Professional society awards Rowan engineering professor national honor

April 26, 2010

Truth be told, Dr. Kauser Jahan probably doesn’t sleep much.

Chair of the Civil & Environmental Engineering program at Rowan University, Jahan catapults herself into a constant whirlwind of teaching, research and outreach activities. Before she wraps one major project, she’s on to the next, and before she completes the second, she’s toying with ideas for one more effort, be it applying for funding for a College of Engineering clinic or kicking off a new endeavor to reach K-12 students and teachers. All this, and she never loses sight of her primary responsibility: teaching Rowan College of Engineering students how to be the best engineers possible in an ever-changing world.

Plenty of organizations have recognized her output, her accomplishments and her dedication in the past. But her latest award, well that’s very special to the native of Bangladesh who now lives in Washington Township. N.J.

In April, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) announced it was presenting Jahan with the competitive 2010 ASEE Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education in recognition of her distinguished accomplishments. The award consists of a $2,000 honorarium and an engraved plaque, and it will be presented to the long-time Rowan professor at ASEE’s Annual Awards Banquet on June 23 in Louisville, Ky.

Jahan, married and the mother of two daughters, earned a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Minnesota; an M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Arkansas; and a B.S. in civil engineering from Engineering University, in Bangladesh.

Prior to joining the Rowan faculty in 1996, Jahan worked for the Bureau of Water Pollution Control, Nevada Division of Environmental Pollution and also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno. Prior to her graduate education she worked with Harza Engineering Company International, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is certified as a professional engineer in the State of Nevada.

Among the highlights of Jahan’s career at Rowan are the many outreach programs she initiated. Most recently, she began Engineers on Wheels, funded by the Edison Venture Fund and John Martinson Sr., Lawrenceville, N.J. Engineers on Wheels brings hands-on engineering modules to K-12 students at their schools in a specially equipped van in an effort to spur interest in technology.

Additionally, she has served as director of the:

•   Southern New Jersey Garrett A. Morgan Transportation Technology Education Program, which allowed Jahan to mentor high school students from underrepresented populations to excite them about careers in transportation engineering
• Engineering Clinics for Teachers, which introduces K-12 teachers and counselors to engineering fundamentals and activities they may share with their students
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Pollution Prevention and Sustainability, which attracted college students from across the country to research opportunities at Rowan during the summer
• Attracting Women into Engineering, which brings girls entering seventh and eighth grades to campus for an introduction to engineering.

 Jahan’s research and educational interests include remediation of contaminated soil sites, water and wastewater treatment, alternate energy issues and encouraging women into science and engineering, among many other areas.

 Organizations such as Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and Environmental Protection Agency have awarded her funding, and she has more than $5 million in grants for research, much of it for projects for which she has served as principal investigator.

 Jahan has presented around the globe on various engineering and engineering education topics, and she has authored or co-authored more than 175 book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, peer-reviewed conference proceedings and abstracts. More than a dozen of her students have won awards for work they conducted under her supervision.

Additionally, Jahan has won numerous awards from Rowan University and such organizatsion as the American Society for Engineering Education (Environmental Engineering Meritorious Service Award) and American Society of Civil Engineers (Educator of the Year Award)

Of the latest award, she said, “It is very rewarding to receive this. I’m very humbled to join the ranks of the women who have won this before from across the country. This is my first national award. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my family and my colleagues.”

Many of those colleagues contributed testimonials about Jahan that led to the Keillor Award, but perhaps the most touching letter of support for the Keillor Award, Jahan said, was from chemical engineering sophomore Brighid Burgin. The student first met Jahan the summer before she entered seventh grade as a participant in AWE. “Dr. Jahan first inspired my interest in engineering with a water treatment activity during AWE,” Burgin said. “ . . . throughout AWE, Dr. Jahan demonstrated boundless enthusiasm for learning, teaching and mentoring and brought a positive attitude and friendliness to every engineering activity, greatly enhancing the experience  for myself and my peers.”

Burgin added, “I am ceaselessly inspired by Dr. Jahan, and her outstanding qualities are immediately visible in all her endeavors. Intensely dedicated to teaching and mentoring, Dr. Jahan is a leader in engineering education who has provided sustained mentoring of not only Rowan students but (also) pre-college students from the surrounding neighborhoods and across the country.”

Rowan Engineering Dean Dr. Dianne Dorland echoed those sentiments. “Kauser Jahan has an innate sense of what inspires the youth of today to pursue the engineering careers of tomorrow. We value her leadership and activities, but most of all her ability to have real impact in the world of engineering education,” Dorland said.