CEE Spotlight: Jerry Wang

One of the new additions to the CMU faculty and CEE Department, Jerry Wang has already made a splash in the department with his happy demeanor and eclectic suits. Jerry joins us from MIT, where he received his doctorate applying his rigorous computational science background to model nanoscale fluid mechanics phenomena. A Chicago native and lifelong Cubs fan, Jerry brings a fresh perspective to the department in his research, teaching, and sports allegiances.

As a researcher and professor, Jerry believes that the collaborative nature of research conducted at CMU is what sets us apart. “Folks everywhere love to talk about collaboration. It’s one of those buzzwords that you find departments and schools advertising in their brochures, but if you look at what happens here, people actually do work with each other,” Jerry says. “What goes hand in hand with collaboration, folks here are by and large humble, enthusiastic, and low ego. The spirit of collaboration here is stronger than I’ve seen anywhere else and that’s something that I absolutely love.”

Along with the proven collaborative nature of research, Jerry believes that the classroom can and should exemplify a collaborative and inclusive nature. “Being in the classroom is one of the things that I love most about this job and doing everything that I can to make my classroom an equitable and inclusive environment is one of my single biggest daytime responsibilities.” Jerry goes on to elaborate that, “the truest realization of [diversity, equity and inclusion] in the classroom is when every student has the potential to succeed and feels that it is worth succeeding and mastering the material.”