Robert Camp Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor of Practice in Finance
Education:
Ph.D. - Mechanical Engineering Northeastern University
Brief Biography:
Robert Camp holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a Specialization in Nanomedicine Science and Technology from Northeastern University and a MBA from Providence College. He was the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Fellowship in Nanomedicine. His PhD research involved investigating the mechanical properties of the single Type I Collagen monomer which he did while working for Dr. Jeff Ruberti of Northeastern University. After a lengthy research pause to focus on content creation to support founding a new ABET accredited Energy Systems Engineering major, Dr. Camp is currently researching using data analytics to model medical staffing in resource poor countries. Robert is also the co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Semper Veritas, LLC., company that specializes in all natural anti-aging cosmetics.
Robert received his MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire and his BS in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to his return to academia, Robert spent 9 years working in the defense industry and in high energy physics applying to nuclear fusion research.
Robert is an accomplished martial artist, holding black belts in Krav Maga and Kempo karate. He also enjoys falling down mountains with two pieces of wood strapped to his feet in something vaguely resembling skiing. He also has a love of history, specifically warfare, World War 2-era Germany, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. He is an award wining miniature painter and non-award winning wargamer. If Robert was not a professor, he would be studying philosophy and theology. Robert was raised in the Great State of Texas and has lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire and now Massachusetts. To this day, he misses southern food and still loves Dixie.
Robert is married to Dr. Julia Camp, an Associate Professor of Accountancy at Providence College and he has three daughters.
Area(s) of Expertise:
Data Analytics
Mechanical and Opto-Mechanical Design
Failure Mechanics
Thermal Imaging
Teaching Philosophy:
The ultimate goal of a professor, especially in fields like data analytics and operations management, is to teach students how to think. Every analysis always begins with deconstructing the problem, identifying the real issue, and finally developing a plan on how to solve the problem. To achieve this, one must get students involved in their own education. I do not believe education is something one can passively observe. Teaching requires a professor to guide students, providing them the access to necessary information and placing the student into a position to learn. To become a good analyst, manager, or engineer, one needs to actively apply the learned theory to real world applications. Not only does this reinforce what a student learns, but it also makes the classes more interesting. Getting students more actively involved makes for a more enjoyable education and gets the students motivated about learning. When they are motivated, they will individually seek out information on topics beyond the scope of the current class, which they will bring back into the classroom and provide a more enriching experience for everyone. This is a key step to set them on the path of lifelong learning.
To get students involved, I have the responsibility to make the topics engaging. This task requires a deep understanding of the theory, a passion for the topic, excellent communication skills and an engaging personality. My outgoing personality coupled with my verbal communications skills makes me effective at teaching new topics to anyone. When talking about my class in an evaluation, a student stated that “your enthusiasm for the material and your personality helped [my understanding] as well.” Since high school, I have been an effective tutor because of these skills. I have found as an Associate Professor that I can easily connect with my students and am able to help them learn the concepts. This role has been one of the more rewarding aspects of my teaching career. I do this by relating the topics to things they see in the normal life
Aside from just talking about real world examples, I like to have the students work on them when possible. I have recently started a company, Semper Veritias, LLC, that is located on the Providence College (PC) campus. This company sprung from a project that I had while taking the MBA at PC. Once the company was founded, I worked with Dr. Helen Caldwell to introduce the company to her MBA product marketing class. We allowed the students to plan the entire marketing strategy for the company. The three groups competed and each put together a marketing plan for the company. We took the best aspects of each and integrated them into the company plan. The students LOVED the project. Talking with them after the project, they were really excited that they worked on something that was real and was going to be used. They were very happy that during interviews they were going to be able to talk about something that was done for a real company and not just for classwork. The manufacturing facility is located on campus and I look forward to bringing PCSB students to the factory to see how a small-scale manufacturing facility runs. They will be able to see how the concepts they are learning in class are applied. I also look forward to putting together similar projects so the students can get some real-world experience out of their classroom projects.
I am a big advocate of using multimedia in the classroom. I have found that having pictures, videos, and animated schematics help students with the learning process. They are able to “see” the equations and principles in action. Multimedia helps them visualize the concepts and commit them to memory. Also, these short clips help break the “sage on a stage” environment typically seen in college classes. This style keeps them engaged and interested in the topic.
I believe that to truly understand a topic, repetition is necessary. Therefore, I assign homework in all of my lecture classes. I routinely use the online homework found with current textbooks. This encourages my students to do their homework without having to collect it. I also grade it in such a way to encourage them to actually do the homework, instead of searching for the answers online. I also give noncumulative exams and a cumulative final allowing me to evaluate their understanding of the more recent topics we have covered in class along with how well they learned the material by the end of the class.
I am very adamant in my belief that all students should be able to communicate their ideas and data properly in a written form. In a world of email, Twitter, and Social Media; I find my students are very lax when it comes to writing in a professional format, especially when presenting and interpreting data. Therefore, I stress proper writing in my classes. I work hard to make sure my students understand that their writing will form the typical first impression someone will have on their education and intelligence
After every semester I like to reflect on the classes I have taught and decide to make changes to improve the courses. If a lecture did not flow as intended, I change it. I try to update my examples to give the students a current and relevant education. I look at all of the classes I teach as works in progress and I try to continuously improve them.
Awards and Honors:
Outstanding Service Award PCSB
NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, Nanomedicine National Science Foundation
Selected Publications:
Farzam, M. Camp, R. Stephens, G. (2016) Cooperative Educational Program Outcomes and Its Correlation with Students' Academic Performance - A Case Study. American Society for Engineering Education
Camp, R. (2011) Molecular Mechanochemistry: Low force switch slows enzymatic cleavage of human type I collagen monomer. Journal of the American Chemical Society.(133), 4073-4078.
Selected Presentations:
Maleki, F. Camp, R. Stephens, G. ASEE NE 2016 Conference. American Society for Engineering Educators, Kingston, RI - "Cooperative Educational Program Outcomes and Its Correlation with Students' Academic Performance - A Case Study" , 2016
Detailed CV
