Jessica Katz recalls the first few classes of her earth systems engineering and management class with Professor Braden Allenby as different from other engineering courses at ASU.

Class discussions and real-world applications of theories and formulas kept the civil and environmental engineering senior genuinely interested in the material.

Her experiences last spring left her happy to write a recommendation for Allenby for the 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year award, which Allenby went on to win late last month.

“He shows us that what we’re doing is part of something much bigger,” Katz said. “He has such a different approach to engineering, and he challenges us to understand that this is part of a huge picture.”

Allenby received the award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education.

Allenby said he felt the reason he was one of the recipients of this award was because he tries to make his classes worthwhile for students.

“Students are putting in the time to do the work, come to class. You have to respect that they’re the ones putting in the working hours,” Allenby said. “You have to give students some substance — a reason to come to class.”

Katz said she appreciated Allenby’s approach, one that made every class period feel like it mattered.

“His class was really interesting and discussion-based, which you don’t find a lot in engineering classes,” Katz said. “He encourages students to not only express this ideas but to explore them.”

One difference between Allenby and Katz’s other engineering professors is his ability to look at the big picture, she said.

“We’re so used to getting down the nuts and bolts of engineering and doing equations,” Katz said. “But [Allenby] helps us look at how it all relates to the real world.”

Despite his success, Allenby remains humble and said he knows professors who he thinks are better than him.

“I was just lucky enough to be chosen,” Allenby said. “I think most professors are looking to respond to the modern day changes of teaching. None of us have gotten it exactly right yet, but we’re all working to improve.”

The award was created in 1981, according to award Web site. Allenby had to have four recommendations in various categories and meet criteria, such as support from colleagues and students, impact on and involvement with undergraduates and a scholarly approach to teaching and learning.

Now that Allenby has won, he will receive $5,000, an all-inclusive trip to the awards celebration in Washington D.C. and an invitation to speak at the 2008 awards luncheon, among other smaller prizes.
Allenby, a professor at ASU since 2004, graduated from Yale University with a degree in environmental studies. He then went on to get his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School and his doctorate in environmental science from Rutgers University.

Before coming to ASU to teach, he held positions including environment, health and safety vice president for AT&T and a teaching post at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

“Since I had other jobs besides teaching, like AT&T, I learned some things that taught me what I needed to share with students so they could do well after college,” Allenby said. “I try really hard to prepare them for actual jobs.”

Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu.