Director and Research Associate Professor

Dr. Cynthia Finelli earned B.S.E.E., M.S.E.E., and Ph.D. degrees from U-M in 1988, 1989, and 1993, respectively. Prior to joining CRLT in April 2003, she was the Richard L. Terrell Professor of Excellence in Teaching, founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and associate professor of electrical engineering at Kettering University. Her current research interests include evaluating methods to improve teaching, studying faculty motivation to change classroom practices, and exploring ethical decision-making in engineering students. Dr. Finelli was co-editor for a special issue of the International Journal of Engineering Education on applications of engineering education research, is past Chair of the Educational Research and Methods Division of the American Society of Engineering Education, and holds an appointment as research associate professor in engineering education at U-M.

Assistant Director

Dr. Tershia Pinder-Grover earned a B.S. degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1999 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from U-M in 2002 and 2006, respectively. She joined CRLT in August 2005, where she coordinates initiatives for engineering GSIs, develops workshops and seminars, and consults with faculty and graduate students on a variety of pedagogical topics. Her current research interests include examining the effect of instructional technology on student learning and performance and assessing the impact of peer mentoring programs for GSIs.

Instructional Consultant and Assistant Research Scientist

Dr. Shanna Daly earned a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton in 2003, and an M.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, in 2006 and 2008, respectively. She received the Apprentice Faculty Grant Award from the Educational Research Methods Division of ASEE. Her research focuses on the investigation of design ideation, innovation practices, and creative processes as well as the translation of research to practice in the form of pedagogy, curriculum development, and faculty support.

Research Assistant and Program Assistant

Kenyon Richardson earned her B.A. in Anthropology from U-M, and she previously worked for U-M’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) and the Program in the Environment. Kenyon provides research support for the CRLT-Engin’s National Science Foundation project, “motivating change in faculty teaching practice.” She also supports the Engineering Teaching Consultants and other CRLT-Engin programs, and she maintains the CRLT-Engin website

Program Assistant

Laurie Stoianowski studied Business at Washtenaw Community College and has been at U-M since 1988. Prior to joining CRLT-Engin, she was Assistant to the Director of the Automotive Research Center in Mechanical Engineering; she also has worked at the School of Education and the Residential College at U-M. In her current role, Laurie supports CRLT-Engin programs including the seminar series and teaching orientations for new engineering GSIs and undergraduate Instructional Aides, and she supports the Director.

2012 CRLT in Engineering Faculty Associate

In the 2012 calendar year, CRLT in Engineering is partnering with a Faculty Associate, Dr. Joanna Millunchick. Joanna has demonstrated commitment and ongoing dedication to the programs at CRLT in Engineering and has collaborated on a current strategic priority, developing a Teaching Circle on Large Engineering Courses. Besides planning the teaching circle and co-facilitating its multiple sessions, she consults with and provides advice for faculty participants, assists with disseminating results of the project through CoE and beyond, and will help to plan the next version of the project. She also continues to present and facilitate programs for CRLT in Engineering as needed.

Dr. Joanna Millunchick, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, is CRLT in Engineering Faculty Associate and is affiliated with the Applied Physics Program at U-M. She earned a B.S. degree in Physics from DePaul University in Chicago in 1990, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston in 1995. Prior to arriving at U-M in 1997, she held a postdoctoral position at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Dr. Millunchick’s general research interests involve manipulating matter on the nanoscale in order to enable the design of new electronic materials for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. Specifically, she is fascinated by the details of atomic surface structure of compound semiconductors, self assembly of epitaxial nanostructures, and in situ characterization. More recently, Dr. Millunchick has taken her expertise in nanotechnology to move into a new line of work that involves the manipulation and characterization of nanowires. For the past few years, Dr. Millunchick has also conducted pedagogical research examining the efficacy of internet-based resources in student learning. She has received several awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER award, the Sloan Foundation Pre-Tenure Fellowship, and the John F. Ullrich Education Excellence Award from U-M.

CRLT-Engin lies inside the southwest corner formed by the intersection of Hayward Street and Draper Drive. Our offices are located on the second floor of the Gorguze Family Laboratory, formerly known as the Engineering Programs Building (EPB). The Gorguze Family Laboratory is bordered on the west by the Wave Field and the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Building, and on the south by the Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (NAME) Building.

DIRECTIONS TO CRLT IN ENGINEERING:

Landmark: The Order of the Spheres sits atop the wind tunnel adjacent to the Gorguze Family Laboratory on the north.
	Walking to Gorguze Family Laboratory Taking the bus from Central Campus Taking the bus to Central Campus Driving Parking/Walking Map

Walking to the Gorguze Family Laboratory:

Pedestrians on north campus can reach the west entrance of the Gorguze Family Laboratory (formally known as Engineering Projects Building) as follows. Walk through the Francis Xavier Building (Aerospace Engineering) from Beal Avenue and exit on the east side of the building. Continue, passing the wave field on the right and the wind tunnel on the left. Follow the sign for the Engineering Programs Buildings and enter through the double glass doors. CRLT in Engineering is on the second floor.

Visitors can reach the east entrance of the Gorguze Family Laboratory by heading south on Draper (past the painted dome…) Follow the sidewalk along the loading dock to the double doors under the nine stacked tanks.

Taking the U-M Bus from Central Campus:

Take the northbound COMMUTER bus. The two stops closest to CRLT’s main office in the Palmer Commons Building are at 1) the corner of Zina Pitcher Place and East Ann Street or 2) the Central Campus Transit Center (CTCC) on Geddes Avenue between the Exhibit Museum of Natural History and the CC Little Building.

Exit the bus at the FXB stop, where Beal Avenue ends at Hayward Street. Enter the FXB, walk straight through the building, and exit on the east side. You’ll be facing the Gorguze Family Laboratory.

If you are coming from the south, the walkway is on Draper Dr., (accessed from the corner of Glazier Way and Huron Parkway). Proceed north on Draper Dr. and the walkway will take you to the south entrance of the Gorguze Family Laboratory.

The Northbound Commuter busses stop at the intersection of Beal Ave. and Hayward St. and at the intersection of Hayward St. and Hubbard Rd. Gorguze Family Laboratory is a shortwalk from either of these stops, but is closer to the Beal/Hayward intersection.

Taking the U-M Bus to Central Campus:

The southbound NORTHWOOD bus can be caught at the FXB stop on Beal Avenue. Staff returning to CRLT should exit at the Zina Pitcher Place bus stop. (The route does terminate at the Central Campus Transit Center (CTCC) on Geddes Avenue, but it does so by way of Observatory Street.)

The southbound COMMUTER bus stop that is closest to the Gorguze Family Laboratory is on Bonisteel Boulevard, just west of Beal Avenue. It’s possible to exit this bus at 1) Zina Pitcher and Ann, 2) Fletcher Street near the Rackham Building, or 3) the Central Campus Transit Center (CTCC) on Geddes Avenue. This route continues around central campus with stops at East Quad, the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, and the Michigan Union, before heading further south to the Crisler Arena.

Driving:

From US 23, take Exit 41 (Plymouth Road). Proceed west and turn left (south) at the second stoplight (Huron Parkway). Turn right (west) at the Hubbard Road intersection. At the next stop sign, continue straight through the intersection onto Hayward Street. (Don’t follow Hubbard Road to the right.) Drivers without U-M parking passes should take the next left into Lot NC26, where there is metered parking for visitors.

The closest blue-permit parking lot to the Family Gorguze Laboratory is NC22, which can be reached by turning south from Hayward onto Draper. NC22 is the first lot on the left. If this small lot is full, turn around and go north on Draper, past the intersection with Hayward, and try Lot NC74 on the right or Lot NC28 at the end of the road behind the Space Research Building.

From Central Campus, choose a route to Fuller Road (e.g., from CRLT, one would turn left on Washtenaw Avenue, which quickly becomes East Huron. At the next stoplight, turn right onto Glen Avenue, which merges with Fuller Road). From Fuller Road, turn left onto Beal Avenue. When Beal ends, turn right on Hayward. The next intersection is with Draper Drive. See the US 23 directions above for parking options on Draper and Hayward.

Map of North Campus with permit parking (P) and visitor (VP) lots indicated.

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering (CRLT-Engin) represents a partnership between the College of Engineering and the main CRLT office on central campus. At the end of each academic year, CRLT-Engin publishes an annual report to summarize its activities over the previous year. You may download the CRLT-Engin (formerly CRLT North) Annual Report for past years in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format for viewing.

Annual Report 2010-2011

Annual Report 2009-2010

Annual Report 2008-2009

Annual Report 2007-2008

Annual Report 2006-2007

Annual Report 2005-2006