Nina Telang has impacted thousands of electrical and computer engineering undergraduate students over the last two decades, at the most important time of their academic careers.
Telang, a professor of instruction in the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has taught both the introduction to electrical and computer engineering courses. She developed a course for Ramshorn Scholars to take during their first semester at UT, she partnered with Sanger Learning Center to implement supplemental instruction sessions for all first-year electrical and computer engineering courses and she created a one-credit course that covers the foundational tools to enhancing academic success.
Over her more than two decades at UT, Telang has become a face of the early student experience, a critical time when both the department and the Cockrell School as a whole must provide resources and support to educate potential engineers and put them on the path to success.
"In that first and second year, students are building that foundation, developing their engineering identity and finding their sense of belonging," said Telang. "That's why it's so important that we help students at the start."
Telang's work has not gone unnoticed. She was recently awarded the 2024-2025 William David Blunk Memorial Professorship by The University of Texas at Austin. The William David Blunk Memorial Professorship recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated an outstanding record in teaching, and extraordinary contribution to student advising, mentorship, and guidance at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.
Telang is the first woman from the Cockrell School to win the award, now in its 46th year, and the eighth engineering faculty recipient. She is also the first electrical and computer engineer to receive the award and the first professional track recipient.
Telang's teaching philosophy focuses on a simple idea: think like a student. What do they think when they step foot on the Forty Acres for the first time, when they take their first engineering class and when they decide which specialty they want to pursue?
"I've always tried to put myself in their shoes and learn what it's like," Telang said. "There are many sets of shoes to step into. And they bring a wide spectrum of high school preparation."
Telang has developed courses and programs that serve highly motivated students and those requiring extra attention and preparation. Engineering is hard enough as it is, so the goal is to develop an environment that helps everyone succeed.
Second-year students are a focal point for Telang right now. She plans to pilot a mentoring program this fall that pairs second-year students with upper-division students to help them through a critical year when most students choose their core focus areas.
"Students are really helped and supported in their first year; there are Freshman Interest Groups and resources for students to get to know their peers and departments," she said. "But in that second year it just drops. There's less community, and students tend to go their separate ways. That's a gap we're working hard to address."
