E-Council honors two professors and four TAs

by Sara Peters

Each semester at their Excellence in Teaching Awards ceremony, the E-Council manages to combine silly antics with the genuine solemnity of honoring their favorite teachers. At the awards ceremony recognizing the fall 2002 recipients, which was held in April, the E-Council stayed true to form, serving up sincere praise with jokes, laughs, and even an explosion.

The winners honored were: David Ackerman, visiting professor in electrical engineering; Robert Cava, professor of chemistry and the Princeton Materials Institute; Robert Dondero, computer science preceptor; Vangal Muthukumar, physics preceptor; Dries Darius, teaching assistant for operations research and financial engineering; and Pradeep Bhatta, teaching assistant for mechanical and aerospace engineering.

"Although Princeton is a world-class research institution, what really sets Princeton apart is its focus on the true purpose of the University: education," said Teaching Awards Chair Brendan Florez '04. "A focus on education is vital, because all of the groundbreaking research in the world is of little consequence if it is not passed on to those who wish to learn it."

About 150 School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) students showed their appreciation for education by replying to the E-Council's queries for nominees.

Maria Klawe, dean of the SEAS, herself a first-time teaching awards attendee, was impressed by the enthusiasm of the SEAS students.

"For the faculty here at Princeton, there really is no higher accolade than students telling you that you've really made a difference," she said.

Professor Ackerman, who is a consulting member of the technical staff at Agere Systems, won his award for ELE351: Electromagnetic Field Theory and Optics while filling in for Professor Steve Forrest, who was on sabbatical. He and his students brought each other's edification to new levels by constantly challenging each other.

"His problem sets and exams, rather than being cut-and-dry questions, required real thought about the concepts involved," said one student, "and were often fun, insofar as they were stimulating and challenging."

Students also praised Professor Ackerman for his active participation, responding to students' questions on nights and weekends and even bringing in breakfast for everyone in the 8:30 a.m. class.

Professor Ackerman was noticeably touched by his award, which, he said, he never expected to receive when Professor Forrest asked him to take over for a semester.

"The students pushed so hard, demanded so much, and worked to get the most out of the subject," he said. "I couldn't possibly have imagined this would be so much of a ride."

He added that teaching at Princeton is its own reward.

"As an outsider, I can truly say that you students are receiving education from a university where undergraduate education is elevated to a level of priority I have never seen before," he said. "It has been my pleasure teaching here."

According to Professor Cava's students, CHM207: Advanced General Chemistry: Materials Chemistry was a combination chemistry lesson and vaudeville act.

"Everyone seems to have their favorite Cava story," one student said.

Some Cava anecdotes mentioned were his dressing up like Darth Vader for their midterm exam, chopping a pumpkin in half with a samurai sword, and exploding balloons filled with hydrogen and oxygen.

Yet his popularity as an entertainer is secondary to his promise of providing students' every opportunity to learn.

"During review sessions" one student said, "Dr. Cava would never assume that a student had even a basic understanding of a problem. He would always start from scratch, as though the topic were new to him, too."

Professor Cava was pleased that he had passed some of his passion for chemistry onto his students, since he so frequently hears horror stories from college graduates who loathed the subject.

"I wondered 'Why does everyone hate chemistry, when I love it so much?' So I tried to make freshman chemistry into something more fun."

To give the audience a taste of CHM207, Professor Cava popped a balloon filled with hydrogen and oxygen, which burst with a loud blast and a flash of flame.

Bob Dondero won his second E-Council award for precepting COS217: Introduction to Programming Systems. His students praised him for inspiring them, responding quickly and carefully to questions, and making dry material fun and intriguing.

"He is largely responsible for my decision to switch from EE to CS," one student said. Mr. Dondero received his award from one of his current students, Jerome Ku '05.

"Luckily for me, Mr. Dondero is still teaching this course, or I'd have dropped it two weeks into the semester," Jerome said.

Mr. Dondero was just as pleased to be teaching the course another semester.

"In my office at home I have a plaque that says, 'Happiness is knowing that you're making a difference,'" he said. "Through this award you seem to be saying that I am making a difference, and the old saying is right. Indeed, you have made me very happy."

Vangal Muthukumar was casually known as "Muthu" to his students in PHY103: General Physics. He was praised most for his painstaking dedication to making sure his students understood.

"He wasn't satisfied with just making us memorize and apply the formulas," one student said. "Instead, he really made sure that we understood the concepts."

"Thursday nights before Friday quizzes, his office hours would last even beyond midnight," said another.

In addition to his teaching skills, students admired him for his interest in the class members as people, not just students. He was ready with good advice and moral support, and attended students' performances and special events.

Mr. Muthukumar accepted his award humbly.

"I haven't done much but show my students the way," he said. "They do all the hard work. It has been my privilege and pleasure to teach every one, so I dedicate this award to their efforts."

Dries Darius' students in ORF245: Fundamentals of Engineering Statistics lauded his devotion.

"He has a knack for teaching and a dedication that should be the standard for teaching assistants at Princeton," one student said.

"Dries wanted us to love the class, so he did whatever he could do to make us enjoy it," said another.

Mr. Darius said that student evaluation sheets from previous classes he was a teaching assistant revealed that only one percent of student s mentioned his contribution. He credits his E-Council award to a new practice he instituted with ORF 245.

"This time I wrote my name on the board. At every class," he said. "So now they at least know who I am."

On a more serious note, he added, "It was a pleasure to teach this class. I had a wonderful time. I think it's really 90 percent the dedication of the kids, and 10 percent what you as a teacher do."

Pradeep Bhatta's students in MAE331: Aircraft Flight Dynamics claim that they wouldn't have survived the class without him.

"I have never seen a TA so involved in students' work," one student said. "Honestly, without him, our whole class would have had problems with each problem set. He was basically our savior."

Mr. Bhatta met with students over winter break and during reading periods, always maintaining his friendliness and approachability.

"I want to thank the students for putting so much interest and enthusiasm into the class," Mr. Bhatta said. "That made my job very enjoyable. I learned a lot, and it was a very rewarding experience for me."