Provost's Awards for Excellence
2018-2019 Awardees
Excellence in Teaching
Donald Edberg, a Professor in the Aerospace Engineering department, joined Cal Poly Pomona in 2001 after earning a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has received Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Engineering and Northrop Grumman Faculty Award for teaching excellence in 2016. Dr. Edberg spearheaded the development of Uninhabited Vehicle Lab (UAV) and the Astronautics club. He is the champion and adviser for CPP Zero-Gravity flight team that was selected three times by NASA. This is a rare honor as only a few institutions in the nation achieve this distinction. Under his supervision, CPP student design teams have secured top three places nineteen times (including seven first-place finishes) since 2007. Dr. Edberg practices a hands-on approach to teaching. He works closely with local industries. Many of his students are now leaders in the aerospace industry.
Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activities
Xudong Jia, Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering, is an outstanding educator. He has earned a regional, national, and international reputation as a distinguished researcher, having received four awards, written two textbooks, and published 76 papers. He was awarded $1.5 million to complete 41 externally funded projects. Dr. Jia developed QuakeView – an Earthquake Pre-Warning System, for which he was personally commended by United States Senator Barbara Boxer. As a real practitioner in solving transportation problems, Dr. Jia managed a big data environment, the Regional Integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and conducted applied research for LA Metro in 2008 – 2014. As a national and international expert, he is frequently invited as a speaker in conferences and was recently a keynote speaker at the 2017 China-ASEAN Mining Submit Forum. As an international collaborator, Dr. Jia has provided workshops to 1500+ presidents, deans, chairs, professors, and young faculty of Chinese universities in education and civil engineering and gave presentations to more than 22 universities in China. Dr. Jia established the UCCONNECT Summer Research Program and hosted two professional conferences in 2014 and 2016. Through these programs, 70+ students were financially supported to attend conferences and present papers and 80+ students, who were funded by the programs, received MSCE degrees. Dr. Jia is a strong promoter of the Teacher-Scholar model and has demonstrated a commitment for excellence and student success. Through partnerships with Caltrans, his students have worked on real-life projects and received numerous awards in competitions since 2007.
Excellence in Service
Steve Alas, Professor in the Biological Sciences Department and the Director of the Science Educational Enhancement Services (SEES) has demonstrated exemplary service through his leadership of programs that support and engage under-represented students. Through SEES and Dr. Alas’ efforts, the CSU-LSAMP program, the NSF BioTIER program, and the STEM Success programs have helped over 2,500 students at Cal Poly Pomona. Major grants from the California Wellness Foundation, the Hearst Foundation, the Chancellor’s Office and the National Science Foundation support the programs and represent extensive, long-term efforts to improve the University through service by strengthening student success in STEM fields. Dr. Alas serves our local community through programs like the CPP summer Discovery Camps for K-12 students held at CPP and taught by the SEES students. Over 600 K-12 students per summer have experienced hands-on learning at the Discovery Camps. Dr. Alas has provided leadership to the Biological Sciences Department, the College of Science, the Academic Senate, and the Division of Academic Affairs as either a member or chair of multiple committees. His extensive contributions to our students, his department, college, university and the alumni association are befitting the highest recognition.