Five members of the Northwestern Engineering community have received the school’s annual awards for outstanding teaching and advising.

Greg Holderfield, Yonggang Huang, David O’Neill, and Michael Saubert received the 2024 Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Teaching, while Jennifer Cole earned the Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Advising.

Greg Holderfield 

Holderfield, Pentair - D. Eugene and Bonnie L. Nugent Clinical Professor of Design Innovation, executive director of the Segal Design Institute, and codirector of the MMM Program, was cited for the Research, Design, Build (RDB) course, named by many students to be the highlight of their experience in the MMM Program.

“The MMM Program and RDB class specifically are the main reasons that I decided to come to Northwestern. Professor Holderfield's passion and experience in the design field is invaluable for the RDB class,” one nominator said. “His kindness, creativity, and positivity create such a great safe space environment where students always feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of judgment. He goes above and beyond to help students put forth their best work.”

Yonggang Huang 

Huang, who holds the Jan and Marcia Achenbach Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, was cited for “combining brilliant presentation with deep care for student learning and success in Engineering Analysis.”

“He is also a very kind person, and always encourages us to ask questions or go speak to him if we're lost,” one nominator said. “He makes sure the students are not afraid to seek help in his class.”

David O’Neill 

O’Neill, Michael Jaharis Director of Experiential Learning and professor of instruction in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, was cited for “extraordinary impact on student learning and professional development across the biomedical engineering curriculum.”

“Professor O'Neill's approach to teaching is characterized by patience, thoroughness, and a genuine passion for imparting knowledge. He fosters an environment where students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and exploring alternative solutions and is extremely patient, as he genuinely wants students to learn,” one nominator wrote. “As our capstone project mentor, he not only cares about the outcome of our project, but more our development as students, engineers, and individuals.” 

Michael Saubert 

Saubert, adjunct lecturer in the Master of Product Design and Development Management program, was cited for “encouraging and supporting student success while challenging students to achieve new heights in design.”

“He is the most supportive professor I've ever had, and he cares a ton about his students,” one nominator wrote. “He genuinely believes in our ability to succeed and is willing to sacrifice as much time as he needs to get us there.”

Jennifer Cole 

Cole, director of the Northwestern Center for Engineering Education Research and associate professor of instruction in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, was cited for “always having the right answer when helping undergraduate students navigate their McCormick journey.”

“Professor Cole is always welcoming and helpful during every advisory session,” one nominator wrote. “I have never had a time where I go into an advisory session with a question and came out with an unsatisfactory answer.”