FoSE Teaching Award Winner |理工学院杰出教学奖得主— Dr. Frank Nickols
On March 1st 2017, after a discussion among students and staffs representatives, the Judge Panel decided to award Dr. Francis Malcolm John Nickols, the 2016-2017 FoSE Teaching Award for his contribution to teaching and learning within the Faculty and the University. Dr. Frank Nickols is the Associate Professor in Mechatronics and Control Engineering.
2017年3月1日，经过由学生和老师组成的评选委员会的讨论之后，决定授予 Francis Malcolm John Nickols 博士2016-2017年度宁诺理工学院杰出教学奖。Frank Nickols博士是机械电子和控制工程专业的副教授。
What is Faculty of Science and Engineering Teaching Award?
The Faculty of Science and Engineering Teaching Award is the Faculty’s scheme for rewarding and promoting outstanding contributions to Teaching and Learning within the Faculty and the University.
The Award scheme will be awarded annually and a winner will be presented with the Award certificate and 5,000 RMB award. The best applications may also be nominated for the Dearing Award, which is the University’s scheme for rewarding and promoting different aspects of teaching quality within the University of Nottingham.
关于宁波诺丁汉大学理工学院杰出教学奖
此奖项的设立是为了奖励教职员工对于教学的杰出贡献并致力于提升教学质量。每年会有一名教师获此殊荣，将获得荣誉证书和5000元的奖励金。出色的申请者同时也将有机会被提名迪林勋爵奖。
The Biography of Dr. Frank Nickols
Frank has 18 years of professional industrial experience in U.K. industry as an engineering product researcher, designer and builder followed by 20 years of experience in academia as a Mechatronics (*1) Engineering teacher and researcher. He has worked for the British Royal Air Force, Ford Motor Company, Lucas Microelectronic Control Systems, American Machine Foundries (AMF), Renishaw Research & Metrology and Danfoss Flowmetering. Examples of commercial products designed by Frank are, (i) automotive electromagnetic sensors, (ii) CNC (*2) machine tools and (iii) electromagnetic flowmeters. He holds a B.A. in engineering science from Cambridge University, an M.Sc in digital electronics from Cranfield University and a Ph.D. in CNC manufacturing mechatronics engineering from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff.
In academia, Frank uses his industrial experience to research, design and build novel desk-top sized mechatronic mobile robots that are designed to capture the imagination of students in order to teach theoretical aspects of engineering in a practical way. He loves to build computer controlled machines and that includes programming CNC machines to manufacture complex mechanical parts. He also sees his role to pass on these design-and-build skills to students and technicians. Recently he has formalized a new teaching technique called “cardboard engineering” which means that students learn to design and build their very own robots in the classroom.
*1: Mechatronics means engineered systems with mechanical, electronic, computer and control components, e.g. robots
*2: CNC means “Computer Numerical Control” which means “computer programmed machine”
More information at www.franksrobomachines.com
Frank Nickols 博士简介
作为工程产品研究员，设计师和建造者， Frank Nickols博士在英国业界有18年的专业工作经验，之后20年作为机械电子工程[注1]的教授和研究员。他曾为英国皇家空军，福特汽车公司，卢卡斯微电子控制系统，美国机床厂（AMF），雷尼绍研究与计量和丹佛斯流量计工作。 Frank Nickols博士设计的商业产品有（i）汽车电磁传感器，（ii）CNC[注2]机床和（iii）电磁流量计。他持有剑桥大学工程科学的学士学位，克兰菲尔德大学的数字电子学硕士学位，并在威尔士大学卡迪夫学院拿到计算机数控制造机械电子的博士学位。
在学术研究方面，Frank Nickols 博士利用他在业界积累的工业经验，以一种实用的方式教授学生工程的理论知识，设计和构建新型桌面大小的机电移动机器人，旨在激发学生的想象力。他喜欢制造计算机控制的机器，包括编程数控机床制造复杂的机械零件。同时，他认为他应该将这些设计和构建技能传授给学生和技术人员。最近，他已经将一种被称为“纸板工程”的新教学技术投入日常教学，这意味着学生可以在教室里学习设计和构建自己的机器人。
注1：机械电子工程指的是具有机械，电子，计算机和控制部件的工程系统。例如，机器人。
注2：CNC表示“计算机数字控制”，指的是“计算机编程机”。
更多信息，请访问www.franksrobomachines.com
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