Lamar University has honored four faculty members with University Merit Awards in recognition of outstanding performance in the classroom. The 2009 award recipients are assistant professors Paul Bernazzani, chemistry and physics; Ashraf El-Houbi, information systems and analysis; Xianchang Li, mechanical engineering; and Weihang Zhu, industrial engineering.

A university-wide committee selected them from candidates - all junior faculty members – nominated by committees from LU colleges. Lamar officials presented the awards during a reception and program April 22 in the University Reception Center of the Mary and John Gray Library. Ku-yen Li, professor of chemical engineering, was honored as the 2009 University Professor.

While scholarship and service to the university and community are an

important consideration in granting the Merit Awards, the most important criteria for selection are classroom performance and interaction with students, said Stephen Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Paul Bernazzani, who is completing his fifth year at Lamar, earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Montreal, a master of science from the University of Quebec in Montreal and a doctor of philosophy from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres. He has taught eight undergraduate and four graduate courses, receiving excellent reviews from his students.

“Paul is a very good classroom teacher, whose courses are rigorous and demanding,” said Keith Hansen, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics. “Even though his classes are difficult, he is well liked by his students because he is always well prepared, patient and accessible. He is genuinely concerned that they learn.”

Course Web sites, engaging experiments and new courses have contributed to Bernazzini’s success. Of particular significance is his commitment to student research, Doblin said. He has guided the research activities of almost a dozen undergraduates, and he has supervised thesis research for more than 20 graduate students.

As founder of Lamar’s Society of Plastics Engineers’ student section, he has cultivated the academic interests of students across campus. He has sought and received scholarship and operational funds to promote polymer research among students – resulting in 12 scholarships of $500 each.

Bernazzani is a highly productive and well regarded scholar whose resume includes six articles in peer-reviewed journals plus four refereed proceedings papers, 11 research presentations and external support totaling more than $100,000, including a prestigious Advanced Research Program grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He is active professionally and a reviewer for two of chemistry’s leading journals and two national funding agencies.

On campus, Bernazzani has served on departmental, college and university committees; off campus, he delivers talks to high school and college audiences.

Ashraf El-Houbi, who teaches statistics in the Department of Information Systems and Analysis, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming, master of science degrees from Iowa State and Kansas State universities and a bachelor of science from Al-Fateh University in Tripoli.

Now in his third year of service at Lamar and his sixth at the collegiate level, he has taught two undergraduate and two graduate courses, all in business analysis.

“Students enjoy taking classes from him,” said his department chair, Kakoli Bandyopadhyay. “He has made difficult concepts easy to learn by emphasizing real-life business problems and by bringing into class projects which involve interpretation of the results and processes of statistics.”

“He is a superb teacher . . . an excellent communicator (and) has established a strong research agenda,” said Henry Venta, dean of the College of Business.

El-Houbi has developed new course materials, assigned student projects and employed the latest statistical software and technologies. He created an online course, guest-lectured in colleagues’ classes and has been involved in Lamar’s annual Education Research Conference.

He has established a solid research foundation, with seven refereed articles and others under consideration. He has delivered more than a dozen presentations to local, regional and national professional groups. El-Houbi has also been a member of many college committees and has a strong record of professional service. He serves as faculty sponsor of Lamar’s Muslim Student Association.

Xianchang Li, in his third year at Lamar and sixth year of university-level teaching, earned bachelor and master of science degrees at Tsinghai University in Beijing before completing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Clemson University. He furthered his training with post-doctoral experience at Lehigh University. Thermodynamics and energy management are his areas of expertise. Li has taught 11 courses, including three at the graduate level.

“Dr. Li has excellent rapport with his students and receives very positive teaching evaluations,” said Jack Hopper, dean of the College of Engineering.

Li takes pride in working with undergraduates on wind power and related sources of clean, renewable energy, Doblin said. He has served as advisor to eight master’s and three doctoral students, and he aggressively recruits new students to Lamar’s graduate engineering programs. Li employs an active teaching style that complements Web-enhanced and multimedia class materials. He has attended several teaching effectiveness workshops and recently received a Lamar University Instructional Improvement Grant. His teaching evaluations are uniformly positive.

Li has served as a National Science Foundation proposal reviewer, an honor received by few young faculty members. He has been the primary or co-primary investigator of 12 projects totaling almost $2 million. He has received support from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Texas Space Grant Consortium. He received two Lamar Research Enhancement Grants and is the author or coauthor of 18 journal papers, 22 peer-reviewed professional papers and two other conference presentations. Li is professionally active and a member of many engineering associations and honorary societies. He reviews manuscripts for several journals and professional societies. He serves on committees and provides expert assistance on campus and in the community.

“Dr. Li has participated in a variety of scholarship and creative activities, including preparing research proposals, working on funded research projects, publishing journal articles and attending conferences,” said Hsing-wei Chu, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “He has excellent credentials in teaching, service and scholarship.”

Weihang Zhu, now in his fourth year at Lamar, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Zhejiang University in China before receiving his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. Described as a “work horse” for the industrial engineering department, Zhu has taught 17 courses during his short time at Lamar. Seven are new courses he created and developed, and 10 are graduate courses, the majority in his areas of expertise: manufacturing and haptics, the latter defined as technology that interfaces with the user through the sense of touch. Zhu is also involved in research using graphics processing units (GPU) computing and engineering optimization.

“Dr. Zhu is dedicated, committed and industrious in all three areas of faculty responsibility,” Hopper said. “He brings enthusiasm and focus to his teaching, his research and his service. His research productivity has been rewarded with success in both grants and publications. He is an outstanding faculty member who brings great value to Lamar University.”

Zhu has used an engineering education grant he received from the National Science Foundation to improve core engineering courses. He has revised and updated several engineering laboratories, employing the latest instructional technologies to improve his classes and labs. Zhu has supervised about a dozen graduate students and serves on the Department of Industrial Engineering Advisory Council. He has attended professional workshops to hone his classroom skills and has offered workshops of his own.

“Dr. Zhu has been very productive in our teaching program,” said Victor Zaloom, chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering. “He regularly teaches courses in the manufacturing component of our curriculum. His performance in the classroom and lab is very good and he is constantly improving teaching methods and course content.”

In addition, Zaloom said, Zhu is a prolific researcher who has written 25 research proposals. Of those, five have been funded, and four others are pending. Zhu has published 19 peer-refereed articles and proceedings papers and is active professionally. He is a member of many engineering associations and regularly attends professional meetings. He has delivered demonstrations and invited talks to faculties at universities around the world.

Zaloom noted that Zhu is organizing a symposium on advanced process planning as part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference to be held at Purdue University in October 2009.

Zhu also serves on departmental, college and university committees and has an outstanding record of community and professional service, Doblin said.