Carnegie Mellon’s Wojciech Maly Wins Aristotle Award for Outstanding Teaching

September 10 , 2007

Contact: Chriss Swaney
Carnegie Mellon
(412) 268-5776

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University’s Wojciech Maly will receive the prestigious Aristotle Award for innovative teaching from the Semiconductor Research Corporation at the 2007 TechCon conference, Sept. 11 in Austin, Texas. Maly, the U.A. and Helen Whitaker Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is being recognized for outstanding research and for his work with students whose accomplishments are a testament to his teaching abilities.

“Professor Maly is a real visionary when it comes to semiconductor testing, and all of us working in this industry are a reflection of his demanding and caring teaching style,” said Phil Nigh, a 1990 graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program and a senior technical staff member at IBM in Burlington, Vt.

Anne Gattiker, a 1998 ECE graduate and IBM research staff member in Austin, Texas, said the award is long overdue. “He had a big impact on how I think and what I do,” said Gattiker, who penned one of several award nomination letters. “He taught us humility, and showed us how to view the significance of our work,” she said.

Carnegie Mellon ECE Professor Shawn Blanton said the Aristotle Award was created by the Semiconductor Research Corporation to recognize teaching excellence in its broadest sense, emphasizing student advising and teaching during the research process.

“Dr. Maly is an outstanding colleague, and I am delighted that he is being honored for his innovative teaching style and his ongoing work to help students successfully interact with industry,” Blanton said.

“I am delighted to receive this award,” said Maly, whose research has focused on the testing, design and architecture of semiconductor chips for more than three decades.

Maly joined the Carnegie Mellon faculty in 1983 and has received numerous awards since that time. Among them are the 1994 Best Paper Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. Transaction on Semiconductor Manufacturing, Carnegie Mellon’s Benjamin Teare Teaching Award, the AT&T Foundation Award for Excellence in Instructing of Engineering Students, the 1992 Semiconductor Research Corporation Technical Excellence Award, and the Excellence in Teaching Award form Carnegie Mellon’s chapter of Eta Kappa Nu Sigma.

Maly received his master’s degree in electronic engineering from the Technical University of Warsaw, Poland, in 1970, and a Ph.D. in 1975 from the Institute of Applied Cybernetics, the Warsaw-based Polish Academy of Sciences.

About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.