Award Winners

The School of Engineering is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2020-21 faculty awards: Michael Taylor, Award for Teaching Excellence; Bill Lu, Researcher of the Year Award; Lanny Vincent, Adjunct Lecturer of the Year; and Sergio Zarantanello, Gerald E. Markle Award for Teaching Excellence in Applied Mathematics and Engineering. 

“Professor Taylor really cares about his students and wants them to learn the material and succeed.” This student comment is representative of the many accolades Michael Taylor consistently earns on his outstanding teaching evaluations. His well-organized lecture notes, use of “real life” examples, and empathy for his students have been highly regarded since he joined SCU in 2015, but during a year of remote teaching brought on by a global pandemic, undergraduate and graduate students alike praised him for his adaptability, helpfulness, patience, and optimism. Dedicated to excellence in his department and in himself, he also led the development of a new graduate concentration, “Theoretical and Computational Mechanics,” in the master’s program in mechanical engineering, and he regularly participates in workshops to improve his teaching methods.

An M.D. and a Ph.D., Dr. Lu has extensive experience and research expertise in multiple disciplines spanning molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and medicine. His current research program, impactful and well-aligned with Santa Clara’s mission, focuses on engineering nano-carriers for drug delivery and therapy to treat cancers, hereditary diseases, and viral infections. With his unique medical experience and his engaging personality, he attracts many bioengineering pre-med students to his research team and seamlessly integrates cutting-edge research with proactive student education and training. Since joining SCU in 2015, he has produced more than 20 peer-reviewed, top-cited journal articles and conference papers and recently, as sole PI, was awarded a $410,768 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to further his pioneering research. 

With 40 years of industry experience in technology management and innovation consulting and with a Master’s Degree of Divinity, Lanny Vincent brings a wealth of experience to the classroom. Students extol his success in adjusting to teaching remotely during the pandemic and say his thought-provoking, engaging assignments are met with detailed and supportive feedback in a safe environment that allows them the freedom to take risks. His love for the material he presents and the joy he finds in teaching are palpable to students, who call him a “blessing.” He also contributes greatly to the School of Engineering through compelling research, investigating the intersection of Jesuit principles with innovation and entrepreneurship. Additionally, he has helped develop a number of 1-unit courses for the School‘s minor in technical innovation.

Sergio Zarantonello’s career spans over forty years in academia and industry. With Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, he has published over thirty peer-reviewed articles in pure, applied, and computational mathematics has served as Principal Investigator on several research projects funded by the Department of Energy and by the National Science Foundation and has participated in numerous national conferences and workshops as a speaker, organizer, and chair. He began teaching graduate courses in applied mathematics at Santa Clara in 1991 while continuing his work in the industry. Dedicated to Jesuit education, he has found teaching in the School of Engineering to be among his most rewarding experiences and he consistently exhibits an extraordinary commitment to the School of Engineering’s graduate students.