Undergraduates and M.Eng. students again choose Huseyin Topaloglu as Professor of the Year

For the second year in a row, both ORIE undergraduates and ORIE Master of Engineering students have voted to name Professor Huseyin Topaloglu as Professor of the Year.  

Quoting a student calling him an “extremely energetic lecturer who really cares about his students,” INFORMS Chapter President Jennifer Shih presented Topaloglu with the 2013-2014 Professor of the Year plaque at a recent INFORMS gathering.  Another student said “I love seeing a professor who is excited to be in class.  It makes me excited to be there.”  Topaloglu taught a course called “Simulation Modeling and Analysis”  that is open to both undergraduates and Master of Engineering students. 

Shih also announced the Teaching Assistants of the Year.  

Master of Engineering students named Ravi Kumar, who served as Professor Topaloglu’s “Simulation Modeling and Analysis” teaching assistant in fall 2013.  Kumar was also a teaching assistant in Professor Jim Dai’s “Introduction to Stochastic Processes I” course, an undergraduate and Master of Engineering course, in spring 2014.  He has been in ORIE’s Ph.D. program for five years and expects to complete his degree this year.  One student commented about Kumar that “Ravi is the definition of Awesome,”, while another said that he is very enthusiastic about teaching and really helps students understand the lessons.

Kumar is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, with an MS from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Before coming to Cornell he had several years of professional experience in power plant design.  He is nearing completion of his Ph.D. research under the direction of Professor Mark Lewis.

ORIE undergraduates voted Alice Paul their Teaching Assistant of the Year.  She was a TA for “Optimization II,” taught by Professor Leslie Trotter in spring 2014.  Paul, from Madison, NJ, graduated in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College and has completed her second year in ORIE’s Ph.D. program.  Calling Paul “one of the best TA’s I’ve ever head,” one student said that “she’s so intelligent and can answer any question that’s thrown at her.  She’s patient, approachable, and friendly.”  She is working on her Ph.D. research under the direction of Professor David Williamson, and is currently a summer intern at General Electric in Niskayuna, NY.