Pamela Norris

[MSME 1989, Ph.D. ME 1992]
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia

While at Georgia Tech my research involved an analysis of the heat transfer in the cooling passages of a diesel engine cylinder head. This research project helped prepare me for my career in academia in several ways. First, I interacted with the project sponsor, Cummins Engine Co., a lot during the course of my research. I helped write proposals, I visited the plant and performed experiments, I gave research presentations at the company, and I co-authored papers with Cummins Engineers. These experiences helped me learn how industry sponsored research is conducted in an academic environment. In addition, this project offered me a unique opportunity in that I was able to see it from its inception to completion. This was very exciting for me because I was able to clearly see the problem, assess a solution, and see the impact of my research.

I truly felt that the Faculty and Staff of Georgia Tech cared about me and my educational experience. I choose Tech over MIT due to the fact that it was obvious even from my initial contacts with them, that Tech was going to do all it could to ensure my graduate experience was the best it could possibly be.

The Woodruff Teaching Intern Program is truly one of the great strengths of the program. As a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, I participated in the Woodruff Teaching Intern Program. This unique and highly competitive program pairs a faculty member with a graduate student who is near completion of his/her Ph.D. and is seriously considering a career in academia. The faculty and student team-teach a course with total responsibility shared equally between the two. I found participation in this program to be very beneficial. It enabled me to try out my skills as an instructor while providing me with a safety net. Participation in this program helped me to become more comfortable with my communication and teaching skills. I have started building support for the initiation of a similar program at the University of Virginia. The experiences I had at Georgia Tech have laid a firm foundation for my career as an effective classroom teacher, and they help convince me I was making the correct career decision.

The Woodruff School rates very highly on all fronts. The facilities are wonderful, due largely to the generous Woodruff endowment. The faculty at superb. The course selection is outstanding. And the students are the best in the nation due largely to the schools unmatched recruiting efforts.