Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Engineering Education Department
University of Florida
I have taught science and engineering (S&E) in higher education since 2011, such as Hispanic Serving Institutions, Community Colleges, and research-intensive institutions. I can teach and create content in both Spanish and English.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
—Maya Angelou
Teaching Philosophy
June 12, 2022
As a first-gen engineer and Ph.D., education has provided social mobility and opportunities that otherwise would never have occurred—learning is a gift that will follow a student forever. The gift of learning keeps me motivated to always care about my students and give them the best learning experience I can. Teaching should encourage students to think creatively, especially when new ideas are needed to develop new technologies and innovations to solve the most pressing societal problems. My teaching philosophy is to create learning experiences where my students can feel and act like engineers by appreciating their unique contributions to solving engineering challenges in a collaborative and inclusive environment.
I emphasize the importance of having meaningful connections between the engineering fundamentals and the professional engineering practice in my classroom. In everyday student interactions, I stress the importance of real-world scenarios to obtain a practical understanding of the fundamental concepts that students have learned. A combination of academic excellence, communication of expectations, and strategic feedback can be paramount to student success, especially for those from underrepresented communities.
After teaching capstone design for so many years, I have learned that you can apply design thinking principles to your teaching strategies. As a teacher, you plan, build your course, prototype new teaching/assessment methods, reflect upon your results, redesign, validate in the following semesters, and share the results with future students and colleagues.
Courses taught:
- Process Economics and Optimization (ECH 4604), Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida, Spring 2018 to Present.
- Process Design (ECH 4644), Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida, Spring 2018 to Spring 2022.
- Material and Energy Balances (ECH 3023), Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida, Spring 2018.
- Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design (ECH 4504), Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida, Fall 2017.
- Integrated Product and Process Design (ENG 4912-4913), Engineering Innovation Institute, University of Florida, 2017-2018
- Sales Engineer Seminar (EGN 4930), Engineering Innovation Institute, University of Florida, 2017-2018
- Introduction of Nanotechnology and applications in food and environmental sciences (International Graduate Course) at Natural Science Department, UNESP, Brasil, June 2015.
- College Chemistry I and II (CHM 2045-2046), Natural Science Department, Santa Fe College, 2012-2016.
- Introduction to College Chemistry (CHM 1025), Natural Science Department, Santa Fe College, 2012-2016.
- Nanotechnology in Food and Agricultural Applications (CITA 5998), Food Science and Technology, University of Puerto Rico, Fall 2015. Language: Spanish
What I bring to the Engineering Education Ph.D. Program
Fundamentals
- Grant writing, qualitative research methods, research design, action research, and global research
- Instructional design and curriculum development for lecture, hybrid, and capstone courses
- Teaching science and engineering at Hispanic Serving Institution, Community Colleges and University of Florida
Experience
- Institutional memory and service the Engineering Education & Chemical Engineering Department
- Industry projects (securing funding and executing work)
- Developing project scope of work, mentoring (2 awards), managing teams, project management, professional skills (safety, ethics, communication)
- Facilitators of professional development for the industry, students, and academia (1 award)
Resources
Besides loving teaching, I also do #SciComm efforts via my outreach website, The Engineering Professor. You can learn more about it via Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube.
Check out some of the resources I have available: