Â鶹ÊÓƵ

Â鶹ÊÓƵ will bestow one 2019 University Professor Award and three 2019 University Merit Awards in recognition of superior teaching, scholarship and service to the university. The 2019 Merit Awards will be presented to Kendrick Aung, Jamie Azios, Ozge Gunaydin-Sen and Clayton Jeffryes during an awards ceremony April 10 at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary and John Gray Library on the 8th floor.


The 2019 Merit Award recipients:

2019 University Professor Award
Dr. Kendrick Aung, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Aung began his career at Â鶹ÊÓƵ 18 years ago as an assistant professor but quickly progressed to professor. Aung earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Rangoon Institute of Technology, a master’s in engineering from Asian Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Since joining the Â鶹ÊÓƵ faculty, Aung has taught a wide variety of mechanical engineering courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Aung co-directs the mechanical engineering senior design projects, teaching the senior Capstone design courses and guiding Capstone design teams. Under his direction, more than 50 teams have competed in engineering design contests across the country and many have won international, national and regional design awards such as Society of Automotive Engineers Baja competition, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Human Powered Vehicle competition, Shell Eco-marathon America and Texas Space Grant Consortium Design Challenge.

While at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Aung has received significant teaching grants. Additionally, he has received several President Faculty Fellowships for teaching and innovation and has been the recipient of the Dr. Anita Riddle Excellence in Engineering Teaching Fellow. Aung has supervised four doctoral engineering students and 28 master’s in engineering science students. Aung has published more than 90 peer reviewed papers and made nearly 50 presentations at conferences and expositions. Aung has mentored two McNair scholars and has been faculty advisor to Lamar Association of Mechanical Engineering Student Chapter, Lamar American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers Chapter and Pi Tau Sigma honors society of mechanical engineers. He is also Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology accredited and is the accreditation coordinator for the department of engineering, working for many years mentoring faculty members on continuously improving the department.  

2019 University Merit
Dr. Jamie Azios, College of Fine Arts and Communication, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Azios is a tenure-tracked assistant professor who has taught both undergraduate and graduate students since coming to Â鶹ÊÓƵ in 2015. Azios has a bachelor’s and a master’s in communicative disorders from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and she has a Ph.D. in applied language & speech sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Azios takes pride in not only teaching but mentoring her students. In the past two years she has taught two undergraduate courses and six graduate courses. She has mentored two undergraduate student research projects and presented three guest lectures. Azios also chaired five graduate research committees and has served as a committee member on three graduate student research committees. She is a proponent of student-led research and clinical initiatives. Eight of her students have presented with her at regional and national conferences and three students have published articles with her. Azios is a faculty advisor and board member of the Wesley Foundation as well as past president and board member of the Southeast Texas Speech and Hearing Association. Azios has published 28 peer-reviewed presentations since 2015. Azios has also initiated partnership between her department and the community. She is the founder of the Aphasia Conversation Lab which provides free clinical services to people with aphasia and functions as a specialty clinic at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. She founded the Kate Dishman Rehab Center at St. Elizabeth Hospital to improve community integration for people with aphasia.

Dr. Ozge Gunaydin-Sen, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Gunaydin-Sen is a tenure-tracked assistant professor of chemistry who teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Since coming to Â鶹ÊÓƵ In 2013 from Clarion University in Pennsylvania, Gunaydin-Sen has become known for encouraging students to think critically and problem solve and led efforts of revamping, improving and creating curriculum.  Gunaydin-Sen has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, a master’s in chemistry from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and a Ph.D. in chemistry/materials Science from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

In addition to being applauded by students as a wonderful instructor, Gunaydin-Sen is an active researcher. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, presented more than 15 times and has received several research grant proposals that include Â鶹ÊÓƵ Research Enhancement Grant, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory External User Program, three years of magnet time and Summer Faculty Research Award from Â鶹ÊÓƵ in 2017. Additionally, Gunaydin-Sen serves on the Faculty Senate; she is a member of the American Chemical Society, faculty advisor of Alpha Epsilon, engineering and technical science sorority and faculty co-advisor of the Turkish Student Association.

Dr. Clayton Jeffryes, College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering
In his fourth year of teaching at the college level, Jeffryes has distinguished himself at Â鶹ÊÓƵ in a number of ways. A graduate of Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering, a master’s and Ph.D. in chemical engineering, Jeffryes is the first instructor in the Â鶹ÊÓƵ College of Engineering to use concept-based learning tools from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Concept Warehouse. The tenure-tracked assistant professor teaches both undergraduate and graduate students and receives higher than average reviews on student evaluations. For his teaching excellence, Jeffryes was awarded the Dr. Anita Riddle Faculty Excellence in Engineering Teaching Fellowship in 2018.

In addition to his excellent teaching, Jeffryes spends a substantial amount of time in undergraduate research, supervising three researchers. He has published two book chapters, 17 peer-reviewed journal publications and made more than 16 oral and poster conference presentations. During his time at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Jeffryes has supervised more than six Ph.D. and masters students. He serves his profession by serving as session chair and panelist at professional meetings and journal and conference paper reviewer. As a result of Jeffryes’s scholarly activities Â鶹ÊÓƵ has received more than $33,000 for seven projects and that funding is expected to increase. Jeffryes Is the department’s ABET Committee Chair and faculty advisor for Cardinal Wrestling Club.