TomConnolly

Photo of Tom Connolly
Assistant Professor of Instruction

Research Areas
Research Interests

Engineering education; Student success initiatives; Graduate TA professional development

About

Tom Connolly is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Aerospace Engineering Engineering Mechanics, where he periodically teaches Dynamics, Introduction to Computer Programming, Engineering Computation, Machine Elements, Mechatronics and Dynamic Systems Controls. In the past, Dr. Connolly has also taught Cultural Analysis for Global Professionals, the first engineering course to be designated with a Global Cultures flag.

Connolly’s teaching activities complement his work as a member of the Academic Affairs team in the Office of the Dean, where he has been directing and implementing the Engineering TA Certification Program for the Cockrell School of Engineering since its inception in 2013.

Connolly is a strong advocate for international engineering education. In 2004, he spent a semester abroad teaching Dynamic Systems and Control Theory in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Boğaziçi (Bosporus) University in Istanbul, Turkey. For over twenty five years, Connolly has worked with undergraduate and graduate students from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in various academic capacities, including teaching, research, and mentoring. In 2017, he mentored a team of UT Austin engineering and business students who won the Shell Ideas360 international engineering design and entrepreneurship competition in London, England.

From 2011-2013, Connolly was a program coordinator at the Charles A. Dana Center for Science and Mathematics Education at UT Austin, where he oversaw development of an innovative college-level course in Statistics that blended active learning practices with student success principles. From 2001 – 2010, Connolly was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University in Erie and The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he taught a broad range of undergraduate engineering courses, with a focus on laboratory and design courses. During this time, he established the first externally funded research programs in engineering education at UT San Antonio, where he was the Principal Investigator for several research initiatives under the auspices of the National Science Foundation.

Prior to his academic career, Connolly worked as a systems integration engineer on the Space Station and Space Shuttle programs at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, and as a reliability engineer on the B-2 Stealth Bomber program at LTV Aerospace Defense in Dallas, TX.

Educational Qualifications

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin, 2000
  • M.S.E. Aerospace Engineering, UT Austin, 1995
  • B.E. Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1988

Select Awards & Honors

  • Associate Faculty, Center for Global Business, UT Austin McCombs School of Business (2024 – present)
  • Faculty Development Grant awardee, Cockrell School of Engineering (2023)
  • Transformational Online Instruction Contributions (TONIC) Award, Office of the Provost (2021)
  • Academic Development Funds awardee, Cockrell School of Engineering (2019 – 2020)

Select Publications

research gate