Statement Of Teaching &

Research
In our research driven careers we sometimes forget that our future legacy is as much in our
contributions to the advancement of science as in the lives we influence as educators. Though
sometimes regarded as related but different tasks, research and teaching are in my mind two faces of
the same coin. I like to say that we have to excel in research so that we have interesting things to share;
and that we have to excel in teaching so that things we share actually sound interesting and compelling.
I am passionate about teaching. Among those things that I value most from my six-year teaching
experience at the undergraduate level, is that it has strengthened my conviction towards pursuing a
career as an educator. I think we are given wonderful opportunities to work with people during a stage
of their lives that they will always regard fondly. Teaching is clearly about giving students solid
knowledge and skills in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. But I think students are entitled to more
than that.

In my teaching efforts to this day, I always strive to provide the intuition behind the techniques
and theories being presented, and to draw the students’ attention to the fundamental concepts
underlying the material taught. In addition, when presenting basic mathematical concepts or
abstractions, I seek to identify the potential applications of these concepts in the solution of real-world
problems. This can help attract and uphold students’ interest, which is, in my view, a crucial element of
effective teaching. One of my goals as a teacher is to get students to think critically, instilling on them a
taste for challenging what they are taught. As engineers and scientists we spend most of our time
challenging established or perceived facts, and this is arguably the way we mature and manage to solve
problems. Moreover, I favor an accessible and interactive teaching style that invites student
participation. Guided class discussions that encourage the students to think of potential solutions to a
given problem are a great tool, especially at the graduate level.

The role of the teacher is not only to guide the students to “learn what should be learned” but
also, as Confucius (551-479, BC) said, “Learn to know what you do not know”. According to Confucius,
“To learn and to practice what is learned time and again is a pleasure, is it not?” To make the learning
process a pleasure, my practice is to motivate the class by asking “why we need to learn this part” and
“what the relationship is between this part and other parts”. Sometimes, to stimulate the wonder in the
class, I ask the class some “what if” questions in the end of the lecture. I highly value the role of
“feedback” in teaching. Quiz, project, assignment, midterm, etc. are all feedback components, which are
very important in teaching performance enhancement. For small-scale class, usually for graduates, I
prefer to monitor the progresses of individual students using “decoupled feedback” by giving different
advice to different student in addition to the common fundamental requirements. For larger class,
usually for undergraduates, for efficiency reason, I will use “centralized feedback” via standardizing all
the teaching coursewares. Clearly, for undergraduates, the faculty-mentor program will be of great
value.
 Some of the best lectures I attended were given by senior professors in the mid or late years of
their careers. I do not think this is a coincidence, but a manifestation of the fact that it takes years to
become a good educator. I accept my limitations and strive to become a better teacher. I encourage
students to express their comments about their progress, my teaching ability, and the way the course is
structured by providing them the opportunity to formally evaluate these aspects. It is always a positive
experience to address their concerns and make changes as needed. I put significant effort in creating an
enjoyable classroom environment and usually develop friendly relationships with students, which is
helpful in getting valuable feedback. I am a strong believer of wedding research with the university’s
educational mission at both the graduate and the undergraduate levels. Given the opportunity, I think
that most students would embrace with passion the possibility to work in research projects and learn
invaluable skills in the process. Even though undergraduates have to be inculcated the core concepts of
the field in the short span of four years, I think they could greatly benefit from closer interaction with
faculty research projects. Class and stand-alone student projects are a good vehicle for this interaction
conveying some of the excitement of research and serving as a bridge to graduate school or industry
careers. I also enjoy mentoring graduate students and helping them to develop critical thinking as well
as improve their research skills.

Based on past experience, I found all aspects of teaching to be stimulating and rewarding:
lecturing, interacting with the students, formulating problem sets, and lab experiments. As a junior
faculty, I would be pleased to teach in basically all topics of the undergraduate Electrical Engineering
curriculum. In particular, I have a solid background in Electrical Power systems. I would welcome the
opportunity to teach basic topics in Electrical engineering .I would also enjoy directing lab and project
courses in my areas of interest.

I would also be interested in teaching a graduate level course (or seminar) focusing on the area
of electrical & electronics science. The goal of the course will be to familiarize students with the latest
research developments in distributed information processing and decision making over complex
interconnected systems, as well as in statistical analysis of graph data to e.g., identify latent structure,
patterns, and anomalies. The target audience is expected to be interdisciplinary, and accordingly the
discussed methods will be illustrated through examples involving social, information, communication,
transportation, power grid, and biological (e.g., gene regulatory, protein, brain) networks.

 After having gained enough academic and practical experience in my undergraduate education,
graduate studies were my obvious choice as it is an opportunity to extend the breadth of education and
training in the area of my interest. It is also a chance to hone my creative skills that are essential for me,
to be in the forefront of the highly competitive world of research in this field. After all, I want to
contribute my own bit to the existing body of knowledge . 

Teaching is a process requiring constant innovative ideas as socio-technological environment