The George R. Brown School of Engineering has launched a Future Faculty Fellows program to support Ph.D. and postdoctoral students who are interested in pursuing academic careers.
“The goal of the program is to help our students become more competitive for faculty positions. Fellows will receive support in preparing all elements of the faculty application and interview,” said Anjli Kumar, administrative research manager for the engineering school.
Tracy Volz, director of the school’s Engineering Communications Program, will aid fellows in preparing their written statements, curriculum vitae and faculty interview presentation. The dean of engineering and chair of the fellow’s department will conduct mock faculty interviews and provide feedback to strengthen interview skills.
Fellows will attend workshops designed to support them as they prepare for faculty interviews. To enhance teaching skills, fellows will complete a practicum in which they teach or co-teach a course within their discipline. The Center for Teaching and Excellence will provide training and observation evaluations. A monetary award of $4,000 will support each fellow for speaking at conferences and university seminars.
Rice Engineering has named its first 11 fellows including Iyabo Lawal, who is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering in the Tribomechadynamics Lab of Matthew Brake, assistant professor of MECH.
Lawal focuses on the integration of tribology, contact mechanics and structural dynamics. Her research focus is to understand how surface topology changes, caused by friction and wear, at a scale affecting the dynamic performance of a structure. She earned an M.S. in sustainable design from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in MECH from Texas A&M University, and has industry experience in the testing and integration of measurement systems.