EngSoc Teaching Excellence Award

Through the creation of the Teaching Excellence Award, the Engineering Society has been working to recognize and reward outstanding teachers. Every term, since the Fall of 2014, this award has been presented, based on student nominations, to a professor, laboratory instructor or lecturer within the Faculty of Engineering that has excelled in one or more of the following areas:

1. Employs non-conventional teaching methods

2. Allows for opportunities that encourage experiential learning

3. Shows a commitment and dedication towards the academic success of engineering students

The winner of the Teaching Excellence Award is determined by the Teaching Excellence Award Committee. This Committee is comprised of  both the A-Soc and B-Soc VP Education, two at-large student representatives and a representative from the office of the Engineering Associate Dean of Teaching. In reaching their decision, the Committee reviews all student written nominations, previous course evaluations, and any other relevant information for all nominated individuals. This helps ensure that the Teaching Excellence Award Committee can make a fair decision. With a total of 13 candidates nominated this term, the Committee faced quite a difficult decision.

After careful deliberation, the committee is very pleased to award Vincent Gaudet with the Engineering Society Teaching Excellence Award for the Fall 2015 term, with honorable mention going to Laura Deakin.

Professor Gaudet is part of the Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty. He currently teaches ECE 240: Electronic Circuits 1, and has received rave reviews from the 2A ECE student body. To quote one student, “Professor Gaudet is born to teach and inspire”. All nominations received indicated that Professor Gaudet always demonstrates his enthusiasm for teaching which they feel directly translates to the delivery of his lectures.

Professor Gaudet uses relatable analogies, ranging from Lego to KFC, to help students understand abstract and complex ideas. His impeccable reading of the classroom atmosphere greatly aids in reinforcing important concepts. He is able to adjust the speed of his lectures to make sure that difficult concepts are fully explained and understood by students before moving on. Using multiple examples and explaining the application’s context also helps to peak student curiosity and make the class more enjoyable.

In addition to his lectures, Professor Gaudet runs his own tutorials. This is something that the nominating students felt greatly improved their understanding of the course material, as “Professor Gaudet is so great that any TA would pale in comparison”.

Overall, Professor Gaudet’s teaching methods have allowed students to feel they are more than capable of succeeding in his class. His passion and knowledge towards his subject area is reflected in the effort that he puts into teaching, both in and outside of the classroom.

Below is an except from an interview conducted with Vincent Gaudet on his thoughts on teaching at the University of Waterloo.

What inspired you to become a professor?

My father is a retired Professor of Mathematics who served on faculty at the University of Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, QC) and the University of Saint Boniface (Winnipeg, MB). My parents have told me that I first visited his office when I was only 10 days old. Indeed, I have very fond childhood memories of spending time at the university pestering his kind-hearted colleagues. My parents have been an inspiration, and there are very few career and personal decisions that I do not run by them.

 Many of my former professors, both undergraduate (Manitoba) and graduate (Toronto), have inspired me. I can’t name them all, but a few stand out and are worth mentioning.

Donald Trim taught me several math courses. His lectures were mesmerizing (I often catch myself sub-consciously mimicking his speaking style). The late Ralph Stanton taught me a second-year discrete math course. When I moved to Waterloo in 2010, it came to my attention that Prof. Stanton had a foundational impact on UW. Pink ties in Math? That’s because of him. In retrospect, I have come to see just how much his course influenced the way I approach problems. Indeed, I wish I could tell him how much I appreciate his efforts. Ed Shwedyk taught me fourth-year digital communciations. It can be a dry topic, but his dry wit really brought it to life. Glenn Gulak was my Master’s and PhD supervisor. He is an outstanding researcher and teacher.

I reserve a special place for the late Howard Card, who passed away at too young an age in 2006. I just re-read his obituary and had never realized that he had been an Assistant Professor at UW early in his career, before moving on to Columbia University and then Manitoba. After an unpleasant experience in microelectronic circuits, Prof. Card rescued my class (while teaching us discrete-time signal processing, no less) and gave us an appreciation for transistors. I would not be teaching circuits without him. He became a mentor and a friend. He inspired my best academic research. I wish I could tell him just how influential he was. Again, my lectures often inadvertently mimic his style.

What challenges have you faced as a professor?

Aside from being broadly told that you should excel in both research and teaching, and that you should be a good department citizen, you are really not taught how to be a good professor. Finding the right balance between work and home life can be tough.

Is there anything you’d like to say to the group of students who nominated you?

Thank you!!! It is an honour to have taught your group.

I always find myself on a bit of an emotional roller coaster towards the end of term. After spending so much time together, I get to know many of the students in class. When the term ends, everybody goes their separate ways, and part of me wishes it was not so. My one request to the nominators is to please stay in touch, not only in the next few terms of study, but also after you graduate!