Greg Strimel has been recognized by the University for excellence in teaching and for encouraging students to develop and carry innovative ideas beyond individual classes.
Strimel, assistant professor of technology leadership and innovation, was named a 2021 recipient of Purdue’s Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award by the Center for Instructional Excellence. The annual award recognizes exceptional undergraduate faculty members with the rank of assistant professor or clinical assistant professor.
To provide a path to help students develop problem-solving skills that transcend individual courses, Strimel helped develop Purdue Polytechnic’s design and innovation minor in 2018. Students enrolled in the minor have won over $170,000 in competitions, secured external grant funding to support their innovation projects, have had their products in the hands of customers and leveraged their experience for their career pathways.
“I don’t want my students just doing coursework, where they turn in an assignment, it gets assessed and they move on to the next assignment. When you just do that, learning stops,” Strimel said. “While they are building their disciplinary expertise in their major, this gives them a place to come back to and work over multiple semesters on more personalized interests. Then, they can carry their innovative ideas throughout their Purdue experience.”
Strimel’s core work is as a professor for students majoring in engineering-technology teacher education.
“I am passionate about teaching and preparing future teachers,” said Strimel. “Seeing where my students end up teaching and seeing them presenting at national conferences, I like to believe has some link to their learning experience here at Purdue.”
See the full Purdue News article by Tom Schott.
Additional information
- Purdue Polytechnic professor designs pathway to support students’ pursuit of innovation (Purdue News)
- Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award (Center for Instructional Excellence)
- New design and innovation minor unlocks students’ problem-solving skills campus-wide