Each year the Mathematics Department recognizes junior faculty and graduate students for exceptional undergraduate teaching. A major component of the selection criteria is based on teaching evaluations from their students.This year's Junior Faculty Teaching Awards were given to Javier Gómez Serrano and Adam Levine. Gómez Serrano's students touted his ability to teach "fast-paced and well-planned" lectures while also making complicated ideas seem simple. As one of them put it: "Professor Serrano is the man. Period." Levine's students showed an equal level of admiration, noting that his lectures were entertaining as well as enlightening, and that students were inspired to work hard for a teacher who really cared about helping them understand and appreciate mathematical thinking.
Gregory Gauthier is this year's Graduate Student Teaching Award winner. His students were inspired by his enthusiasm and dedication to learn as much as possible in his linear algebra class, and were impressed not only by the clarity of this explanations but also by the quality of his jokes. Classes were engaging, helpful, lively, and fun, and the students were grateful to know how much Greg cared about helping them succeed in a class they found to be quite challenging and abstract. The Department is also grateful for Greg's work as a mentor for the Putnam team, where he showed the same dedication and enthusiasm.
The Teaching Award certificates were presented at a special tea on Monday, October 12th, and are accompanied by a cash award.