The UMass Amherst iCons Program is pleased to announce the selection of Professor Wei Fan as the 2021-2022 iCons Teaching Fellow. The award brings new faculty members to the iCons Program, relying on student nominations to bring great candidates forward. iCons Teaching Fellows teach one iCons course for 2-3 years and receive professional development funding for the duration of the fellowship.
Fan was nominated by iCons senior, Kieran Tay, who wrote, “Professor Fan has a clear desire to help students learn in an effective way that may be unique to each individual.” Fan will be joining the iCons 1 teaching team for the Spring 2022 semester.
Scott Auerbach, the Mahoney Family Sponsored Executive Director of iCons, says, “iCons relies on accomplished faculty members who have the ability to inspire students, and the wisdom to step back and let them explore. Wei Fan has been doing this for years in his chemical engineering teaching and research. We sure are lucky to welcome Wei as our newest member of the iCons teaching team.”
Wei Fan is an associate professor in chemical engineering and leads the Fan Porous Materials Research Group. The research group focuses on the rational synthesis of nanoporous materials, which serve as catalysts in biorefineries and drug delivery carriers.
In his application for the iCons Teaching Fellow, Prof. Fan wrote, “I would like to bring my research expertise in renewable energy to the iCons program. Renewable energy and sustainable economy are central challenges of our current society and require multidisciplinary approaches.”
Sanjay Raman, Dean of the UMass College of Engineering agrees, “The College of Engineering is focused on providing a world-class engineering education that produces diverse, globally aware, and technically strong engineering practitioners and leaders, able to work in interdisciplinary teams and contribute to solving complex societal challenges. ICONS is an excellent platform to help meet this mission, and we are excited for our exceptional faculty and students to be engaged with this program.”
The mission of the UMass iCons Program is to produce a diverse generation of leaders in science, technology, and business with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to solve the inherently multi-faceted problems facing our world – problems like developing clean energy, curing disease, and responding to climate change. Building on the disciplinary strength of each student’s major, iCons projects at all levels involve collaborative student teams working on cross-disciplinary communication and integrative problem-solving skills. The program trains students from ~40 majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business at UMass.
The iCons Program is supported by our major sponsor – the Mahoney Family – as well as by members of the iCons Industry Consortium, Waters Corporation and Zipher Medical Affairs.
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