Dr. Karen Jin, assistant professor of computer science, is the recipient of the 2019 Excellence in Teaching award
Each year, UNH Manchester recognizes faculty who motivate, challenge and inspire students to succeed both in and out of the classroom. UNH Manchester computing faculty were among the recipients of the 2019 awards for Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Research and Scholarship.
Excellence in Teaching
Dr. Karen Jin, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Karen Jin’s passion for computer science has been a beacon of inspiration for students since she joined the UNH Manchester faculty in 2016. Students echo that her patience and energy empowers them while tackling complex subjects like machine learning, web design and programming languages. Her hands-on teaching philosophy allows students to put concepts into action, better preparing them with practical skills for the workforce.
Jin is also the founder and director of UNH’s EPIC (Elementary Program Introducing Computing) program, which partners with local schools to introduce computational concepts to young students. In addition to teaching, Jin is an active researcher in curriculum design and classroom organization for teaching computing courses, as well as in promoting elementary computational literacy and improving computing education across the entire educational pipeline.
Jin earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Windsor and a Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications and Electrical Engineering from Shanghai University.
Excellence in Research and Scholarship
This award recognizes a residential faculty member who has demonstrated success in research and scholarship, including activities that result in the discovery of important new facts or the generation of new ideas, works of art or creative solutions to problems of interest in a particular field.
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Dr. Mihaela Sabin, Associate Professor of Computer Science
In her 12 years at UNH Manchester, Dr. Mihaela Sabin has obtained extensive funding to support her research in computing that she has integrated into teaching and service on local, national and international levels. Sabin’s efforts to broaden participation of students underrepresented in computing and expand professional learning of computational practices for K-12 teachers have earned funding awards from the National Science Foundation, New Hampshire Innovation Research Center, Google for Education and other private and corporate foundations. A tireless advocate of youth STEM education, she was selected as 2017 TechEducator of the Year by the New Hampshire High Tech Council.
Sabin is a founding member of the Computer Science Teacher Association New Hampshire Chapter and CS4NH, a coalition working to increase access to and participation in computer science education throughout the state. She is also vice-chair for education on the ACM Special Interest Group for Information Technology Education and co-chair of the Workforce Development Committee of the New Hampshire Tech Alliance.
Sabin earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science and M.S. for Teachers in College Teaching from the University of New Hampshire and an M.S. in Computer Science from Politehnica University in Bucharest, Romania.
