Murphy Award winner: John Lumkes Jr.

May 6, 2011

John Lumkes Jr., associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)

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Five exceptional teachers were honored with 2011 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards in Memory of Charles B. Murphy at the Faculty Awards Convocation on April 28. This week, Purdue Today will feature a profile on each of the recipients. Today, we focus on John Lumkes Jr., associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

Lumkes knows his students are the world's future problem solvers. He aims to help them master challenging material, develop a hunger for constant learning and positively impact the world.

"There is always a need to try new things, learn more and improve processes," Lumkes says. "By applying themselves, my students are developing lifelong skills necessary to solve the significant and relevant issues that surround energy, food, water and the environment."

By integrating real global design challenges into his courses, Lumkes offers students the opportunity to address and overcome cultural and communication disparities while solving technical problems.

"I believe a significant amount of learning occurs in the 'out of class' lessons," he says. "The late nights of building and testing projects in the lab, presenting designs to judges at national design competitions and traveling to other countries to implement designs provide unique experiences for the students."

Every other year, Lumkes travels to China with students in his course Globalization, Agriculture and the Environment in China. During this study abroad trip, he acts as professor and tour guide for his students.

"My largest enjoyment is often found during these teaching moments," Lumkes says. "When they step off an airplane in China or Africa for the first time, when they successfully complete a problem they didn’t think was possible, that's when they get the confidence and desire to impact the world." 

Beyond teaching, he is academic advisor to more than 30 undergraduate agricultural engineering students. He also serves as faculty advisor for multiple Global Engineering Design teams, student design competition teams and student clubs. He currently advises eight graduate students.

Lumkes was inducted into Purdue's Teaching Academy in 2009. He has received the College of Agriculture David C. Pfendler Outstanding Counselor award, the Purdue Teaching for Tomorrow Fellowship Award and other honors.