Contact Us

Shirley Lin, PhD

Interim Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning
Professor, Chemistry Department
Mahan 215
lin@usna.edu

x3-6615/x3-2506

Shirley Lin is the Interim Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. A native of Amherst, MA, she earned her BS in Chemistry with a minor in Writing and Humanistic Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1995) and her PhD in Chemistry at Stanford University (2000). Following a NIH postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute, she joined the faculty at USNA in 2002. Her research interests include catalysis and organometallic chemistry as well as chemistry education research.

Captain Angel Rodriguez is the Associate Director for Military Instructor Development at the U.S. Naval Academy’s Center for Teaching and Learning. He is also a Permanent Military Professor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, where he teaches fluid mechanics and nuclear engineering. A first-generation student, CAPT Rodriguez holds a B.S. in Mathematics, magna cum laude, from St. John’s University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds two graduate degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and a degree from Old Dominion University. At the Center he directs the Master Instructor Program and designs and leads the summer workshops for new military faculty, including the coordination of the annual New Faculty Orientation. Before that, he served as Associate Department Chair, overseeing curriculum development for three majors and the professional development and course management of 40 faculty members. He also served as Military Deputy to the School Dean, supervising the daily operations of seven academic departments and 100 military personnel. He designed and runs a thermo-fluids transport laboratory, where he mentors Midshipmen in research on multiphase flow dynamics and advanced measurement techniques. He also mentors Midshipmen in other programs and supports Dignity and Respect initiatives across the institution. Before coming to the Academy, he spent his career as a submarine warfare and naval nuclear propulsion officer, including a tour as Executive Officer of USS SAN JUAN (SSN 751). He also directed the Submarine Officer Advanced Course, where he oversaw the instruction and assessment of more than 200 students. His commitment to teaching was recognized with the 2025 William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education and his devotion to the USNA mission was recently recognized as a STEM Honoree at the 2024 national SHPE professional engineering conference.