Dr. Todd Freeborn holds up his Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship Award.
Dr. Todd Freeborn, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the recipient of the 2026 Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship Award presented by The University of Alabama’s Council on Community-Based Partnerships.
The award recognizes Freeborn’s sustained leadership in advancing engineering education among middle school teachers in West Alabama through the Research Experiences for Teachers in Engineering and Computer Science program funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
The RET program provides teachers with applied research experiences, enabling them to bring practical engineering concepts back to their classrooms. This initiative has helped bridge the gap between higher education and secondary schools, fostering a new generation of students interested in STEM fields. The program has hosted 21 teachers to date, with an additional 11 scheduled to participate in June.
“Our goal is to get science and math teachers hands-on experiences as engineers. Teachers join us on campus for seven weeks of intense research and lab training under the mentorship of an engineering faculty member,” Freeborn said.
Freeborn was honored on April 9 during the 20th Annual Excellence in Community Engagement Awards Luncheon at Hotel Capstone. The award includes a $2,000 grant to support the continuation of Freeborn’s community engagement initiatives.
“The goal is always to increase the support we can provide teachers, and this grant will help us do that by being able to send teachers back to their classrooms with more materials, like electronic sensors and robotics kits, for hands-on activities and authentic engineering experiences,” he said.
Freeborn joins a distinguished list of faculty members recognized for their dedication to service and scholarship.
“Without K-12 teachers’ incredible efforts, I would never have the opportunity to train the next generation of engineers, so I feel it’s really important for us to build a community of support for them in their roles,” he said.