Each year, Rice University honors members of its community who have served students through outstanding teaching, dedication and service. Here are recipients of this year's awards:
Student-Taught Course Teaching Award
Undergraduates Katherine De Paz and Ava Thienel have been named winners of the Student-Taught Course Teaching Awards. They were selected by a committee of Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellows based on a review of instructional materials and course evaluations.
Graduate Teaching Award for Course Support
Arya Muralidharan, a graduate student in statistics, is being recognized with the Graduate Teaching Award for Course Support. The award recognizes substantive contributions to course design and delivery, including contributions to the design of the syllabus, individual assignments, online tutorials or the delivery of various in-class lessons and activities.
Graduate Teaching Award for Student Support
Logan Buffa, a graduate student in history, has won the Graduate Teaching Award for Student Support. The award honors a graduate student who excelled in providing support to students in the classroom, defined as any work done with students in a course whether during class, recitations or office hours.
Graduate Teaching Award for Independent Instruction
Lynne Lee and Emily Lampert have received the Graduate Teaching Award for Independent Instruction, which honors graduate students for outstanding work teaching their own undergraduate courses. Lee is studying art history, and Lampert is studying history.
John Freeman Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award
Daniel Cohen, the Samuel W. & Goldye Marian Spain Professor in Jewish Studies, is the recipient of the Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) John Freeman Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award. The annual award recognizes outstanding GLS faculty who make significant contributions to the program or in the service of its students.
Award for Outstanding Teaching in the School of Natural Sciences
Won by Krista Kobylianskii, associate teaching professor of chemistry, the award recognizes excellence in teaching and outstanding commitment to the education of students in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences.
Award for Excellence in Teaching in the School of Engineering and Computing
Geoff Wehmeyer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is the winner of the Award for Excellence in Teaching in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, which recognizes continued excellence in teaching and exemplary commitment to the education of undergraduate or graduate students.
Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences
Jeremy Fiel, associate professor of sociology, and Steven Rackley, professor in the practice of sport management, have been awarded the Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences. The award honors faculty members with the highest teaching scores in the previous academic year. The faculty member must have taught at least two undergraduate courses with a minimum of 15 students and at least one being a lecture course.
Rice Faculty Award for Excellence in University Service and Leadership
Fay Yarbrough, the William Gaines Twyman Professor of History, and Douglas Natelson, the Harry Carothers Wiess Chair of Physics, are the recipients of the Faculty Award for Excellence in University Service and Leadership. This award is bestowed annually on a faculty member or members making significant and distinctive contributions to the mission of Rice through exceptional university service and leadership.
Rice Faculty Award for Excellence in Professional Service and Leadership
Elaine Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Sociology, is the recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Professional Service and Leadership. This award is bestowed annually to a faculty member or members making significant contributions to the academic profession or to the wider community (local, national or international) through professional service and leadership.
Rice Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service
Michael Wong, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology, is the recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service. This award is bestowed periodically on a faculty member or members who fulfill the Rice academic ideal by exhibiting exemplary achievement in all aspects of faculty responsibilities: research, teaching and service.
Presidential Award for Mentoring
James Weston, the Harmon Whittington Professor of Finance, and Jamie Padgett, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Engineering, have won the Presidential Award for Mentoring. The award is given to faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to mentoring graduate or undergraduate students.
Provost's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Adviser
Marcia O'Malley, Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is this year's winner of the Provost's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Adviser.The award honors faculty members' mentorship of doctoral students who completed all degree requirements in the last 10 years. Emphasis is placed on the career paths students take, the professors' placement of students and the professors' influence as an adviser of both their own students and the students in the broader degree program.
Provost's Award for Outstanding Early Career Faculty Achievement
Haotian Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, assistant professor of English and creative writing, have received the Provost's Award for Outstanding Early Career Achievement, which recognizes faculty members' contributions in research, scholarship or creative works within the first 10 years of their faculty appointment that have garnered public or professional accolades. The award not only celebrates current achievements but also anticipates future excellence.
Provost's Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement
Todd Treangen, associate professor of computer science, and Jonathan Ajo-Franklin, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, have won the Provost's Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement, which honors faculty members who have made exceptional contributions in research, scholarship or creative works over the last five years.
Marjorie Corcoran Award
Carrie Masiello, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor of Biogeochemistry, and Shelly Harvey, professor of mathematics, have been honored with the Marjorie Corcoran Award. The award is given to a Rice faculty member who has made major contributions to the advancement of women or underrepresented minorities in STEM fields either in support of students at Rice or through local, state or national programs with a particular commitment to engaged mentoring.
Jack Gill Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence
Naomi Halas, University Professor and the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been honored with the Jack Gill Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Excellence. The award is presented annually to a full-time faculty member in recognition of the development of research leading to technology that can be commercialized and has a significant impact on society.
Allison Sarofim Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities
Margarita Castroman, assistant professor of English and creative writing, has received the Allison Sarofim Distinguished Teaching Professorship in the Humanities. The award honors a kind of teaching that is important but seldom recognized: mentors of undergraduate theses or similar scale projects, graduate students' directed readings or dissertations.
Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching
Thimo Heisenberg, assistant professor of philosophy, received the Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching. Given by Phi Beta Kappa, this award goes to a nontenured assistant professor or assistant teaching professor for outstanding teaching performance as determined by student evaluations.
Charles W. Duncan Jr. Achievement Award for Outstanding Faculty
Han Xiao, professor of chemistry, and Rossella Calvi, associate professor of economics, received the Duncan Award, which is presented by Rice deans upon the recommendation of senior faculty. It honors tenure-track or tenured faculty members who demonstrate outstanding performance in both teaching and scholarship.
Trenton W. Wann Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship
Jamie Catanese, associate teaching professor of biosciences, is the recipient of the Trenton W. Wann Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship. The award recognizes faculty who encourage undergraduate students to think critically and deeply beyond the subject matter, and whose classroom teaching and or mentorship methodology promote the development of lifelong learners, so students can be thinkers for life, navigating knowledge on their own.
Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Excellence
Lydia Kavraki, University Professor and the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computing, and Timothy Morton, Rita Shea Guffey Professor of English, have been honored with the Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Excellence. It is awarded every other year to no more than two senior faculty members who have made substantial and sustained contributions in research, scholarship or creative works.
Nicolas Salgo Outstanding Teacher Award
The junior and senior classes bestowed upon Sandy Parsons, teaching professor of psychological sciences, Rice's oldest teaching award: the Nicolas Salgo Outstanding Teacher Award. Created in 1966, the award is funded by the Salgo-Noren Foundation.