By: Eli Freund, Editorial Communications Manager, UConn School of Engineering 

The University of Connecticut School of Engineering is proud to announce that Civil and Environmental Associate Professor-in-Residence Shinae Jang is the recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Engineering Educator award for her outstanding teaching and pedagogical innovation at the undergraduate level.

Dr. Jang, who is also the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the CEE Department, started working at UConn in 2010 after receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. Jang has an extensive teaching portfolio covering 9 undergraduate courses and two graduate courses in the forms   of face-to-face, flipped, hybrid, and online classrooms. Through these courses she has covered engineering theories, problem solving skills, software tool-suites for modeling and analysis, and field equipment for surveying and testing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Jang re-imagined the traditional large Statics course using the Universal Design of Instructions for neurodiverse students to make the required course more flexible and accessible for students with disabilities. To this end, she successfully implemented innovative and creative approaches which worked seamlessly with distance learning modalities, improving inclusivity and reducing student stress, while maintaining academic objectives and effectiveness for all students.

Dr. Jang’s previous accolades include the 2018 Civil Engineering Educator of the Year Award by the Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) fellowship in 2012. She currently serves as the faculty advisor of the ASCE UConn Student Chapter, in addition to other numerous internal and external boards and committees.

For more information on Dr. Jang and her background, please click here.