Meet the RE-ENGINEERED instructional team

With our RE-ENGINEERED first-year program now launched this fall, USask Engineering is proud to introduce the program's six-person team of instructors.

These engineers represent the disciplines of chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical and engineering physics and each is highly rated as a teacher. Each department in the college holds a joint appointment with the first-year team, who are based in the Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development (SOPD).

“This is a remarkable team,” says USask Engineering Dean Suzanne Kresta. “Not only does each person bring exceptional teaching skills to our students, the diversity of the team means that each of our students will be able to see themselves at the front of the classroom. This is a dramatic change from the old stereotypes of first-year engineering.”

Whitney Curtis

Whitney Curtis

Curtis (BE ’19, Engineering Physics) the General Engineering Lab and Logistics Coordinator, is in charge of the labs for the first-year program. She is completing an MSc in Engineering Physics. As a student, she was on the executives of Med Hack, Sask Invent and Spectrum.

Did you know? Whitney Curtis was featured in USask Engineering’s 2019 promo video. Watch it here on YouTube!

Joel Frey

Joel Frey

Assistant Professor Joel Frey (PhD ’12, Electrical) first joined the college in 2017 as a curriculum developer for RE-ENGINEERED. He was appointed an assistant professor in 2019 and is a joint appointment between the SOPD and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching for the College of Engineering in 2021 and was the Saskatoon Engineering Society’s Educator of the Year for 2019-20.

Did you know? Joel Frey is a certified facilitator of True Colors® Personal Success, Conflict Navigation, and Teaching & Learning seminars.

Shaobo Huang

Shaobo Huang

Before joining USask, Assistant Professor Shaobo Huang held the Stensaas Endowed STEM Chair at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. She was one of the core team members who developed RE-ENGINEERED, working with Sean Maw and Joel Frey.

Did you know? Shaobo Huang disliked engineering until the third year of her program.

Glyn Kennell

Glyn Kennell

Glyn Kennell (PhD ’11, Chemical), a lecturer in the SOPD, has more than 10 years experience teaching in the College of Engineering. He has been nominated five times by students for a University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) Teaching Award. Kennell also contributed to RE-ENGINEERED as a curriculum developer.

Did you know? Glyn Kennell began studying engineering at USask in 2003 as a mature student after spending five years in the British Army.

Sean Maw

Sean Maw

Associate Professor Sean Maw was among the original group in the college who envisioned developing a brand-new first-year program and has worked on the project since 2016. He was the college’s 2020 winner of the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching and is the Jerry G. Huff Chair in Innovative Teaching.  

Did you know? Sean Maw was the announcer for long track speed skating at the Sochi (2014) and Pyeong Chang (2018) Winter Olympics. 

Randi Strunk

Randi Strunk

Randi Strunk (MSc ’09, Civil Engineering), a lecturer based in the SOPD, brings more than 10 years industry experience to the first-year classroom. She has been a sessional lecturer in the college  and has experience teaching in-person and in remote teaching environments.

Did you know? Randi Strunk once failed a multiple-choice math mid-term, getting 0% - making a mistake with + or – on every single question. She has since learned to check her work.