The Department's annual teaching awards were announced at a special tea on Monday, October 10. This year's Junior Faculty Teaching Awards went to Assistant Professors Nicholas Sheridan and Vlad Vicol, and the Graduate Student Teaching Awards went to Charles Stibitz and Anibal Velozo.The awards are given by the senior faculty and are based largely on student evaluations.Professor Sheridan's students have noted his clear, engaging lectures and have called him "an amazing professor" who "breaks the mold" and even "the best teacher [they] have ever had." Professor Vicol's students shared similar praise, noting that while fast-paced, his lectures where informative, challenging, and stimulating, and that he "welcomes questions" and is "always willing to help." As one of them put it: "The absolute best."
Though less experienced teachers, the graduate student recipients received no less appreciation from their students. Stibitz's student's found him a funny and personable instructor with an engaging and authentic style; one wrote: "we all love Charlie. Math is math, but he makes it good." Velozo's students were inspired by his obvious passion for mathematics, finding his lectures well prepared and interesting. They were grateful to know that he really cared about helping them succeed and appreciated the work he put in to explaining complicated material.
Congratualtions to all four of this year's winners!