By Breanna Bowman
Dr. Petros J. Katsioloudis, professor and chair of the Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, recently received the 2018 Faculty Excellence Award from the National Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering. He accepted the award during the annual conference held in Kansas, MO, on November 9.
The award recognizes Katsioloudis' demonstrated record of excellence in his teaching, research, and service to the profession over the last three academic years and for his leadership as program director of the industrial technology program in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University.
Katsiloudis' research has focused on improving teacher performance in STEM education and enhancing a national STEM-educated workforce. He also teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in industrial technology and engineering education while serving on academic and professional communities.
One example is the annual STEM toy event held in December. For the past three years, ODU students have designed and fabricated STEM toys for cancer patients at the local hospital, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. Through the STEM 221 Material Process course, students also learn how to construct furniture for disabled students.
According to Katsioloudis, "my teaching method serves to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the workplace environments, the same time the development of important work-place-readiness skills such as analysis as students participate in the learning and discovery of new knowledge."
In 2017 he was a recipient of the Distinguished Technology Educator Award from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. He has published over 40 nationally peer-reviewed articles.
Additionally, under his leadership, the industrial technology program was recently accredited by the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering. Katsioloudis also serves as a reviewer for several National Science Foundation grants and outside scholarly journals.