The School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics places great importance on the work of talented and committed teachers. Each year, students are asked to nominate faculty and teaching assistants worthy of recognition for the extraordinary efforts they make to provide our students a top-quality education. The school normally makes up to five awards in the following categories:
Faculty are awarded a certificate while teaching assistants are awarded a certificate and a $500 check. Award recipients’ names will be included on a plaque that proudly is displayed outside the dean’s suite.
The 2020 winners were:
Dr. Ramakrishna, who has taught math at UT Dallas since 1995, said, “It is always a huge honor to be recognized by your students and peers. I am very flattered.
“Mathematics is deservedly called the queen of the sciences. In fact, at its core is the important skill of observing and generalizing patterns. Thus, teaching it gives one the quiet pride that a very human and important skill is being imparted to students. When I teach mathematics, I myself learn every day,” Ramakrishna said in response to winning.
He said he expects students to enjoy the material and not be perpetually (but understandably) worried about whether it will be on an examination, and that he is impressed with the fact that students at UTD respect learning and rarely are here for any other reason.
“I do expect them to gradually think rigorously – after all, rigorous and logical thinking is one of the greatest gifts that mathematics bestows upon its afficionados,” he said.
The 2021 winners were:
Dr. Sheena D’Arcy, who’s taught chemistry and biochemistry at UT Dallas since the spring of 2016, says winning the award makes her feel flattered.
“I am so happy to be valued by the incredible students we have here at UT Dallas. I think the award reflects my enthusiasm for training the next generation of scientists. I am invested in the student experience and in making sure they develop the generic skills required for life-long learning,” D’Arcy said.
“I try my best to keep students engaged in my classroom. We go over exercises and discuss how to think about problems, keeping the big picture in perspective. We implement what we reviewed in a 15-minute quiz at the end. I feel the best advice I learned is to get to know students’ names first, and we can do that since the sections do not exceed 30 students each. The second thing is, I keep one board in class for rules, theorems, and strategies that we are learning in class so that students can refer to it when I give them time to work alone or in groups,” Mrad said.
Preskella Mrad, a second-year international student in the mathematics PhD program at UT Dallas, teaches two calculus problem sections per week.
Of the award, she said, “I am grateful to be recognized by my students for my teaching efforts, and I appreciate their nomination for the TA Award.
“Giving problem sessions is a way to give back to our department and benefit undergraduate students. I’m glad I can impact and motivate students to understand various concepts and improve their critical thinking skills.”
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