Notable

A leading engineering publication has selected an article co-penned by two SIUC faculty members for its best-paper award.

The editorial board of Leadership and Management in Engineering, a journal of the American Society of Civil Engineers, honored Professor and Distinguished Teacher Sanjeev Kumar and Associate Professor J. Kent Hsiao for their article, "Engineers Learn 'Soft Skills the Hard Way:' Planting a Seed of Leadership in Engineering Classes." Both men work in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering at SIUC.

The American Society of Civil Engineers is the flagship organization for civil engineers.

The article, published in January, emphasizes the need for engineers to obtain so-called "soft skills" in addition to the required technical skills an engineer must master. Such skills include the ability to lead a team, communicate effectively and solve real-world problems.

In the article, Kumar and Hsiao described how they took their private sector experience and used it to modify several existing engineering courses and created others to emphasize students learning such skills. One such course, "Geotechnical Engineering in Professional Practice," taught both technical and soft skills to graduate and undergraduate students at SIUC to better prepare them for life as an engineer. Kumar first taught the course in fall 2000.

During the course, students work in groups, write reports and give presentations and proposals, similar to those conducted by practicing engineers. The instructor serves as a resource, coaching students but allowing them to work out details and solutions on their own.