Professor Craig Simmons has been selected to receive the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Faculty Teaching Award, recognizing his outstanding classroom instruction and innovative teaching methods. He is among three other U of T Engineering educators to be honoured for teaching excellence later this spring.
Professor Simmons has led several major efforts to improve the educational experience for students. As the Engineering Science Biomedical Option Chair from 2009-2013, he led a revision of the curriculum in Biomedical Systems Engineering which brought the program on par with the top schools in North America. He also led a successful proposal to establish a NSERC CREATE graduate training program in Microfluidics Applications and Training in Cardiovascular Health (MATCH), and served as its director.
Simmons played a key role in the creation of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering’s (MIE) Biomedical/Biomechanical stream and helped to create a low-cost microfluidics lab designed for undergraduate teaching.
As an instructor, Simmons is constantly seeking to improve his courses. For example, for ‘MIE439: Biomechanics’, he has introduced four new laboratories which use state-of-the-art microfluidic technologies. These labs have been featured in peer reviewed publications.
Simmons received the Early Career Teaching Award from both MIE and the Faculty in 2009 and garnered the MIE Teaching Award in 2015.
“These four exceptional teachers have had a transformative impact on engineering education and student experience in our Faculty” said Dean Cristina Amon. “They are an inspiration not just to our students, but to our fellow educators as well. I wholeheartedly congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
—With files from Carolyn Farrell, U of T Engineering