Faculties of Engineering and Natural Sciences present teaching awards - <em>News</em>
By John-Paul Jones
Wednesday 16 June 2010
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Ceremonies celebrating the best teaching in the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Engineering have been held at Imperial this month.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences Teaching Awards and the Awards for Teaching Excellence in Engineering Education saw staff with teaching or teaching-related roles collect awards honouring their commitment to education and supporting students over the past year. Rector Sir Keith O’Nions, Rector of Imperial, says:
“Imperial’s position as a world-leading educator is founded on the commitment of individuals within College departments. I’m delighted that this month’s award ceremonies provide further opportunities to reward people who share that commitment to the very best teaching and student support."
Faculty of Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering’s ceremony last night awarded three Teaching Excellence Awards, each worth £10,000, to Dr Mike Brookes, Reader in Signal Processing in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dr Sandra Shefelbine, Lecturer in the Department of Bioengineering, and Dr Jeremy Bradley, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computing.
The awards recognised enthusiastic and innovative approaches to teaching which included initiating online student help via the virtual learning environment, Blackboard, using projectile launchers and giant pendulums to demonstrate the science discussed in lectures and introducing small group tutorials in addition to lecturers.
Awards were also given to graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) from each department before Aliki Mavromoustaki from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology was named the Faculty’s overall ‘GTA of the Year’ in recognition of her contribution to departmental teaching, including working on the design of a new course for first year undergraduates.
Sir Keith with Mansoor Hamayun (right) and Christopher Hopper (left)
Alongside prizes for staff, an award for student contributions to teaching and learning in engineering was given in memory of Professor John Lever. Professor Lever, who passed away in 2006, was a founder member of the Department of Bioengineering and Head of Department from 2003. He was well known for his commitment to academic and pastoral support for students. The prize was given to undergraduates Mohammad Mansoor Hamayun and Christopher Hopper. It acknowledged their leadership in the E.quinox project, in which student engineers applied their knowledge to create a renewable energy system for supplying power to rural Rwandan communities.
Faculty of Natural Sciences
The Faculty of Natural Sciences ceremony on 10 June was the inaugural event for the Faculty’s new Teaching Awards. Introducing them, Principal Professor Maggie Dallman said:
“Dedication to providing the very best education for students is something to be prized and encouraged. I’m delighted that we have the opportunity within Natural Sciences to emphasise this, and recognise staff with that dedication and commitment, through the Faculty’s new Teaching Awards.”
Winners collected awards in two categories, with 10 Faculty awards for academics involved in direct teaching, followed by awards for 24 postgraduate demonstrators, postdoctoral students, and technicians involved in providing teaching and student support. During the ceremony the success of the eight winners of Rector’s Awards from the Faculty was also acknowledged. This year's winners are: Dr Tilly Collins, Dr Simon Leather, Professor Peter Torok, Dr Oscar Ces, Professor Nicholas Long, Dr Ramon Vilar Compte, Dr Frank Berkshire and Professor Martin Lebeck.
A full list of winners from the Natural Sciences Faculty Teaching Awards is below.
Prizes for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence
Department of Life Sciences: Magda Charalambous, Stuart Haslam, Edvard Hendriks, David Mann
Department of Physics: Gavin Davies, Kim Christensen, Dan Waldram
Department of Mathematics: Professor Alessio Corti, Professor Darren Crowdy, Dr Thomas Sorensen
Teaching support prizes
Department of Life Sciences: Sadia Ahmed, Will Pearse, Natalia Dinischiotu, Jason Suckling, Alexandra Alves Duarte, James Andrewes, Ginny Ellis
Department of Physics: Karl Sandeman, Richard Hendricks, Markus Horn, Noppadol Mekareeya, Lee Parker, Stuart Mangles
Department of Chemistry: Megan Wright, Chris Howard, Duncan Casey, Giuseppe Mallia
Department of Mathematics: Till Broennle, Seng Cheang, Elena Ehrlich, Kevin Lu, Colm Nee, Florencia Tettamanti
The Faculty of Medicine will hold its own Teaching Awards ceremony in November.
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