Dayton Engineer
2023 School of Engineering Vision Award Winners Recognized
The University of Dayton School of Engineering Vision Awards recognize the innovation, creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and outstanding performance of our faculty and staff for their work as it relates to our School's values of community, innovation, excellence, and engagement and service. Four Vision Awards are presented annually: Community, Innovation, Scholarship and Engagement and Service.
This year’s Vision Award winners were recognized during the Dean’s Welcome Back Meeting on Aug. 18.
Vision Award for Excellence in Community — Shawnee Breitenstein
Shawnee Breitenstein serves as the director of engineering engagement, where she oversees the engineering student ambassador program, faculty ambassador program, daily academic visits and larger school-wide events for prospective students.
Shawnee is recognized for her contribution to a diverse, inclusive engineering student body by leading engaging and innovative in-person and virtual prospective student visits and events.
Her work is instrumental in coordinating prospective student visits, so that each student can meet one-on-one with a faculty member to discuss their future goals. She ensures that our future Flyers know all the opportunities available to them for academic success, professional networking and inclusive communities.
The diverse and inclusive student ambassadors cohort is a testament to her leadership, and an example of inclusive excellence that fosters STEM identity formation and belonging.
One nominator noted that “she intuitively knows how to find something important to our visitors regarding their identity and link it to different things taking place here on campus to show how we are an inclusive and welcoming campus.”
Vision Award for Excellence in Engagement and Service — Allison Kinney
Dr. Kinney is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her research focuses on the biomechanical analysis of human movement, neuromuscular biomechanics and musculoskeletal modeling and simulation.
Dr. Kinney is recognized for her service to the university, school and her department.
One nominator said “Allison reflects the idea that a servant leader is a servant first.”
She has served as the SoE senator on the Academic Senate since 2021 and co-chair of the Student Academic Policies Committee.
In SoE, she has served as a faculty ambassador since 2018 and supports prospective student recruitment and outreach.
In her department, Dr. Kinney has been a stable leader through exciting transitions and new initiatives by collaborating with the department chair. She was also critical in coordinating the department’s ABET assessment, is a frequent mentor to faculty and utilizes her biomechanical engineering expertise to serve the local community through partnerships with United Rehabilitation Services and the Go Baby Go! Program.
Vision Award for Excellence in Scholarship — Jun-Ki Choi
Dr. Choi works in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering Graduate Program. Professor Choi developed a research program in sustainable design and manufacturing, energy and resource efficiency, life cycle management, circular economy and macroeconomic modeling for energy/environmental policies.
He serves as a director of the University of Dayton Industrial Assessment Center (UD-IAC), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. UD-IAC was recognized in 2003 and 2015 as a Center of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is one of longest running DOE Industrial Assessment Centers in the nation.
One nominator stated that “his accomplishments have strengthened the University’s reputation in renewable, sustainable energy, which will continue to be of high interest in the foreseeable future.”
Dr. Choi is recognized for his scholarship activity, including serving as PI or co-PI for over $3 million of sponsored research, 29 peer-reviewed journal publications, 4 book chapters, 14 refereed conference papers and 17 invited presentations.
Vision Award for Excellence in Innovation — Tim Reissman
Dr. Reissman is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. In 2017, he was recognized as a University Teaching Fellow and a Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network Faculty Fellow.
His research is focused on creating solutions to help people in need, including the advancement of human-machine interfaces to improve medical and assistive technology.
Dr. Reissman is recognized for his contributions to transform engineering education, curriculum development and dissemination of scholarship of teaching and learning. He led the creation of the robotic systems minor and courses and developed the MEE 205 course, which is one of the only engineering courses satisfying the CAP Crossing Boundaries requirement.
He also led significant efforts to improve the department's labs, received several fellowships to train future engineering educators and communicated the results of his efforts at numerous conferences for KEEN and ASEE.
One nominator noted that “he proposed departmental action to establish a curriculum that brings students to the University of Dayton by emphasizing scaffolded, experiential learning in classes, and across the curriculum.”