Richard Goff

Richard Goff, who typically teaches three or four sections per semester and advises 150 to 200 students, has created a revolutionary change in the freshman engineering program . According to Engineering Fundamentals Director Hayden Griffin, "Richard pioneered the work with Lego Mindstorms for allowing students to design, create, and test robotic cars. The finale of the experience was a competition in which the students' creations competed against each other to negotiate a maze and find a target on the floor. Photos of the students clearly show their interest and excitement with this effort." Dr. Goff has also collaborated with Professor Mitzi Vernon of the Industrial Design Program in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies in creating mixed groups of students from the two colleges which design and build robotic creations. As Goff says, "The top students will learn no matter what the teacher does. But many creative students drop out of engineering every year because they do not experience connections between theoretical learning and the practical application of knowledge." Dr. Goff is the recipient of three Certificates of Teaching Excellence and the Sporn Award for Excellence in Teaching of Engineering Subjects. He is the Director of the Frith Freshman Engineering Design Laboratory. Working with colleagues, he has received a CEUT Summer Faculty Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Design as well as three SUCCEED grants for Hands-On Laboratory, Early Design, and Curriculum Renewal. An anonymous student comments, "Goff is the kind of teacher that you look up to and respect, because he respects his students. ...Always very approachable, friendly, and peaceful. Has some really cool experiences to share as well."