Teaching excellence by arch prof recognized with Montague honor

The teaching excellence of Juan Carlos Baltazar, Texas A&M associate professor of [architecture] (http://dept.arch.tamu.edu/) , was recognized Nov. 5 when he and eight fellow Aggie faculty were honored as 2018-2019 [Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholars] (https://cte.tamu.edu/Fellows-and-Scholars/Montague-CTE-Scholars) .

During the ceremony, university president Michael K. Young said that the true impact and legacy of each faculty member is realized through the success and accomplishments of their students.

The award is given annually to one tenure-track assistant professor from each college, based on their early success in and passion for teaching undergraduate students. Awardees receive a $6,500 grant to encourage further development of teaching excellence. The award has been granted to a total of more than 260 faculty.

In addition to his teaching expertise, Baltazar is an accomplished researcher who focuses on structures’ energy efficiency, modeling and performance analytics, as well as the integration of buildings’ renewable energy systems.

Baltazar is part of a team of researchers who found that electricity savings in Texas amounted to $6.77 billion in a 15-year period since 2002 when the state adopted [International Energy Conservation Code] (https://www.iccsafe.org/codes-tech-support/codes/2018-i-codes/iecc/) for single-family residences. The code establishes minimum design and construction requirements for energy efficiency.

Past Montague honorees from the College of Architecture include Kunhee Choi , associate professor of construction science, [Anat Geva] (http://archcomm.arch.tamu.edu/archive/news/winter2004/Geva-Montague.html) , professor of architecture, Felice House , assistant professor of visualization, [Nancy Klein] (http://archcomm.arch.tamu.edu/archive/news/fall2009/stories/NancyKlein.html) , associate professor of architecture, and Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo , associate professor of visualization.

The award is named in honor of Kenneth Montague ’37, a distinguished alumnus and outstanding trustee of the Texas A&M University Development Foundation, who had a long, storied career in the Texas oil industry.

Richard Nira
rnira@arch.tamu.edu