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Seven recognized
as outstanding educators
Great teachers lauded
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Photo by Frank Wojciechowski
Recipients of the E-Council Excellence in Teaching
Awards are, from left, Brian Kernighan, David Billington,
and Chris Rogers. George Scherer is not pictured.
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Truly,
Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate education must
be raising the teaching bar higher every semester, because at
the Engineering Council’s Excellence in Teaching Awards
for the spring 2003 semester, a grand total of seven awards
were given. It appears the students were overwhelmed with superior
teaching in the spring.
Maria Klawe, dean of the School of Engineering and
Applied Science (SEAS), said that one of the reasons she came
to Princeton was the school’s dedication to teaching,
and she was looking forward to showing her dedication when she
teaches MAT 104: Calculus in the fall 2004 semester.
“These teachers gave something great to their students
last semester,” said E-Council President Miriam
Okun ’04.
The recipients are:
• David Billington ’50, professor
of civil and environmental engineering (CEE), CEE 262: Structures
and the Urban Environment
• Brian Kernighan, professor of computer
science (CS), COS 333: Advanced Programming Techniques
• Chris Rogers, Kenan Visiting Professor
of Distinguished Teaching in the Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering (MAE), MAE 222: Mechanics of Fluids
• George Scherer, CEE professor of CEE
364: Materials in Civil Engineering
• Hafize Gaye Erkan, teaching assistant
for operations research and financial engineering (ORFE), ORF
307: Optimization
• Phil Lenart, teaching assistant for
chemical engineering (ChE), CHE 246: Thermodynamics
• Denis Shcherbakov, teaching assistant
for ChE, CHE 441: Chemical Reaction Engineering
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Photo by Frank Wojciechowski
Recipients of the E-Council Excellence in Teaching
Awards are, from left, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Denis Shcherbakov,
and Phil Lenart.
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Faculty
Professor Billington accepted his third Excellence in Teaching
Award.
Students praised Professor Billington for provoking opinion,
imparting curiosity, challenging students’ ideas of aesthetics,
relating memorable anecdotes, and having the “coolest
pointer in the world.”
“I remember more from Structures than any other course,”
said one student. “He’s ruined me forever. I can’t
look at a bridge without being reminded of his teachings.”
Professor Billington happily received hugs and kisses both from
presenter Ashley Prescott ’06 and Dean
Klawe. He assured the audience that he is never leaving Princeton,
and will continue what he called the “longest experience
with Princeton ever.”
Professor Billington’s grandfather was part of the incoming
class of 1901, and although he never completed his Princeton
education, he called the admissions office on the day his grandson
was born, attempting to enroll him in the University before
he was a day old.
Students praised Professor Kernighan for inviting numerous exciting
guest speakers, infusing the classroom with his lambent enthusiasm,
and explaining complex topics in simple terms.
“He is one of three people in the world that I really
look up to and want to be like,” said one student. “He
is kind, gentle, and interesting and is just a generally wonderful
person.”
“When I left the private sector for the University, I
sort of intellectually knew that universities were a good place
to be and that interaction with students was a wonderful thing,”
Professor Kernighan said. “Now I know that not only up
here [in my head], but here [in my heart].”
Chris Rogers made a big impression on campus as a visiting professor
from Tufts University.
Professor Rogers’ end-of-the-semester ultimate frisbee
tournament and his creative labs involving Legos®, straws,
and getting messy were a big hit with his students. They also
cheered him for being engaging and inspirational, and helping
them to apply their knowledge without needing a reference book.
One student went so far as to say, “I think we should
kidnap him so he can’t go back to Tufts.”
“I think this is awesome,” said Professor Rogers,
holding up his award. “This is great. I’d like to
give a recommendation to Dean Klawe, who’s going to teach
calculus. The two things that the world revolves around are
fluid mechanics and Legos®. If you can fit those two things
into whatever you’re teaching, you’ll be okay.”
Students praised Professor Scherer for being accessible and
for presenting intriguing demonstrations.
“It was the most thoroughly and thoughtfully constructed
course I’ve ever taken,” said one student.
“I never thought I’d be able to find the energy
to wake up for a 9 a.m. class, but I did for this one,”
said another.
Professor Scherer could not attend the awards ceremony to accept
his second Excellence in Teaching Award, but CEE Department
Chair Peter Jaffé accepted it on his
behalf.
Graduate students
Hafize Gaye Erkan’s students showered her with praise
for offering extra office hours, ordering pizza for review sessions,
and being charming and funny. Brendan Florez
’05, the E-Council’s chairperson in charge of the
teaching awards, presented the award. As one of her students,
he had more to add to the list.
“She spent three hours reviewing with me before the midterm
we had this morning,” Brendan said. “And she demonstrated
her coolness by being a judge in the first annual Mr. Engineering
pageant last week.”
Ms. Erkan set a high bar for eloquence when receiving her award,
stating, “For a teacher there could be no greater gift
than working with some of the greatest young minds. I’m
proud to be a Princetonian.”
Phil Lenart thanked the E-Council, assuring them that the Excellence
in Teaching awards are a “strong motivator for Ph.D. students.”
He also thanked Professor Morton Kostin for
“understanding a better way to teach undergraduates.”
His students appreciated his scheduling flexibility, five-hour
problem sessions, one-on-one meetings, knack for understanding
the students’ difficulties, and “personal sacrifice
and enthusiasm for students.”
A few other students gave brief, enthusiastic support.
“Phil rocks!”
“Phil rules!”
“Phil deserves to win!”
Miriam said that the E-Council received responses from 90 percent
of Denis Shcherbakov’s students—an overwhelming
number, compared with the average of 40 percent.
“Denis put far more effort into this class than I’ve
ever seen anyone put into anything,” said one student.
“He either doesn’t need sleep, or he’s superman.
I’m not sure which.”
“If it were possible, he would have had the problem sets
graded before we handed them in,” said another student.
“That’s how fast he was.”
Mr. Shcherbakov thanked his students for letting him teach them
and ChE Professor Jeff Carbeck for his support
and trust.
“I’ve been looking forward to teaching for a very
long time,” Mr. Shcherbakov said. “I’ve met
a lot of excellent teachers, and that made me want to give back.”
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