Amy Sprague
March 20, 2025
A&A recognizes faculty members who have been advancing key strategic goals through the department's Faculty Endowment Awards. These endowments provide faculty with resources to develop and implement innovative programs that benefit students and align with the department's three strategic pillars: Research, Holistic Education, and Community. Professor Antonino Ferrante and Assistant Professor Ed Habtour received the awards this past academic year.
New class “Research Writing & Presenting in Engineering”
Antonino Ferrante, A&A Professor
Professor Ferrante created a new 1-credit class "Research Writing & Presenting in Engineering" for both undergraduate and graduate students. The course helps students become effective communicators in science and engineering through three focus areas: literature review and critical thinking, technical writing, and technical presentation.
"Many of our students experience significant anxiety around technical writing and scientific papers," said Ferrante. "This class is offering them the practical tools to overcome these barriers and develop important skills for their academic and professional careers."
Students learn to search and analyze scientific articles, organize technical writing using the IMRaD structure, create flow-charts to explain results, and develop presentation skills. The course provides a supportive environment with feedback from both peers and the instructor.
Ferrante's initiative primarily supports the Research pillar of the department's strategic plan while also contributing to Holistic Education by preparing students for success in academia, industry, and national laboratories.
Continuing success: National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program workshop
Ed Habtour, A&A Assistant Professor
Building on last year's success, Professor Habtour's NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Workshop for Engineering has received continued support through this year's endowment awards and also secured additional funding from the University of Washington Diversity and Inclusion Seed Grant Program. The workshop provides critical support for engineering students applying for prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.
"Our workshop has demonstrated clear interest and demand for this type of professional development within the College of Engineering," Habtour noted. "We're particularly proud that more than 50% of our participants have been women, significantly higher than the 33-35% enrollment of women in engineering programs overall."
In its first year for the 2024 application season, the workshop helped participants achieve impressive results, with six out of twenty submitted applications (30%) receiving either awards or honorable mentions from the NSF GRFP program—a notable achievement considering 2024 saw the lowest number of awards given by NSF in more than a decade.
The workshop addresses three key objectives: providing a support network to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in engineering, fostering community and mentorship, and empowering students with essential tools to develop strong scholarship applications.
"These faculty-led initiatives exemplify our commitment to providing holistic education and building a vibrant research community," said Department Chair Kristi Morgansen. "By investing in these programs, we're helping our students develop the skills they need to succeed in their academic careers and beyond and making it possible for faculty to try new approaches for student success."
The faculty endowment awards, named after distinguished contributors to the department (William D. Larsen, Richard Scherrer, and Jeffrey S. Stone), provide recipients with one month of summer salary, enabling them to dedicate time to advancing these strategic initiatives. Says Habtour, "This continued funding has allowed us to build on our initial success and refine our approach. The results we've seen already demonstrate the impact this targeted support can have on our students' careers."