Professor, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering & Science
2011
Bio:
Dr. Weaver has been an exceptional teacher throughout his career. His students describe him as an excellent and very knowledgeable instructor who has high expectations. By the end of the semester, the students realize that they have learned a great deal in his class. Courses he has taught at UDM span a very wide spectrum starting from basic undergraduate engineering courses, such as Statics, to advance graduate level courses in non-traditional areas such as Innovation. He has taught over 20 different courses during his tenure at UDM. Many of these courses, especially the ones in Product Development and Innovation, were designed by him.
In 2005, Dr. Weaver was the leader of a small team of UDM faculty who received funding from KERN family foundation to develop curriculum in the area of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He has been designated a KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network) Fellow since the inception of this grant. The grant is now in its third phase, and because of the team’s effort, we now have a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UDM. In the courses within this minor he teaches a variety of techniques to generate innovative ideas to solve problems. One of the hallmarks of these courses is the use of video case studies of innovators who have used technical principles to develop innovative solutions into new products. So far, 14 of his case studies are online and several more are at the preparation stage. These case studies have been a unique contribution to the KEEN network of schools.
Over the last four years, he has been invited by schools such as Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Gonzaga University, Lawrence Technological University, Kettering University, St. Louis University, and Baylor University to help educate their faculty and students about innovation, product development, and technical entrepreneurship. Recently, his contribution to the KEEN network was acknowledged when he was awarded the first KEEN Faculty Excellence award in January 2010.
Dr. Weaver’s teaching prowess is in great demand among our industry partners as well. For many years, he has taught in-house training sessions at Ford on a variety of topics related to product development and CAD. Recently, he has been invited several times by Ford and Chrysler to offer seminars on innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development. In November 2009, Dr. Weaver was invited as one among only 48 of the nation’s brightest young engineering faculty to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) first Frontiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) symposium.
Dr. Weaver has established an extensive record of research, graduate student advising, and publications in the area of product development, innovation, robotics, vehicle dynamics, and design of experiments. He significant contributions include procuring over 1.1 million dollars in external funding for research (from 11 separate grants) in partnership with his colleagues, advising over 75 master’s theses (both individual and group), co-authoring a book on mechanism design using CATIA, writing more than 30 publications and presentations, and developing and revising a variety of course and training materials for Ford.
At UDM, Dr. Weaver has served on over 20 committees in a variety of areas that include assessment, technology adoption, curriculum and standards, retention, commencement, etc. He has served as the faculty advisor of several student organizations. From 2007 to 2011, he served as the chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Dr. Weaver has taught numerous classes in many of the college’s pre-college programs such as DAPCEP, UNITE and STEPS since he started working at UDM. This level of commitment to the pre-college programs (that serve primarily minority students) is truly remarkable and speaks to his commitment to the University’s mission.
During his tenure at UDM, Dr. Weaver has worked tirelessly to make the University a better place for his students, his colleagues and the entire University community by focusing on excellence in his own work and demanding excellence from others.
Dr. Weaver was presented by Leo E. Hanifin, Dean, College of Engineering & Science and the Distinguished Faculty Award was presented by Pamela Zarkowski, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of University of Detroit Mercy on November 11, 2011.