Assistant ProfessorFarzin Zareian, Ph.D., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine’s 18th Annual “Celebration of Teaching” Awards.
Zareian's research includes analytical and experimental studies in structural and earthquake engineering with emphasis on performance-based earthquake engineering. His research interests also include collapse analysis, structural reliability and structural control.
“I strongly believe the root of most problems facing humanity lies in our lack of knowledge about our surroundings, and the only long-term solution to this is education,” Zareian says about teaching. “I would like to be able to make a broad impact on human lives by training and preparing students for their future careers, and by challenging and improving their thinking skills and creativity, so that they may take on leadership roles and contribute to society at large.”
“A teacher helps his/her students gain the essential ideas and key points to generate their own personalized set of analytical skills by encouraging them to pursue the logical and inductive development and generalization of the subject,” Zareian continued. “This can be done through active student involvement in class and encouraging students to question all aspects of the presented lecture material. Problem sets, design projects, midterms and final exams are tools for enhancement in learning and not exclusively instruments for grading.”
Organized each year by the Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education and the Senate Council on Student Experience, the “Celebration of Teaching” event is designed to recognize and celebrate excellence in education and teaching.