Shamsher Prakash Foundation - Special Award for Teaching

Associate Professor Tanya Kunberger, Ph.D., E.I.T., is the "SHAMSHER PRAKASH PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING" for young teachers recipient for 2013.

Dr. Tanya Kunberger is a founding faculty member in the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University and teaches general introductory through senior level design courses. She received her B.C.E. and a certificate in Geochemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a minor in Soil Science from North Carolina State University. Her geotechnical area of specialization is geo-environmental; focused on understanding soil mineral – contaminant interaction to enhance contaminant remediation. Her educational research areas of interest are self-efficacy and persistence in engineering and development of an interest in STEM topics in K-12 students. She is an accomplished teacher as evidenced by student and peer evaluations, a dedicated student mentor, a published author of multiple peer-reviewed articles focused on engineering education pedagogy, and supporter and promoter of continuous teaching improvement activities. Dr. Kunberger was an inaugural member of the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium in 2009, has served as both an assistant mentor and assistant site coordinator for the ASCE Excellence in Civil Engineering Education Teaching Workshop, and is the recipient of multiple teaching awards on the regional to national level.