{"id":14277,"date":"2012-04-27T14:31:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T19:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=14277"},"modified":"2016-07-28T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T19:33:12","slug":"mechanical-engineering-chair-professor-recognized-for-outstanding-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/mechanical-engineering-chair-professor-recognized-for-outstanding-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanical engineering chair, professor recognized for outstanding teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Arunachalam Rajendran (center) talks with students and faculty at the UM School of Engineering. UM photo by Nathan Latil<\/p><\/div>\n

As chair of UM\u2019s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Arunachalam M. Rajendran\u00a0has earned the respect of administration and faculty, and his research achievements are known worldwide. But being selected for the school\u2019s monthly Faculty Teaching Award is the most meaningful honor yet for \u201cDr. Raj,\u201d as he is affectionately called on campus.<\/p>\n

Dr. Raj\u2019s students speak highly of their teacher and showed their gratitude by nominating him for the honor in teaching earlier this semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping and mentoring students to advance in their studies to achieve their academic goals is what I enjoy most about my job,\u201d Rajendran said. \u201cWhether nominating students for awards or writing recommendations for graduate programs, I enjoy seeing students become well-rounded members of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajendran teaches Mechanical Engineering 101 and other mechanical engineering elective courses. He ensures that his students grasp the material in his courses by presenting the same information in different ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for me to know the students\u2019 individual capabilities,\u201d he said. \u201cAll students learn on a different level. Some may understand the theory while other students may only understand the experiment. So it\u2019s important to go outside of the textbook and use life experiences that will allow both types of learning styles to comprehend.\u201d<\/p>\n

His open-door policy allows students to come in at any time with concerns, no matter what the topic may be.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Raj is very friendly and helpful,\u201d said Richard Lucas, a freshman from Maylene, Ala. \u201cHe always invites me to sit and chat when I visit him in his office. Although he is very busy, he always makes time for his students. Dr. Raj really wants to see everyone in the department succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajendran makes sure that his students are aware of all the resources of the mechanical engineering department by providing them with tours of various facilities throughout the semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed getting to see all the facilities that are part of the mechanical engineering department,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cWe were able to see the blast lab, the National Center for Physical Acoustics and the machine shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajendran said his mission is to see students succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do this, we must help them get recognition,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s important to do well in the classroom, but it is about more than that. Students must exhibit other qualities, such as leadership and activities to show their capabilities, and I make sure my students know that that\u2019s what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Presnell, a recent master\u2019s graduate of the department, considers himself a testimony of how helpful Rajendran is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into the master\u2019s program with a very low GPA,\u201d Presnell said. \u201cRajendran gave me a chance when no one else was willing to. I was inspired by his belief in me. I presented a paper at the worldwide conference on shock physics and earned a master\u2019s degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajendran said Presnell\u2019s weakness was his undergraduate GPA, but his strength was his creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took the time and trained him with certain software that would allow him to use his strengths more freely,\u201d Rajendran said. \u201cHe was a great student that gained tons of leadership skills, communication skills and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Formerly the chief scientist at the Engineering Sciences Directorate in Durham, N.C., Rajendran was also an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University before coming to Ole Miss. Despite a distinguished career, he says that his work is not done. He hopes to continue making sure students are putting their best works forward and said he really enjoys building relationships with students.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s not about the awards; it\u2019s about showing our students that hard work and leadership will pay off,\u201d Rajendran said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As chair of UM\u2019s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Arunachalam M. Rajendran\u00a0has earned the respect of administration and faculty, and his research achievements are known worldwide. But being selected for the school\u2019s monthly Faculty Teaching Award is the most meaningful honor yet for \u201cDr. Raj,\u201d as he is affectionately called on campus. Dr. Raj\u2019s students speakRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[765,1297],"tags":[783],"yoast_head":"\nMechanical engineering chair, professor recognized for outstanding teaching - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/mechanical-engineering-chair-professor-recognized-for-outstanding-teaching\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mechanical engineering chair, professor recognized for outstanding teaching - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As chair of UM\u2019s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Arunachalam M. Rajendran\u00a0has earned the respect of administration and faculty, and his research achievements are known worldwide. But being selected for the school\u2019s monthly Faculty Teaching Award is the most meaningful honor yet for \u201cDr. Raj,\u201d as he is affectionately called on campus. 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