{"337471":{"#nid":"337471","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Theatrical Tension Keeps Engle Engaged","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ELast Monday night, Randy Engle got three hours of sleep.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EHe wasn\u2019t up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight, tend to a family emergency, or just to see the sunrise. Instead, it was because he knew at 8 a.m. he would be teaching a psychology of learning course \u2014 one he has taught dozens of times.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI still obsess over this course,\u201d said Engle, professor in the School of Psychology. \u201cProfessional actors need a certain amount of tension and anxiety to perform. For me, it\u2019s the same with teaching. It makes me prepare like crazy.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThis excitement, which he likens to being on a roller coaster, is what has kept him teaching, on top of his many other roles in academia, for his entire career.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI like 8 a.m. classes because they\u2019re a challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cFreshmen are great because they\u2019re not jaded yet. They still get excited.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EEngle recently won a Beckman Award, which honors professors for excellence in teaching and mentoring, and for which he was nominated by a former student. He\u0027ll be honored in a ceremony on Nov. 15 at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Atlanta.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn 19 years at Georgia Tech, Engle has served as chair of the School of Psychology, founded the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, helped establish the Honors Program, and twice overseen buildout for the School\u2019s offices.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EEngle\u2019s research focuses on working memory, or how much information you can maintain at once. On Oct. 30, he\u2019ll give a talk on \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/frontiers-science-lecture-oct-30-2014\u0022\u003EWhat does it mean to be intelligent?\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d that will focus on biologically based intelligence and how it plays into the ability to resist distractions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThough Engle has conducted research in this area for 30 years, he\u2019s had a recent surge in interest from partners including the U.S. Navy, National Security Agency, and Pfizer, all seeking ways to measure or test a person\u2019s working memory and what happens when it is diminished.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cThe ability to focus is highly connected to your ability to function in the modern world,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EWith a workload that includes teaching, editing the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cdp.sagepub.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECurrent Directions in Psychological Science\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, holding a visiting professorship at the University of Edinburgh, conducting research, and advising four graduate students and a postdoctoral fellow, Engle still finds his work with students to be some of the most gratifying.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cIt demands that you love what you\u2019re doing,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EWhen he\u2019s not in the classroom, or losing sleep over being in the classroom, he likes to hike or build things, particularly furniture. He first picked up the habit in a high school shop class. When he lived in South Carolina, his farm provided a ready supply of wood. He\u2019s made several of the pieces in his office, including his desk, and is now sharing the hobby with his grandchildren.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cWhen they visit, I try to have a wood project cut out \u2014 to avoid power tools \u2014 and we assemble it together,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EEngle also spends time hiking, and is having a mountain home built in North Georgia. It won\u2019t replace the home he loves in Avondale Estates, though, where he and his wife can partake in nearby neighborhood events and have a room for each grandchild.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI like to pick up the grandkids on Friday mornings before school and take them to breakfast,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are both amazing conversationalists.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ELeaving his former academic home, the University of South Carolina, for Tech meant leaving the farm behind \u2014 initially to live in a Midtown condo \u2014 but he\u2019s never regretted it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cComing here was the best professional decision of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had great students and great facilities, and have worked for some of the best people of my career.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Professor Honored with $25,000 Beckman Award for Teaching Excellence"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERandy Engle, professor in the School of Psychology, still commits himself to teaching and mentoring despite other obligations and a long academic career.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Randy Engle, professor in the School of Psychology, still commits himself to teaching and mentoring despite other obligations and a long academic career."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-10-27 15:24:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:19","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"337461":{"id":"337461","type":"image","title":"Randy Engle","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Randy Engle","file":{"fid":"200555","name":"randallengle_img9.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/randallengle_img9_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/randallengle_img9_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":375502,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/randallengle_img9_0.png?itok=uA41Iy4r"}},"332971":{"id":"332971","type":"image","title":"Randy Engle, professor in the School of Psychology","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Randy Engle, professor in the School of Psychology","file":{"fid":"201839","name":"img_2079randy_engle2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_2079randy_engle2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_2079randy_engle2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":298686,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_2079randy_engle2_0.jpg?itok=dyq-xprM"}},"337451":{"id":"337451","type":"image","title":"Randy Engle Snail Toy","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Randy Engle Snail Toy","file":{"fid":"200554","name":"snail.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/snail_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/snail_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1358969,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/snail_0.jpg?itok=VZFL-BmK"}}},"media_ids":["337461","332971","337451"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/englelab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Attention and Working Memory Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/englelab.gatech.edu\/Randy.html","title":"About Randy Engle"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"3918","name":"profile"},{"id":"107491","name":"randy engle"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"4152","name":"whistle"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}