After 20 years of teaching and grading papers long into the night, U professors Janice Chambers and Steven Burian will be honored with annual Educator of the Year awards from two engineering societies.
Chambers and Burian, of the civil and environmental engineering department, have spent years teaching about the physical properties of steel and the urban effects on water sustainability.
Chambers will receive her award as the Structural Engineers Association of Utah 2009 Engineering Educator of the Year on Friday.
She has been a professor at the U since 1989 and has taught a range of classes in the upper and lower divisions. She said she enjoys her work as a professor and the ability she has to inspire students to continue in a career for civil engineering.
“That’s the reason I got a Ph.D,” Chambers said.
Chris Ernst, a former student of Chambers, praised her for her direct and challenging curriculum.
“A lot of what I liked about her courses at the time was that they were very challenging,” Ernst said. “She wasn’t the kind of person that would just teach everything out of a text book. She would make an effort to go into depth.”
Chambers said she wanted students to learn everything they could.
“I have never sacrificed popularity for my role as an educator,” Chambers said. “I like to teach them to think for themselves. I want them to be competitive.”
Chambers was the first American woman to receive a doctoral degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado.
Steel structure is Chambers’ specialty. She has participated in research on steel connections. Many structural failures are attributed to connection failures. Chambers’ research is focused on finding ways to make steel connections more reliable and safe. Chambers is also researching an effective way to determine the failure of structural systems.
Burian will also be honored on Friday, but by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Burian has been at the U for five years and taught at the University of Arkansas for three years.
He said his main goal is to get students involved and see the fun side of engineering. He recognizes that everyone learns differently.
“I cater to that,” Burian said. “I like to make presentations interactive.”
Burian focuses his research on the sustainability of urban environments, which includes urban water infrastructure system security, urban water management and studying simulations of extreme floods.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration is funding one of Burian’s research projects, which is dedicated to the impacts of humans on precipitation variability, climate and water cycle.
“I’m very happy with my job,” Burian said. “It’s very rewarding and it’s fun. Working with students is the best.”
Chambers and Burian will be honored at the Engineers Week Banquet on Friday at the downtown Wells Fargo building at 6 p.m.