The UC San Diego chapter of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society has selected the winners of its Faculty of the Year awards. For the 2015-16 academic year, members were asked to nominate faculty based not just on their teaching in the classroom, but also on their impact on the overall educational experience of their students.
Based on those nominations, the organization’s rank and file voted for their three favorite professors from across the Jacobs School, and one of this year’s winners hails from the Computer Science and Engineering department: professor Diba Mirza (at right), one of the department’s most popular lecturers. According to TBP, Mirza is viewed as “a great professor with genuine love and concern for her students… [and] a great role model for women in engineering.” She is among the highest-rated CSE faculty on Rate My Professors, earning 4.6 out of 5 points. “Took her for 30 in fall, 100 in winter and now 140 in spring,” wrote one student recently, who rated her 5 out of 5 for overall quality. “I would take her for every CS class at UCSD if possible. She’s so enthusiastic and witty and makes CS enjoyable.”
In addition to teaching Spring 2016 courses including CSE 100 (Advanced Data Structures), CSE 140 (Components and Design Techniques for Digital Systems) and CSE 190 (Computational Techniques in Robotics), Mirza is also getting ready to undertake her second year teaching on the faculty of CSE’s Summer Program for Incoming Students (SPIS). In a note to those incoming first-year students, who will spend five weeks living and studying on campus prior to the start of the 2016-2017 academic year, Mirza noted that, “Teaching SPIS last year was fun, this year it will be even better. Together we will explore the greatest hits of Computer Science, overcome challenges, and make some wonderful friends.” Mirza has the benefit of having attended UC San Diego as a student. She majored in Computer Engineering – but graduated from Electrical and Computer Engineering rather than CSE. (Other CSE faculty to teach SPIS this summer include program chair Mohan Paturi, Christine Alvarado, Mia Minnes and Neil Rhodes, together with UC Santa Barbara professor Phillip Conrad.)
This weekend, Tau Beta Pi is organizing a Study Party ahead of next week’s finals, from 10am to 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5. The society will also host the TBP End-of-Year Banquet, starting at 6pm, in the CSE Auditorium.