64 Congratulations Congratulations to Pr<strong>of</strong>. Ernst Hujier on the birth <strong>of</strong> his grandson Daniel Ernst Shehade. Dany was born on May 12, 20<strong>08</strong>. Congratulations to Pr<strong>of</strong>. Imad El-hajj on the birth <strong>of</strong> his adorable son Charbel John. Charbel John was born on April 3, 20<strong>08</strong> at CMC. Congratulations to Pr<strong>of</strong>. Sami Karaki on his marriage to Miss. Jeanne D’arc Moussa. They celebrated their wedding on September 9, <strong>2007</strong> at the Metropolitan Grand Hotel Congratulations to Pr<strong>of</strong>. Zaher Dawy for winning AUB 20<strong>08</strong> Teaching Excellence Award: In an event that has become an annual tradition at AUB, assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> electrical and computer engineering Zaher Dawy was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award 20<strong>08</strong>.The Teaching Excellence Award is comprised <strong>of</strong> a $5,000 grant to be spent on academic research. The recipients are expected to “volunteer in teaching and learning activities on campus and contribute, at least once, to the AUB Teaching Excellence website.” The criteria to qualify for the award include teaching for more than six semesters, and maintaining a record <strong>of</strong> high-quality teaching, based on evidence <strong>of</strong> continued outstanding contributions to the academic development <strong>of</strong> students or the introduction <strong>of</strong> innovative techniques to enhance student learning. During the ceremony Provost Heath referred to assistant Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Zaher Dawy as someone who “provides a rare example <strong>of</strong> an educator who simultaneously demonstrates excellence at the many scales demanded <strong>of</strong> his pr<strong>of</strong>ession, from preparing a historical side note to an exam question to establishing a new graduate program in collaboration with an overseas university. “That Dr. Dawy has managed to demonstrate these qualities while introducing five new courses, an entirely new graduate program, re-tooling teaching laboratories, supervising 15 final year projects, 12 master’s students, and two doctoral students in the past five years testifies to his great energy and love for the pr<strong>of</strong>ession. He is highly deserving <strong>of</strong> the teaching award,” he added. Congratulations to Mrs. Rabab Abi Shakra for her promotion to Administrative assistant on February 20<strong>08</strong>. New faces New faculty Dr. Hazem Hajj graduated from the <strong>American</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Beirut</strong> in 1987 with distinction. He received his PhD from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Wisconsin-Madison in 1996, at which time he joined Intel Logic Technology Development. He received several teaching awards at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Wisconsin- Madison. He has led research and development for several new initiatives at Intel. These include Intel’s APC systems, station controllers, Manufacturing Technician User Interface, Real-time End <strong>of</strong> Line Yield Analysis, Advanced Device Analysis, and Engineering Analysis Framework. His research interests include image processing, s<strong>of</strong>tware engineering, process control systems, design to wafer, yield analysis, device analysis, and data mining. Dr. Mariette Awad graduated from the <strong>American</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Beirut</strong> in 1997 with a bachelor in Electrical Engineering and pursued her MS at <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> New York (SUNY- Binghamton) in the image processing and pattern recognition areas. In 2001, she joined IBM - System and Technology group in Vermont as a wireless product engineer. Over the years, her technical leadership and innovation spirit has earned her management recognition, several business awards and multiple patents. In <strong>2007</strong>, she received her PhD from <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Vermont for her research on dynamic machine learning. Her research interests include: machine learning, data mining, data fusion, ubiquitous computing, wireless and analog design, semiconductor technology and manufacturing, image recognition and quality control. Miss. Sara Khaddaj received her BE and ME degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the <strong>American</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Beirut</strong> (AUB) in 2005 and <strong>2007</strong> respectively with distinction. She received the Dean’s Creative Achievement Award for her undergraduate final project. She has been a lab instructor in the Department <strong>of</strong> Electrical and Computer Engineering at the AUB since September <strong>2007</strong>, where she has taught Introduction to Engineering Lab, Digital Electronics Lab, and Computer Organization Lab. Her main research interests include bioengineering, information theory and neuroscience, system identification, and digital and image processing. 5. New staff activities Mr. Ghassan Deeb received his BE in Computer and Communication Engineering in 1994 from the <strong>American</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Beirut</strong>, and an ME in 1998 from the same <strong>University</strong> in Electronic Devices and Systems. He worked between 1995 and <strong>2007</strong> as a technical manager in the fields <strong>of</strong> Security (JVC CCTV, S2 Access Control), fire protection (Simplex and Ansul), and controls and building automation (Siemens). He is currently lab manager for the Instrumentation, Control, Robotics, Power Electronics and Systems, and Machines and Drives Labs in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. 65
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