Undergraduate Teaching Award: Dr. Artur Wolek
The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Sciences is excited to highlight Dr. Artur Wolek, who was recently awarded with the 2026 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award by the William States Lee College of Engineering. This award recognizes his impact on undergraduate education and student mentorship at UNC Charlotte.
Since joining UNC Charlotte in 2020, Dr. Wolek has become a driving force behind major department teaching initiatives, most notably the creation of a concentration in Aerospace Engineering. The concentration launched in Fall of 2025 with an inaugural cohort consisting of over 40 students. To support the new concentration, Dr. Wolek developed and taught three new courses, and will be teaching Flight Mechanics in the Fall.
Dr. Wolek’s commitment to experiential learning extends beyond his classes. He is the Faculty Advisor for the UNC Charlotte Student Chapter of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Wolek also organized UNC Charlotte’s first‑ever AIAA Design‑Build‑Fly competition team, which competed internationally in Wichita, Kansas and secured a $10,000 Honeywell Innovation Grant to support their aircraft design efforts. His undergraduate mentees have earned consecutive 1st place awards at the AIAA Southeastern Regional Student Conference for their undergraduate research papers.
A champion of hands-on education, Dr. Wolek has played a central role in the multi‑year redesign of the Mechatronics I/II laboratory sequence. Along with colleagues Dr. Stuart Smith, Dr. Roger Tipton, Mr. Tony Dixon, and others, he has helped create new project‑based modules. Wolek’s outreach efforts further show his impact. Along with Dr. Anthony Bombik, he co‑developed the college’s Aerospace Engineering Summer Camp, sponsored by the AIR Institute, and regularly engages in BATT CAVE demonstrations for K–12 students.
Colleagues describe Dr. Wolek as a visionary educator whose dedication, mentorship, and creativity have elevated the undergraduate experience. The Department congratulates Dr. Wolek on this well‑deserved honor and celebrates his continued leadership in shaping the next generation of engineers.