The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials was honored with the 2017 University Exemplary Department or Program Award by Virginia Tech’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The award recognizes efforts and achievement in maintaining exemplary teaching and learning environments for students and faculty.

“The award is a great honor,” said Department Head Bob Smith. “We’re in a discipline where students have to get their hands dirty to do what we do. Our faculty and staff work extremely hard to make sure the students have experiential learning opportunities.”

The department provides students with multiple avenues for gaining hands-on experience, such as internships with industry partners as well as the Wood Enterprise Institute, a two-semester program in which students design, manufacture, market, and distribute a real product.

“We firmly believe that you learn by doing,” Smith said. “We have a long history of students participating in undergraduate and graduate research, studying abroad, and completing internships and summer positions with companies that lead to jobs after graduation. Because of that, we’re constantly changing our program based on feedback from both students and industry representatives to make our students more competitive candidates.”

Increasing enrollment and a continuing emphasis on a “hands-on, minds-on” approach to education have driven the hiring of an assistant professor and two instructors in the department. Smith hopes that the additional faculty will help the department continue serving students in new and innovative ways that will set them up for success in the future.

“This generation of students is very sensitive to environmental issues and wants to make a difference,” Smith said. “This is a great profession for students to do that in a setting with just as much demand for jobs as engineering or business.”

Contact: