An associate professor of engineering in the University of New Haven's Tagliatela
College of Engineering has been awarded the University's prestigious $25,000 William
L. Bucknall Excellence in Teaching Award.
November 22, 2016
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, an associate professor of mechanical engineering who specializes in thermal-fluid
science especially as it relates to wind turbines and deceleration devices (such as
parachutes), was recognized for providing outstanding instruction.
She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech.
She is one of 10 women on the engineering faculty. Twenty percent of the 51-member
Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven is female.
The award, named for William L. Bucknall Jr.,'63AS,'65, vice chairman of the University's
Board of Governors, was made possible by Bucknall and his two daughters, Elise Bucknall
and Kristin Loranger.
"The award is exceptionally generous for a mid-sized university like the University
of New Haven," President Steven H. Kaplan said. "It helps make the Bucknall Excellence
in Teaching Award especially meaningful and demonstrates how important we feel good
teaching is. Oftentimes, faculty members are honored, and deservedly so, for their
research. Thanks to the Bucknall family, we are able to reward a faculty member for
developing extraordinary courses and exemplary instruction."
Carnasciali, known for her interactive classes, has also been instrumental in implementing
a grant the university received from the Kern Family Foundation designed to help revolutionize
engineering education in the United States. Only 24 universities are part of the
Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), which emphasizes entrepreneurial
thinking and learning outcomes.
She also runs a summer engineering camp, sponsored by Sikorsky, for high school students.
They employ 3-D printers to produce parts such as helicopter wings, truck tires and
windmills used in a competition that gauges the most effective design.
Founded on the campus of Yale University in 1920, the University of New Haven is a
private, top-tier comprehensive institution recognized as a national leader in experiential
education. The university enrolls nearly 5,000 undergraduates and about 1,900 graduate
students.
