Professor Richard Register receives a teaching award from Dean Emily A. Carter as Vice Dean Antoine Kahn looks on. (photo by Frank Wojciechowski )

Faculty honored for excellence in teaching and mentoring, encouraging students to "think further"

Two members of the engineering school faculty were recognized in the 2018 graduation ceremonies for outstanding accomplishments in teaching and mentoring students.

Photo of Richard RegisterRichard Register, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, received the engineering school’s Distinguished Teacher Award.

 

Register, who joined the Princeton faculty in 1990, investigates the synthesis, properties and applications of complex polymeric materials. His work informs the design of materials with novel and tailored properties for uses in electronics, lightweight vehicles and structures, and separation membranes.

In presenting the award at the engineering school’s Class Day ceremony, Antoine Kahn, the vice dean of engineering, noted that while Register chaired the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering from 2008 to 2016, he continued to teach courses every academic year. Kahn said undergraduates appreciated Register’s responsiveness and availability for extra help.

One graduate student said of Register’s teaching: “For any question we raise, he not only provides explanations, but also encourages us to read more and think further.”

Register received a 2008 Graduate Mentoring Award from the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. Earlier this year he was one of eight faculty members honored with an Excellence in Teaching Award by the student engineering councils.

Stanislav Shvartsman, a professor of chemical and biological engineering and the Lewis Sigler Institute of Integrative Genomics, received a Graduate Mentoring Award from the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. He was one of four faculty members who received the award during the Graduate School’s Hooding Ceremony June 4.

Photo of Stanislav Shvartsman

Shvartsman, who joined the Princeton faculty in 2001, studies the dynamics of cells and living tissues, using experiments, theory and computation to develop predictive models of biological processes.

His graduate students, who call him “Stas,” said Shvartsman is exacting, but extremely supportive.

One student was reassured by Shvartsman after botching an expensive experiment. “Instead of getting impatient or angry, Stas calmly discussed a path forward and encouraged me not to get discouraged by setbacks,” she said.

Former students said Shvartsman remains interested in their careers well after graduation, providing contacts and reviewing tenure applications. “I hope that over time I will be able to impact students’ lives through supportive mentoring as he has done for me,” said one student, now an associate professor.

Related Faculty

Stanislav Shvartsman

Portrait of Richard A. Register

Richard A. Register

Related Departments

Professor and student work together in lab setting.

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Advancing human health, energy, materials science, and industrial processes