{"68569":{"#nid":"68569","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Doesn\u2019t Shy Away from Adventure","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who thinks that college professors are all mild-mannered people who spend most of their time with their noses buried in a book or squirreled away in a lab hasn\u2019t met Wayne Whiteman.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve always been fascinated by flying, and free flying \u2014 without an engine \u2014 is about as cool as it gets,\u201d said Whiteman, who is director of the Office of Student Services and a senior academic professional in the School of Mechanical Engineering. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor four years, Whiteman has flown hang gliders as a hobby. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy wife and I rent a cabin year-round at the Lookout Mountain Flight Park, near Chattanooga, Tenn., and I usually fly about three weekends a month,\u201d Whiteman said. \u201cThe nice thing about hang gliding is that you are living in the moment. You don\u2019t worry about the past or the future. You are totally alive and living in the now.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle sat down with Whiteman to learn more about him and his time at Tech. Here\u2019s what we learned:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to Tech? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1979 and started teaching mechanical engineering at the institution, working my way up to program chair. By 2003, it was time for something new. Since I\u2019d completed my PhD studies at Georgia Tech and had kept in touch with folks here, it just made sense to come to Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your research.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EMechanical engineering is about finding creative solutions to difficult problems. For example, we design and develop machines ranging from toasters to cars. These days, I\u2019m not as heavily involved in research as I once was, due to my administrative role in the Office of Student Services. My focus is more on scholarship and research in the areas of engineering education, and teaching and learning initiatives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are a few professional accomplishments that you are most proud of? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019m most proud of my 24 years of Army military service and of being commander of a 660-person U.S. Army engineer battalion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you do to make learning more engaging for students?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI use a lot of group work in class to encourage students to work together. Also, I\u2019m not a big fan of clickers. Instead, I will hand out pieces of green and pink paper and have students raise one or the other in response to a question. And I\u2019ve learned that the sure-fire way to not get students to ask questions is to say, \u201cDoes anyone have any questions?\u201d Instead, after we discuss a topic, I will have students get into groups and formulate questions related to what was just discussed. This approach seems to elicit some of the best questions. Lastly, I try to make class fun. So, we will have \u201ccommercial breaks\u201d throughout class where we chat about good movies or upcoming concerts to lighten the mood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat piece of technology could you not live without as an instructor?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI would rather say the piece of technology I COULD live without \u2014 PowerPoint. A lot of PowerPoint presentations can be as painful for students as watching a bad B movie. I\u2019m still a fan of the good old whiteboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are three things everyone should do while working at Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGet involved in a student club or activity and interact with students. Go to a sporting event. And try biking around campus. \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is the best place to grab lunch (on or off campus), and what do you order? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI fancy the Student Center Food Court and generally eat a turkey and cheese sandwich or something from the hot food line.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell me something unusual about yourself.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI bike eight miles to and from work daily. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you weren\u2019t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI can\u2019t imagine doing anything else with my life.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who thinks that college professors are all mild-mannered people who spend most of their time with their noses buried in a book or squirreled away in a lab hasn\u2019t met Wayne Whiteman.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Anyone who thinks that college professors are all mild-mannered people who spend most of their time with their noses buried in a book or squirreled away in a lab hasn\u2019t met Wayne Whiteman."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-06-27 14:40:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:40","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-06-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-06-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68570":{"id":"68570","type":"image","title":"Wayne Whiteman","body":null,"created":"1449177185","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:05","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14","alt":"Wayne Whiteman","file":{"fid":"193336","name":"whiteman_photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/whiteman_photo_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/whiteman_photo_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":917159,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/whiteman_photo_0.jpg?itok=PmZk66-q"}}},"media_ids":["68570"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"13528","name":"Wayne Whiteman"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}