Dr. Kathleen Hart is the assistant director for student services in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, where she works with both undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Hart is recognized by peers as the "foundation" that keeps her department functioning smoothly, volunteering beyond her assigned roles to lead recruitment efforts, graduate admissions and the accreditation process, and offering encouragement to all around her. It is well known that her door is always open to help students with scheduling, advising and part-time employment. She has served on the President’s Awards Advisory Committee, Banneker-Key Selection Committee, as an Advise 5 advisor, as a College of Behavioral and Social Sciences mentor and as a member of the Maryland Chorus. Dr. Hart has also worked in advocacy organizations at the national, state and local levels and has recently been trained in local emergency preparedness and response.

Eric Schurr is assistant director of the Clark School's Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (or Mtech). At the department, school and university levels, Eric is a highly regarded leader in marketing communications and media relations, creatively and tirelessly cultivating the national and local media to convey Mtech's achievements to academic, business and government communities. He is recognized as the "epitome of positive spirit," willing at all times to advise and assist communicators throughout the Clark School and University. His expertise and hard work are vital to the success, year after year, of high-profile activities such as our Technology Start-Up Bootcamp and $50,000 Business Plan Competition. Through his exceptional service, Eric has contributed significantly to the Clark School's reputation.

As Executive Director of the Office of Advanced Engineering Education, Dr. George Syrmos is responsible for the Clark School’s highly respected programs in continuing and professional education. These programs, which have grown at a tremendous rate under his leadership, extend the Clark School’s academic mission far beyond the campus, offering technology companies and their employees a broad range of opportunities to update their knowledge and capabilities. Like the numerous alumni of Dr. Syrmos’s programs, many of you may find it advantageous to pursue additional course work at different points in your career. You will find that the programs organized by Dr. Syrmos and his team deliver the same high quality you have experienced as an undergraduate here. This is due in no small measure to Dr. Syrmos’s infectious enthusiasm, his dedication to the Clark School (of which he is a proud alumnus), his extensive knowledge of employers’ needs, and his expert guidance.

Debra Densmore, program management specialist in the Clark School's Co-op and Career Services Office, is the recipient of the Clark School's 2008 Staff Service Award. The Co-op and Career Services Office is where students come to find work and companies come to find engineers. As program management specialist, Debra Densmore coordinates countless activities including career development workshops, on-campus interviews, networking receptions, recruiter lunches and other special events connecting students and employers. These events have paved the way for successful relationships with hundreds of companies who recruit Clark School students year after year. Recruiters call Densmore instrumental, efficient, well-organized, and above all—extremely pleasant to work with. Her enthusiasm stretches beyond the Co-op office. She has assisted numerous other Clark School offices with their events. At the university level, she has been recognized for volunteering at all ten Maryland Day celebrations. In the words of a colleague, "You can always count on Debbie to step forward when assistance is needed."

Teresa Moore, director of operations for the Clark School's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the recipient of the Clark School's 2009 Staff Service Award. As director of operations, Ms. Moore brings great expertise and judgment to making her department’s research and teaching programs run smoothly and effectively. Professors, students and staff colleagues note her ever-present smile, can-do attitude and willingness to step in and help whenever and wherever it is needed. Ms. Moore has readily served as coordinator for many initiatives both within and outside of her department and the Clark School. She helped to raise $65,000 to cover the medical expenses of a graduate student suddenly stricken by an illness not covered by health insurance. She spearheaded efforts to improve the physical appearance of the A.V. Williams Building, which houses departments from both the Clark School and the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. And, students in the department praise her mentorship of the ECE Graduate Student Association.

James Milke, associate chair and associate professor of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, is this year's recipient of the Clark School Faculty Service Award. At present Milke serves as the main faculty advisor for five student groups, including Tau Beta Pi. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Society for Fire Protection Engineering and has served on the Core Group of FEMA's World Trade Center Building Assessment Team. He also lectures to elementary and high school students about the field of fire protection engineering, and consistently participates in all recruitment events. His research in smoke management and response of materials is widely recognized.

Nam Sun Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is this year’s recipient of the Clark School Faculty Service Award. Wang served as the main faculty advisor for the Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering Society graduate student group chapter. He has also served as advisor for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers student chapter, on the Undergraduate Studies Committee and as a liaison to the Professional Masters Program. Wang was director for undergraduate studies in his department for 10 years as well. He has devoted more than 10 years to “K-12” outreach—one colleague remarks he has spent untold hours talking about engineering at middle schools and high schools. Colleagues note he is an eager volunteer whenever help is needed.

Richard McCuen, professor of civil and environmental engineering, is this year's recipient of the Clark School Faculty Service Award. McCuen has contributed to the university, Clark School and his department in several ways. He is director of the Clark School honors program, with which he has been involved since the 1980s, and teaches four honors seminar sections each year. He teaches the introductory course for our Future Faculty program, which prepares students for academic careers. He is a former associate dean for undergraduate studies and has served on his department's Committee on Undergraduate Education and its centennial celebration committee. He has been involved in high school outreach activities; in Chi Epsilon, the national honor society for civil engineering students; and in the mentoring of colleagues and students for many years. One colleague notes, "Rick's name is synonymous with service to the department, the school and the community at large."

Alison Flatau is the director of the aerospace engineering department's undergraduate program and honors program. Seniors in the honors program must present a research project at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) regionally student conference. Under her guidance, Clark School students have won 8 of the 9 AIAA undergraduate awards over the past three years. In addition, she is the faculty advisor for the student chapter of the AIAA, which hosted the regional student conference last year and won the regional best student chapter award for 2008. Flatau also works to recruit high school students into the Clark School. In her "spare time," Flatau is a prolific researcher, having published 10 archival journal papers and 21 proceedings papers last year alone, in addition to serving several professional organizations as a conference chair, associate chair or reviewer. In the fall of 2009, Dr. Flatau was named interim associate dean of research for the Clark School.

Elisabeth Smela

Dr. Elisabeth Smela, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is committed to education through teaching, course development, curriculum innovation, and mentoring. She has developed three new courses, including a two-part MEMS course, and a graduate course in active polymers. To enable educational institutions without microfabrication facilities to give lab demonstrations on the basic fabrication concepts, Dr. Smela is working with a group of students to create MEMS teaching kits. Undergraduates who wish to pursue research have been welcome in her laboratory, and graduate students have the opportunity to present their research at a college-wide biweekly MEMS seminar series that she created and organizes. While at Maryland she has established research activities in bio-sensing, has continued her work on conjugated polymer actuators (developing commercial biomedical devices as well as physics-based models of the actuation mechanisms) and she has started a new effort in miniaturization of dielectric elastomer actuators for use as artificial muscles. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for this effort.