Assistant Professor Nateghi received the award for her exceptional mentoring capabilities. IE GSO gave her a plaque which says, in part, that “she believes in motivating students to help them reach their highest potential, is a great source of encouragement and support, goes out of her way to make available any resources that one may need to succeed, advocates healthy interaction among peers in class to sharpen critical thinking and teamwork skills, and strongly believes in the quality of knowledge attained from a course instead of grades.”

The IE GSO nominated Dr. Nateghi because: “We believe that Professor Nateghi has a well-balanced mix of effective mentoring ability as well as a friendly, approachable demeanor and is therefore a deserving candidate for such an award. When it comes to mentorship, Dr. Nateghi definitely goes the extra mile: she is a guide, a friend and a constant source of encouragement. She possesses very high standards of research and professionalism and ensures steady progress through regular supervision. In class, Professor Nateghi tries her best to help students, often on a one-on-one basis. She is always open to schedule meetings and discuss problems, and devotes enough time to address ambiguities and issues. She is a great counselor for academic and in general professional decisions that come up. With her Teaching Assistants (TAs), Dr. Nateghi develops a very friendly yet structured relationship. Her openness to suggestions motivates the TAs to engage more effectively in the regular assistive tasks, that in turn makes the collaboration a smooth and productive experience for both sides. Dr. Nateghi provides sufficient opportunity for her TAs to practice some of the teaching roles and responsibilities of a faculty member. “

This award was created by the College of Engineering (CoE) and Dean Fentiman to help graduate students recognize fantastic mentors.

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu