Raghavan Wins Clark School Faculty Teaching Award

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) extends its congratulations to Patrick and Marguerite Sung Professor Srinivasa Raghavan, who received the 2010 E. Robert Kent Outstanding Teaching Award for Junior Faculty at the Clark School’s Fall Commencement ceremony on December 19.

"Dr. Raghavan is recognized for his deeply inspiring lectures and his record of training and developing student researchers," Clark School dean Darryll Pines told the assembled students, faculty and guests, noting that in addition to his graduate students, Raghavan has mentored over 60 undergraduates in his lab since 2001. "He teaches from information and insights he has developed rather relying only on a textbook. He is known for working late into the night with his graduate students to help them fine-tune presentations and papers. Students call him the most engaging and inspiring teacher they have ever had. One student gives him credit for turning him into a leader and a fearless researcher."

"I hear time and time again from our students that they love Dr. Raghavan's elective course as well as the core courses that he teaches," says ChBE Professor and Chair Sheryl Ehrman. "He and his students also accomplish amazing things in the lab together. As a teacher, mentor and scholar, he is a great role model and truly deserving of this award."

Raghavan earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University in 1998 and joined the University of Maryland faculty in 2001. He is the director of the Complex Fluids and Nanomaterials Group, which studies the spontaneous self-assembly of molecules and nanoparticles. The group uses this behavior in the design of new types of "smart" fluids and materials that could be useful in oil recovery, drug delivery, biomimetic systems, wound care, and nanotechnology. Raghavan has published extensively and has participated in and supported his students in a variety of business plan competitions aimed at commercializing new products developed in his lab.

Relative to its size, the ChBE faculty has garnered a remarkable number of Clark School and University of Maryland teaching awards and honors. Including Raghavan, current and emeritus faculty members have won four E. Robert Kent Outstanding Teaching Awards for Junior Faculty, five Poole and Kent Teaching Awards for Senior Faculty, a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award, and a Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award.

To learn more about Professor Raghavan and his work:

Visit the Complex Fluids and Nanomaterials web site »

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Raghavan Awarded Sung Professorship »
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Published December 20, 2010