Hilgenfeldt named best undergraduate advisor at Illinois

 

MechSE professor and Willett Faculty Scholar Sascha Hilgenfeldt received the 2016 Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award from the Office of the Provost. He is one of only two faculty from the entire campus to receive this award. He will be formally recognized at the Celebration of Teaching Excellence ceremony on April 26.

 

The award honors one faculty member and one professional academic advisor who have had a major impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through sustained relationships and innovative approaches to advising.

 

Since arriving at Illinois in 2008, Hilgenfeldt has led or co-led an incredible 28 undergraduate research projects. He is a strong advocate for ensuring meaningful undergraduate research experiences, and he currently mentors five undergrads in his own research group. 

 

Among other recent awards, Hilgenfeldt was honored by Engineering Council in 2015 with the Award for Excellence in Advising, representing the top 10 percent of advisors in the college.  

 

He earned his PhD in physics from the University of Marburg in Germany in 1997, and served as an associate professor at Northwestern University prior to joining MechSE. He also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Condensed Matter Theory at Illinois.