Altoona’s Grant Risha named 2026 Penn State Alumni Association Teaching Fellow

ALTOONA, Pa. — Each spring, Penn State recognizes outstanding faculty and staff with annual awards for teaching and excellence, highlighting many who go above and beyond in their work. Grant Risha, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State Altoona, has received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and has been named a 2026 Penn State Teaching Fellow.

The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1988 to honor distinguished instruction. Risha is one of three faculty members to receive this year's award.

Risha is chair of Penn State Altoona’s Mechanical Engineering program and director of the Advanced Combustion and Energetics Lab. He said educators can shape students in ways that last a lifetime, and lets honesty, humanity and compassion guide his interactions with students.

“The consequence of student learning is a direct product of an educational journey embarked upon by the student and instructor,” Risha said. “During this journey, the critical but positive assessment and dialogue of the manner in which a student learns, and the method by which the instructor teaches weaves the fabric of educational success and inspiration.”

Quoting the American writer William Arthur Ward, Risha said he is guided by the knowledge that “The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

“I have tried to be the teacher who inspires. A strong rapport between teacher and student is the foundation of effective teaching,” Risha said. “When an instructor exhibits humanity and passion in the classroom, students respond. Challenging a student is not the enemy of learning, and discipline is not the enemy of development.”

When students are treated fairly and with compassion, Risha said, they respond positively, even when pushed academically. He also reaches out to shy or struggling students. They’re future engineers, so his goal is for them to leave with mastery of the methods used to solve complex problems. He aims to help give them the confidence and tools they need to learn and apply these skills to attacking difficult, real-world engineering problems.

“Because each student learns in different ways, I strive to create and use multiple pedagogical techniques, like breaking the students into groups and having them work a problem together,” Risha said. “This promotes teamwork and peer teaching and learning. I encourage students to think critically, creatively and limitlessly to provide a glimpse of their aptitude beyond the subject at hand.”

Risha is also an active academic adviser and researcher. He advises more than 20 students academically for their majors and has trained and supervised more than 75 undergraduate researchers. These students tackle real-world research objectives, often presenting at national and international conferences.

“My primary goal as an educator is to provide a platform for students to realize their inherent potential,” Risha said. “I encourage and support students to become lifelong learners. Hopefully, in time, with persistence and determination, I will find myself among educators who truly inspire students and capture the ever-elusive honor defined by Ward as ‘the great teacher.’”

Students praised Risha’s positive attitude and dedication to the craft. One recalled a time when he and his peers were struggling with a concept while studying for an exam; Risha offered the group, many of whom were not his students, an impromptu lesson on the topic.

“His dedication is one of the driving forces behind the Mechanical Engineering program at Penn State Altoona,” the student said. “He approaches education with genuine care for each individual student, taking time to understand how every person learns best and incorporating those learning preferences into his teaching. Whether working with adult learners, student athletes, change-of-campus students, or those who have been on a clear path from the start of their undergraduate studies, Dr. Risha ensures that every student receives a personalized and meaningful learning experience.”

Ron Darbeau, Penn State Altoona chancellor and dean, said teaching and student success are at the very heart of the college.

“Grant’s receipt of the Excellence Award in Teaching not only exemplifies this truth but also stands as a testament to his unwavering dedication, passion, and transformative impact in the classroom.”

Darbeau added that Risha’s commitment to student success extends well beyond instruction.

“He inspires curiosity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning,” Darbeau said. “He couples innovative and thoughtful teaching with genuine mentorship, fostering an environment where students thrive academically and personally. This recognition reflects not only his exceptional skill as an educator but also his profound influence on those he teaches. Grant embodies the very spirit of educational excellence in our college, and this award is a well-deserved celebration of his meaningful contributions to the academic community.”

Risha was conferred the status of distinguished professor, the highest professorial distinction at the University, in 2023.

He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Penn State. His primary research interests are reactive flows/combustion, energetics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and propulsion. He has performed research on the enhancement of hybrid rocket solid fuel performance by introducing nano-sized energetic particles, solid propellant airbag combustion, pyrotechnic igniter characterization, solid, hybrid, and bi-propellant rocket combustion, diffusion flame combustion, aluminum/water combustion, and solid fuel pyrolysis.

Throughout more than 25 years of experience, Risha has designed and fabricated numerous pressure vessels and combustion systems and performed thousands of pressure-related experiments. He has publications evaluating combustion events under ultra-high-pressure environments in addition to fundamental experimental research. Risha has co-authored over 118 manuscripts.

He is the recipient of Penn State Altoona’s Outstanding Achievement in Research and Creative Activity Award and has numerous Best Paper Awards from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his work in hybrid rockets and propellants and combustion.

“Students are the most influential to me and the reason I am an educator. They have taught me as much as I could ever have taught them," Risha said. "Their efforts and willingness to engage in my classroom continue to motivate me as an educator and aspire to continuously improve.”

Risha will receive his award at an invitation-only ceremony on April 9.