Teaching Awards

Dr. Faisal Beg, Professor

Faculty of Applied Sciences Award of Excellence for Teaching  

Dr. Beg is highly respected for outstanding teaching in the biomedical engineering option.  As one student noted: “Faisal is constantly engaging students in class. It is clear that he is genuinely interested in whether or not we learn the material.”  Dr. Beg receives consistent praise from students for his ability to explain complex ideas clearly. In addition, he has strong ties with local organizations and shows tremendous, ongoing commitment to causes, even joining the Alzheimer Society of BC’s Ascent for Alzheimer’s team. In 2010, Dr. Beg’s team made the 7-day, 4,700-metre climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. All of the funds he raised from family, friends, colleagues and industry - $12,000 - were donated to the Alzheimer Society. Dr. Beg has received the prestigious APEG BC Meritorious Achievement Award (2012) in recognition of his research and community impact, and the Faculty of Applied Sciences Award of Excellence for Teaching in 2011. 

Dr. John Jones, Associate Professor

APEG BC Teaching Award of Excellence
SFU Excellence in Teaching Award
Faculty of Applied Sciences Award of Excellence for Teaching

Dr. Jones loves the enthusiasm of new students in engineering science. To sustain that enthusiasm during first-year, when students primarily study math and science, associate professor Jones introduced an engineering-history course that gives students a glimpse of what they can expect from a career in engineering. It’s a popular course, designed to awaken students’ curiosity.  “Unless students have questions, there is no learning,” says Dr. Jones.  Students say they appreciate his emphatic lecturing style, his passion for his subject and, most of all, his quirky sense of humour. He inspires both students and colleagues to look beyond standard curriculum to deeply examine the impact that engineering has on society, community and the environment. He has been awarded many teaching awards, both from the university and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEG BC).

Dr. Ash Parameswaran, Professor

APEG BC Teaching Award of Excellence
SFU Excellence in Teaching Award

Dr. Parameswaran has had a distinguished career, but one thing he enjoys most is the art of teaching. “In my mother tongue, Tamil, there is a saying that knowledge is the only form of wealth that you can give to someone else without losing anything yourself.”  And there’s no question that Parameswaran likes to spread his wealth—and his passion for learning. He works alongside students in the lab, often late into the evening, and willingly comes in on weekends to help students.  “I don’t want them to lose their enthusiasm,” he says. “From society’s point of view, that would be a waste.” His teaching awards include the APEG BC award in 2007 and an SFU award in 2011. In 2006, he won the Sanford Fleming Wighton Fellowhip for innovative and distinctive contribution to electrical engineering undergraduate laboratory instruction, and since 2004 has held the J.L. Wighton Professor of Experimental and Laboratory Studies.

Dr. Lesley Shannon, Associate Professor

APEG BC Teaching Award of Excellence
Faculty of Applied Sciences Award of Excellence for Teaching

Dr.  Shannon is well-respected by students for simplifying teaching material in her area of computer system design. She received the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEG BC) 2014 Teaching Award of Excellence and the Faculty of Applied Sciences Award of Excellence for Teaching in 2013. Described as “exceedingly likeable” and “down to earth,” Dr. Shannon leverages her network of contacts to host seminars connecting students with leading B.C. engineering companies. She also works with the engineering co-op office to ensure industry connections translate into job opportunities for students. While chair of the School of Engineering Science computer option, she spearheaded the computer stream curriculum redesign.

Dr. Rodney G. Vaughan, Professor

IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Vehicular Technology Society

Dr. Vaughan is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS). He is a leading expert in mobile communications and is invited to speak to IEEE VTS chapters throughout the world on technical topics related to propagation modeling, multi-element antennas, directional beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, and blind channel estimation. VTS is one of the technical societies within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology.  Dr. Vaughan also holds the Sierra Wireless Professorship in Mobile Communications and his research covers signal processing theory, antenna theory and design, and wave propagation measurement and modeling.