Taryn Bayles

For Bayles, mentoring and teaching are intertwined and happen simultaneously. Her love of learning is apparent to students, and they are engaged by the personal stories and lessons she shares. Her hands-on activities and practical real-world examples help students better connect with the complex material inherent to chemical engineering. She is always there for students, frequently responding to e-mail questions in the wee hours of the early morning, as her days are filled teaching classes and helping students individually in her office. There is often a line outside her door, and she has never turned a student away.

When it comes to scholarship, Bayles focuses in the area of engineering education. She served as principal investigator on three National Science Foundation grants (STEP, CSEMS and S-STEM), which were focused on undergraduates and support for retention, which included mentoring. Bayles personally mentored a cohort of undergraduates as part of the research study. In addition, in order to disseminate high school curricula, Bayles acts a mentor and coach to teachers in numerous high schools in Maryland and Virginia. Because of her work with local schools, more students are encouraged by their high school technology education teachers to pursue engineering at UMBC.

Bayles honors include the IEEE Real World Engineering Project Award (2008), ASEE ERM Apprentice Faculty Award (2004), Professor of the Year Award (2004) and (Meyerhoff) Mentor of the Year (2003).

Bayles earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico State University and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering, M.S. in Petroleum Engineering and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
 

Original Source: www.umbc.edu/newsevents/Awards2009/bayles.html