Dr. Steven Wrenn, associate department head of the Chemical & Biological Engineering department and assistant dean of Graduate Affairs for the College of Engineering, was awarded Faculty of the Year at the 22nd Annual Drexel University Cooperative Education Awards. This honor recognizes Wrenn’s leadership, enthusiasm and drive in creating new opportunities for his students
Wrenn established and currently manages the Biological Engineering concentration. He also developed an exchange program for chemical and mechanical engineering students to study and conduct research at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Bocham, Germany, where Drexel students can conduct site visits, complete coursework, take on individual research projects and attend cultural events.
“When I first arrived [at Drexel] my world was very polarized – I had research on the one hand and teaching on the other… I’m very pleased to say we’ve found a way to merge the two,” Wrenn said about the research-driven exchange program.
He also collaborated with Steinbright to support specific students in this program and to begin the process of trying to set up co-op job opportunities for engineering students in Germany.
Wrenn also facilitated a pilot summer mentorship program for high school students, which developed into an annual program in the College of Engineering.
In addition to Wrenn being honored at the ceremony, three students from the College of Engineering were also recognized for student awards.
Lauren Reiter, a senior studying Civil Engineering, received a student award for the time she spent working for her co-op employer Route 52 Constructors. Philip Hagerty, a junior studying Chemical Engineering received the Dow Advanced Materials Achievement award from The Dow Chemical Company. Kristian Calhoun, a junior studying computer science received the Bentley Systems Career Networking Award from Bentley.