ASU's Allenby among Professors of the Year

PARADISE VALLEY - Two of the most prominent organizations supporting higher education in the nation have selected Arizona State University engineering Professor Brad Allenby of Paradise Valley as one the winners of its 2008 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education bestows the awards to recognize professors "for their influence on teaching and their commitment to undergraduates."

"It is amazing how Professor Allenby is driven to work with students. He provides curriculum and class experiences that engage, motivate and educate students in a very hands-on way. He is having a profound effect on undergraduate and graduate students," said Paul Westerhoff, chairman of the department of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering in ASU's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

Allenby is a professor in the department, as well as a professor of law and a professor of engineering and ethics in affiliation with the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at ASU.

"I'm honored to be recognized by this award but I consider it not so much an individual recognition," Allenby said. "I think it speaks to the overall excellence in teaching at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering and the importance of engineering to our society at this time."

Westerhoff noted the depth of understanding that Allenby often instills in students.

"A student who recently took one of his courses told me it was the most influential class he had taken, because it made him think about the big picture regarding the challenges facing the world and how technological solutions play only one role in the complex evolution of societies," he said.

Students frequently rank courses taught by Allenby among those they find most valuable, Westerhoff noted.

"He has a unique way of bridging engineers, scientists, policymakers, students and the broader public," Westerhoff said.

Allenby's engineering classes focus on helping students comprehend the public policy aspects and long-term effects of decisions made about the development and use of technology and public infrastructure.

He has been at the forefront of supporting one of ASU's core missions by developing curriculum and teaching courses to advance the study of sustainability. He is co-director of the Center for Sustainable Engineering, and is developing courses connected to a new Center of Earth Systems Engineering and Management.

Allenby is working with the Phoenix Union High School District to improve efforts to prepare students for entering the university. He also is involved with professional engineering organizations in developing new approaches in engineering education that prepare students for the changing requirements in the professional and industrial engineering workplace and for the challenges posed by globalization.

Considered one of the pioneers of industrial ecology, Allenby came to ASU in 2004. Previously, he was a director of Energy and Environmental Systems at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and a vice president of Research, Technology and Environment for AT&T.

He is on the editorial boards of several science and engineering journals, has authored textbook chapters and writes for a number of publications about environmental, technological and sustainability issues.

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