Professor Matt Cooper is a Co-Recipient of the William H. Corcoran Award

Professor Matt Cooper is a co-recipient of the William H. Corcoran Award from the Chemical Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Sponsored by Eastman Chemical, the Award is presented each year to the author(s) of the most outstanding article published in Chemical Engineering Education.

The winning article, “Revealing the Decision-Making Processes of Chemical Engineering Students in Process Safety Contexts,” was the result of research on experiential process safety training performed by Matt and his co-authors, all of whom are co-Principal Investigators on a National Science Foundation (NSF) Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program grant. The co-authors are Professors Daniel Anastasio (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology), Cheryl Bodnar (Rowan University), Brittany Butler (Rowan University), Daniel Burkey (University of Connecticut).and Emily Dringenberg (Ohio State University).

Students in Prof. Cooper’s classes know he’s an outstanding teacher. He has received a number of teaching and engineering education research awards including NC State’s 2014 Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2019 Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award. In 2016, he received the ASEE ChE Division Raymond W. Fahien Award, which is given annually to an educator “who has shown evidence of vision and contribution to chemical engineering education.”

Earlier this year he received the 2021 ASEE Southeastern Section Outstanding Mid-Career Teaching Award. That award recognizes a faculty member “who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to engineering or engineering technology education through outstanding classroom performance.”

Prof. Cooper earned his B.S. degree from West Virginia University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Ohio University, all in chemical engineering. After having worked in the private sector, he joined our department in 2011. He currently serves as Chair of the ASEE National ChE Division and he is an ABET program evaluator.

Congratulations to Prof. Cooper for this latest recognition of your excellence as a faculty member!