Shaping the future of engineering through teaching and mentorship

Celebrating his tenth year of teaching at the Statler College, Todd Hamrick has shaped the foundation of the fundamentals of engineering program for thousands of students.

Hamrick received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1987 while also receiving a bachelor’s degree in German the same year. In 2008 he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He has been teaching the freshman engineering program since 2011, the same year he received his PhD in mechanical engineering. For his research, Hamrick focuses on the efficiency improvement in well drilling and organic solar cells.

“I worked for over 20 years in industry as an engineer in product development, process improvement, design and sales,” Hamrick said. “While earning my PhD I had the opportunity to teach at the college level, which gave me the teaching experience to follow that passion.”

Hamrick worked as an engineer in manufacturing in Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia for over 20 years before returning to academia for his advanced degrees. Hamrick’s teaching style brings practical, innovative and experience-based learning to the classroom. He has innovated fundamental courses by adding hands-on projects that reflect real world applications. Examples include a unique method of teaching fundamental programming using robotics, as well as a wide array of projects and labs. 

Hamrick has won the Statler Educator of the Year award, the Statler Outstanding Teaching Award and the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching. He has served as a mentor for youth organizations including Boy Scouts and 4-H and has been a mentor since 2009 for the award winning FIRST Robotics Team Mountaineer Area Robotics (MARS). He has served as a Morgantown Goodwill City Ambassador since 2014.