the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate teaching.
Haase’s winning proposal outlined plans to introduce evidence-based practices in one of BME’s largest courses, Molecules and Cells, which is taken by more than 25 percent of Whiting School students. The techniques piloted in the course not only have the potential to be used as a model for other large lecture classes in both the Whiting School and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, but also could substantially enhance long-term student outcomes and/or the quality of students’ educational experience at the Whiting School.
Haase has won numerous awards, including the American Society for Engineering Education Mid-Atlantic Section’s Best Paper Award, and the Robert B. Pond, Jr. Excellence in Teaching Award twice, in 2012 and 2019. She was principal investigator on a Gateway Sciences Initiative Provost Award (2013 to 2016) that developed the BME Design Studio. Haase also has been part of an ongoing collaboration with the Center for Educational Resources to train future STEM educators. She has published numerous papers on her educational activities and presents work regularly at the BMES Annual Meeting and at ASEE national and regional meetings.