{"id":49024,"date":"2018-01-25T12:10:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T17:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=49024"},"modified":"2018-12-20T13:18:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T18:18:25","slug":"math-and-science-celebrate-best-in-teaching-research-and-experiential-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/01\/math-and-science-celebrate-best-in-teaching-research-and-experiential-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Math and Science celebrate best in teaching, research and experiential learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faculty and staff members who have set positive examples for their colleagues were honoured by the Faculty of Mathematics and Science during Wednesday\u2019s Celebration of Excellence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fourth annual event, held Jan. 24 in Pond Inlet, saw awards of distinction presented for research, teaching, student experience and experiential learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis awards ceremony provides us with an opportunity to gather together and acknowledge the accomplishments of our faculty and staff in front of their Math and Science family, as well as our larger Brock family,\u201d Dean Ejaz Ahmed told the group during his remarks at the Jan. 24 event in Pond Inlet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, we have much to celebrate and recognize. From research excellence and distinguished teachers and scholars to those who provide our students with exceptional experiential learning opportunities that further the Faculty\u2019s mission, vision and values. I am proud of your dedication and commitment and I look forward to continuing to celebrate your accomplishments at this great event.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following remarks from Gary Comerford, Board of Trustees Chair, and Thomas Dunk, Provost and Vice-President, Academic, the awards portion of the event began with Associate Dean Research and Graduate Studies Cheryl McCormick serving as Master of Ceremonies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Department of Chemistry Professor Jeffrey Atkinson received this year\u2019s Distinguished Teaching Award \u2013 Faculty for his long and successful record of supervising students, mentoring high school seniors through Brock\u2019s Science Mentorship Program, his involvement in the design and implementation of Brock\u2019s first PhD program in Biotechnology as well as his outreach teaching activities through BioTalent Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring his career at Brock, Dr. Atkinson has earned a reputation for being one of our most gifted teachers,\u201d said McCormick. \u201cHis teaching evaluations are outstanding and he routinely receives comments from students calling him an excellent professor, the best professor they\u2019ve ever had and more equally enthusiastic and complimentary praise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Atkinson\u2019s dedication to his students and their education has helped create an environment of teaching excellence within the Faculty, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Distinguished Teaching Award for Staff was captured by full-time instructor Paul Zelisko, also from the Department of Chemistry. Zelisko was recognized for his untiring dedication to education and graduate student recruitment.<\/span><\/p>\n

McCormick noted that Zelisko has been a consistent representative of the Faculty, organizing Brock representation every year for a number of events including the McMaster University Graduate Fair, undergraduate trips to the east coast and, most notably, last year\u2019s Graduate Studies Open House. This event, created for undergraduate students at Brock thinking of transitioning to graduate research, helped increase student engagement and was well received.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award \u2013 Faculty was awarded to professor Jon Radue from the Department of Computer Science, who has earned a reputation for caring deeply about many aspects of teaching and education.<\/span><\/p>\n

A true innovator, he incorporated technology such as clickers into the classroom to further student engagement long before it was commonplace. He has been actively involved with the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation as a faculty associate and member of the Teaching Council and his work on academic integrity extends beyond the department and throughout the University.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Department of Computer Science, Radue spearheaded the development of the Applied Computing minor along with many of its courses. His knowledge and dedication made him an easy choice for teaching large first-year context courses taken by a wide variety of students from all disciplines,\u201d said McCormick.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHis passion for education, combined with his knowledge and dedication have become part of his legacy at Brock.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Distinguished Research Award for Faculty was presented to Henryk Fuks from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for his excellent record of accomplishment in research, focused in the areas of mathematical modelling, complex networks as well as the history of mathematics and numismatics, the study of currency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with serving on editorial boards for several prestigious journals and on scientific program committees for international conferences, Fuks also regularly receives international recognition for his research. Last<\/span>\u00a0August, the Royal Canadian Numismatic Society honoured him with the Guy Potter Literary Award, recognizing two of his articles which popularized the history of mathematics in the area of numismatics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaynor Spencer from the Department of Biological Sciences also received the Distinguished Research Award for Faculty. Promoted to Full Professor in July, she is currently supervising three graduate students and two undergraduate thesis students in her lab.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGaynor has maintained high quality research productivity while providing great service to the University and research community,\u201d said McCormick. Her longstanding history of research excellence is evidenced in part by her strong record of NSERC Discovery Grant funding, an Ontario Premier\u2019s Research Excellence Award as well as quality, peer-reviewed publications; 38 papers, five invited reviews and four book chapters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional awards distributed at the Jan. 24 celebration included:<\/span><\/p>\n