Graduating seniors in the Mechanical Engineering Department selected Tyler Susko for the 2022 Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award. An assistant teaching professor, he has received the honor five times in the past seven years. 

“It is such an honor to be selected by my students,” said Susko, who is the capstone instructor for mechanical engineering. “Personally, it means that my students recognize and appreciate he reasons that I do what I do.”

This year, Susko oversaw fifteen collaborative capstone teams, whose innovative projects included a rehabilitation robot to deliver remote therapy to students with cerebral palsy, a mast-mounted thermal and visible camera to improve the vision of sailboat captains, and a rig to test a soft-robotic lunar anchor, which will be flow to low-Earth orbit. Susko said that in the past year he uploaded web content and delivered material during in-person classes to double his students’ access to course content. He believes the flexibility and perseverance that graduating seniors have demonstrated during the pandemic will soon pay dividends.

“This class will be exceptionally prepared for the hybrid workforce,” said Susko. “They’re all experts in online tools, but also have had the experience of delivering their own live and in-person talks.”