Mechanical Engineering Professors Bob Koch and Andrew Martin have been awarded the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Great Supervisors Award. The award recognizes supervisors who demonstrate strong supervisory skills or who fosters mentorship in their programs. Professors are nominated by their graduate students with a 250-word statement about the ways in which their supervisor is particularly helpful and supportive and how they foster mentorship in the program.
Dr. Koch's graduate students nominated him because he makes sure they have the skills and the opportunities they need to pursue their research and career goals.
David Gordon says Dr. Koch made it possible for him to pursue his thesis research in Germany and continued to support him during his time there.
"Dr. Koch set up regular Skype sessions with me to check in and provide guidance and feedback for me, no matter what my schedule was."
Dr. Koch supports his students in their endeavors beyond the lab as well.
Masoud Aliramezani is the 2018-2019 GSA VP Academic and appreciates Dr. Koch's unwavering support for his efforts to serve the graduate student community.
"Thanks to his continued support, I was awarded the Government of Alberta Graduate Citizenship Award," says Aliramezani.
Dr. Koch says that he learned his approach to mentoring graduate students during his time in industry.
"My boss at General Motors told me that the best management strategy is to support people in what they do well. I try to treat people with respect. I treat my graduate students like junior colleagues and I look to help them fulfill their potential."
Dr. Martin's students found it difficult to narrow down the ways he is most supportive to them.
"He is consistently supportive about all aspects of our research and our lives as students. He helps us negotiate the complexities of grad school and always with a positive attitude."
Students in Dr. Martin's lab benefit from his efforts to connect them to the wider research and industry communities.
"He provides us opportunities to attend conferences and to meet with industry representatives, which really helps us develop as researchers. Dr. Martin's students always take the lead in drafting research papers."
For his part, watching the students he supervises develop as researchers is the greatest reward for Dr. Martin.
"My favourite part of being a supervisor is watching my students grow in confidence as they move through their projects, and start to appreciate the impact of their own work."
Dr. Martin sees the great supervisors award as a shared success.
"The award is an honour but it's for the colleagues I co-supervise with and my students as much as it is for me. If those people didn't work so hard, supervising would be a lot harder."
The hard work is exactly what keeps Dr. Martin excited about supervising students.
"The great thing about supervising is that you can always look forward to new projects and new challenges."