Jane Liu tapped 2017 University Professor
Lamar University’s 2017 University Professor and Ann Die-Hasselmo Faculty Scholar is Jiangjiang (Jane) Liu. She, along with University Merit Awards recipients and retiring faculty, will be honored at the faculty awards ceremony April 12 at 1 p.m. in the University Event Center, 8th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.
University Professor is an honor awarded for life and is the university’s most prestigious faculty award.
Recipients of the University Professor title are designated the “Ann Die-Hasselmo Faculty Scholar” for the following year thanks to the Lamar University Faculty Excellence Endowment created by the generosity of 1986 Lamar University Regents’ Professor, Ann Die-Hasselmo.
Liu, professor of computer science with expertise in computer architecture and embedded systems, has been at Lamar University for 12 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from The University of Buffalo.
Liu has designed and taught a significant portion of the computer science courses, including 16 graduate and undergraduate courses. She has mentored 23 undergraduate students and 63 graduate students in research projects, chaired eight thesis committees and served on five others, supervised 24 graduate research projects and served on 26 project committees.
Liu’s variety of teaching methods includes graphics, animations, slides, videos, research activities and hands-on simulations to help students visualize concepts, and she often invests guest speakers to her classes share about the computer industry. Liu is praised by her students, who say that she has had a major positive affect on their education.
Liu has been a leader for several educational programs: she directed the Computing Institute for K-12 Teachers; co-directed the NSF-funded Increasing Student Participation in Research program; organized five computing career forums for students; and co-organized nine summer academies for local middle and high school students.
She also participated in a wide range of Lamar student outreach programs, including MATHFEST, Week of Welcome, Open House and Rotary Career Day.
Liu and her colleagues have received over a half million dollars in external funding for student instruction, mentoring and STEM outreach programs. She was recently selected by the Chancellor of the Texas State University System as a 2017 Faculty Fellow and as principal investigator to study first year retention and success at LU.
Liu participates in numerous organizations, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Women in Engineering and the Association for Computing Machinery. She has attended and led dozens of professional meetings and workshops and has organized and sponsored several student professional organizations.
She has been the principal investigator for four grants totaling $433,000 and co-principle investigator on three more grants totaling $507,000. Liu was awarded a $400,000 National Science Foundation Career Award to recognize “junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher scholar.” In 2008, she received $23,000 worth of equipment from Sun Microsystems for multi-core and multi-thread system research and education.
Liu has co-authored 40 refereed, international publications and proceedings papers and delivered numerous professional papers, talks and workshops worldwide.
Liu has played a part in almost every departmental and college committee; She was a Faculty Senator and member of the Strategic Planning Committee, a manuscript reviewer for professional conferences and a referee for various computer science journals. Outside of LU, she serves K-12 students and teachers, especially in promoting the STEM disciplines to young women.
