UD professor wins national biomedical engineering award

The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) presents one innovative instructor with the Biomedical Engineering Teaching Award annually — and this year, the honor goes to University of Delaware assistant professor and director of the undergraduate program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Sarah Rooney.

Rooney’s hands-on approach, involving things like 3D-printing and microfluidics technologies, is said to help students understand the science of how the human body moves.

From UDaily:

In the classroom, Rooney asks students to work through problems in groups during breakout sessions. She checks their understanding through quick clicker quizzes.

She demonstrates concepts in clear, insightful, fun ways. For example, to teach torque, a twisting or rotational force the human body undergoes often, she uses a pool noodle with lines drawn on it. As she twists the noodle, students can see how the lines bend and contort.

ASEE is a nonprofit member association that has been supporting engineering educators since 1896.