Aaditya Hambarde awarded Towner prize for his outstanding contributions as a Graduate Student Instructor

PhD student Aaditya (Ady) Hambarde has been awarded a Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for Outstanding GSIs from the College of Engineering. This award recognizes his exemplary service as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for EECS 216: Introduction to Signals and Systems during the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters.

Hambarde prepared summaries of lecture material and example problems for three discussion sections during the Winter 2021 semester. These materials were so excellent that Stéphane Lafortune, the N. Harris McClamroch Professor of EECS who teaches the course, plans to use them for future iterations of the class. Hambarde also took it upon himself to create and lead review sessions before each exam.

“My favorite part about teaching is interacting with students and witnessing their learning process throughout the semester,” Hambarde said. “I am passionate about student success and committed to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion through my teaching.”

I am passionate about student success and committed to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion through my teaching.

Aaditya Hambarde

In addition to praising his teaching style and materials, students say Hambarde showed remarkable dedication to their learning and was extremely helpful and responsive on the classroom discussion site.

“Ady is an innovative and outstanding teacher, who really cares about the students and shows them respect,” Lafortune said.

Hambarde’s research focuses on computational and theoretical quantum physics, and he specializes in the area of semiconductor quantum optics. He earned his B.Tech. in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the National Institute of Technology at Nagpur, India and his MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is advised by Prof. Mackillo Kira.

In addition to his research activities, Hambarde mentors students through the ECE PhD Mentoring Program, BuddEEs. He serves on the U-M Interfaith Advisory Board where he advises the university on interfaith identity and dialog and how it relates to the broader diversity, equity, and inclusion goals of the university. He also served as the Academic Liaison for the U-M chapter of the Optics Society from 2018-2020.