Gabriel “Gabe” Unger, a MEAM PhD student working in the Sung Robotics Lab, received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant (TA) Award in Mechanical Engineering for the Fall 2024 semester in recognition of his contributions to instruction in MEAM 2100: Statics and Strength of Materials.
Before celebrating the class’s success in Fall 2024, let’s step back to Spring 2024. After serving as a TA for MEAM 2100 in Fall 2023, Unger dedicated himself to a major course overhaul. After evaluating multiple textbooks and online resources, he curated fresh content aimed at boosting student engagement, broadening the range of topics, and providing a more in-depth exam review. He also spearheaded a complete reorganization of the material, integrating the Mechanics and Statics components throughout the semester. “This change would not have been possible without Gabe’s leadership,” recalls Robert Carpick, John Henry Towne Professor and Instructor of MEAM 2100.
Unger is no stranger to teaching. Prior to pursuing his PhD, he spent time as an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven, where he taught Physics. In addition to preparing the materials, Unger led active-learning recitation sections that functioned as a flipped classroom. In these sessions, students worked in groups on challenging problems, with TAs available to offer guidance. “It is incredibly rewarding to see the students work and grow together,” Unger explains. “As a TA, I was encouraged to help them assist one another and build confidence. It was especially gratifying to watch students who were initially unsure of themselves gain confidence and eventually help their peers.”
Beyond the recitations, Unger took the opportunity to deliver two guest lectures—an experience he highly recommends for any PhD student. In these lectures, he introduced new material and made connections to some of his own research to the class content.
MEAM 2100 is one of the two core lecture classes for sophomores in MEAM. “For most, these are the first courses where they interact with all their MEAM classmates,” says Carpick. “It was important to establish a sense of community in the class.” Unger embraced this challenge with enthusiasm. “It was inspiring to see sophomores begin to see themselves as real engineers, applying concepts from math and physics classes,” recalls Unger. “Their growth in confidence was exponential over the semester—it was truly rewarding to watch.”
Unger also shared a personal connection to his work. With a little sister who is a college sophomore in Indiana, he felt that teaching the sophomores in MEAM 2100 helped him feel connected to her despite the distance. “Interacting with the students made me think of her, catch her pop culture references, and hope that the effort I put into my students was worthwhile, knowing that, hopefully, another TA far away was making a similar impact for her,” he said.
“Teaching is something that truly matters to me—my mom has been an educator for over 30 years, so I’ve always had deep respect for the impact of teachers,” says Unger. “The support and encouragement I’ve received here at Penn in exploring different teaching styles and methods have made my teaching experience both joyful and deeply rewarding. I believe that learning happens when students are curious, teachers are supportive, and the material is meaningfully connected to the real world. Being in the classroom, leading recitations, and mentoring students has been one of my most fulfilling experiences.”