Faculty duo recognized with Outstanding Achievement in Education Award

Drs. Larry Tyler and Patricia Ralston were recognized by the Louisville Chapter of the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers during the annual banquet on February 24 at the Speed Art Museum. The annual award, Outstanding Achievement in Education, is presented to an individual or individuals within the academic community who has/have contributed outstanding service to education.

“If you ask anyone who has graduated from Speed School in the last 25 years who they remember most, the overwhelming majority will say ‘Ralston and Tyler’,” said john Usher, acting dean of Speed School. “Simply put, these two amazing professors have tagged-teamed to deliver our innovative math and calculus sequence to thousands of engineering students over the years. I am so proud to have them on our faculty and to see them honored with this prestigious award!”

Ralston and Tyler both agreed that it was truly an honor to be recognized as a teaching duo by the KSPE.

“Our interactions while teaching highlight our enthusiasm and encourage students to become engaged,” said Ralston.

“Our goal is to inspire students to learn as we develop the topics together and show our passion for teaching,” Tyler said.

Tyler is a professor in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals and has an associate appointment in Mechanical Engineering.  He has an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduate degrees in both mathematics and engineering  with an interdisciplinary PhD that included engineering and physics.

In his 54 years of teaching, Tyler has taught thirty courses covering a broad range of topics from undergraduate engineering mathematics, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, and other fundamentals courses to graduate courses in engineering mathematics. He has been recognized by students and colleagues for outstanding teaching on many occasions, including the 2008 University of Louisville Distinguished Teaching Faculty Award.

Ralston is professor and chair of the Engineering Fundamentals Department at the J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville.  She is also has an associate appointment in the Chemical Engineering Department. As chair of Engineering Fundamentals since its creation in 2007, she has focused on developing faculty teaching excellence through the development, evaluation and adoption of innovative teaching methods, both traditional and technology enabled.

An alumna of UofL, Ralston earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 1979, a master of engineering in Chemical Engineering in 1980, and received a PhD in 1983, also in Chemical Engineering.