Nishant Jalgaonkar, a graduate student instructor in Mechanical Engineering, was selected for a 2022 Rackham Outstanding GSI Award. He has been a GSI for MECHENG 489, Sustainable Engineering and Design, and for MECHENG 552, Mechatronic Systems Design.
Jalgaonkar is a UM-ME PhD candidate working on the application of mechatronics and design to human-machine interfaces. (This includes the design of a new ankle rehabilitation robot that uses a flexure mechanism.) His thesis is focused on mitigating motion sickness caused by riding in autonomous vehicles.
Critical to ME courses, GSIs provide instruction, administrative support, and, often, mentoring to students with similar ambitions. This teaching experience offers ME graduate students the opportunity to supplement their scholarship with the fulfillment of guiding younger peers.
“Through the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Awards, Rackham recognizes scholars who have been nominated by their program for teaching excellence. Winners of this award demonstrate superb skill in teaching, mentoring, and advising. They bring creativity, inspirational commitment, and intellectual excitement to the classroom, discussion section, or teaching lab, and communicate this passion with their undergraduate students,” reads the award page, where the full list of winners can be found.
In response to this recognition, Jalgaonkar said, “I am grateful to my students, my co-GSIs, fellow lab members, and my advisor for their support. I hope my students have learned as much from me as I have from them. They have really pushed me to analyze and explain mechatronic concepts in new ways. It has been a joy and privilege to relate the lessons from my own studies and experiences to a new generation of students. I hope I can continue to serve others in this way for years to come.”
Congratulations, Nishant!