Faculty and staff achievements were at the forefront of a digital awards ceremony held recently by the Faculty of Mathematics and Science.

The seventh-annual Celebration of Excellence, launched online Friday, March 5, saw Dean Ejaz Ahmed, members of senior administration and the Board of Trustees offer their congratulations to an array of award recipients. The virtual offering was a chance for faculty and staff to connect and reflect on a wide range of achievements.

“I preach and practice the three Rs of research, revenue and reward,” said Ahmed. “We achieved exemplary success in all three categories and I’m proud to be Dean of this Faculty.”

Faculty and staff were nominated by their peers for honours such as Distinguished Teaching and Research, and Lifetime Achievement.

Joshua Bulfango, President of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science Council, presented the Excellence in Teaching and Student Engagement Award to Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Lori MacNeil.

“This year’s recipient has shown passion for math and science education and has gone beyond the requirements of their profession through their engaging lecture videos that helped students be more focused on their course work,” Bulfango said.

This marks the second time MacNeil, who made headlines in December when one of several videos she made to keep students engaged went viral, earned the council’s award. She also took home the Distinguished Teaching award at this year’s event.

Ahmed said the Faculty was determined to run the event digitally to ensure the outstanding dedication shown by faculty and staff during difficult circumstances was both recognized and rewarded. The resilience of the Faculty and the entire Brock community is what makes the University thrive, he said.

“We all made leaps in our technological proficiency and our communication skills and the Faculty prospered,” Ahmed said in reference to advancements spurred on by the pandemic.

This year’s award winners include:

Distinguished Teaching
Lori MacNeil — Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Distinguished Research
Yuanlin Li — Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Melanie Pilkington — Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

Dean’s Distinguished Scholar
Glenn Tattersall — Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Student Experience, Recruitment and Outreach – Staff
Neil Marshall — Mathematics Development Programs Coordinator, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Distinguished Staff
Amber Cecchini — Interim Administrative Assistant, Department of Computer Science
Ivana Metcalf — Senior Laboratory Coordinator /Demonstrator, Department of Physics

Lifetime Achievement – Faculty
Art Van Der Est — Professor, Department of Chemistry

Excellence in Teaching and Student Engagement Award
Lori MacNeil — Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences

The Faculty of Mathematics and Science recently held its Celebration, honouring (top row, from left) Chemistry Professor Art Van Der Est, Associate Professor of Chemistry Melanie Pilkington, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Lori MacNeil, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Yuanlin Li, (bottom row, from left) Biological Sciences Professor Glen Tattersall, Senior Physics Laboratory Co-ordinator/Demonstrator Ivana Metcalf, Mathematics Development Programs Co-ordinator Neil Marshall and Computer Science Interim Administrative Assistant Amber Cecchini.