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The Richard P. Feynman Prize For Excellence in Teaching at Caltech
The Richard P. Feynman Prize For Excellence in Teaching at Caltech
CELEBRATING THE
18, 2013
I dont believe I can really do without teaching...the students keep life going.
Richard P. Feynman, Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman!
RICHARD P. FEYNMAN PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
John Johnson
Paul Asimow
2012-2013
and that we all had such an enjoyable time in the process.
at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Im very pleased to hear that my students feel I accomplished this goal,
Johnson, who was recognized for his work as Assistant Professor of Planetary Astronomy, is known for eschewing traditional lectures and problem sets, instead having students work on problems in small groups. At various times, he has required students to explain what they were learning in a class blog, forbidden discussion of grades, emailed YouTube videos that illustrate the days material, and brought in guest lecturers to discuss the course material and provide career advice. In a nomination letter, one student wrote that Johnson rocked the boat in the astronomy department, challenging our conceptions of how astronomy, and the sciences in general, are taught. Another student wrote, Classroom experiences that are intellectually engaging, practical, and entertaining are incredibly rare. Through his teaching style, attention to detail, and unique course structure, Professor Johnson provides just such an experience. Many students cited Johnsons life-changing influence beyond academics. One called him a remarkable teacher who cannot only enlighten students in the classroom but also sculpt their spirits for their future careers. A graduate student said, He reminded mewhy I wanted to be a scientist in the first place. In 2013, Johnson accepted a position as a full professor of astronomy at Harvard University.
2011-2012
J. Morgan Kousser
William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of History and Social Science California Institute of Technology
In letters written by students in support of Koussers nomination for the Feynman Prize, he was commended for holding his students to high standards and driving them to excel as critical thinkers. Several students described him as one of the most inspiring and demanding instructors at the Institute, even drawing some of them to change their career paths to pursue lawa remarkable achievement in an environment so dominated by science and engineering. Under his tutelage, many Caltech
Dennis Dougherty
2010-2011
him. Simply put, he inspires his students.
studentsmyself includedgrow from politics neophytes into judicial experts over the course of the two terms of Law 148, said
one student. Professor Koussers unique teaching style hinges on the strength of the respect his students have for
Although people outside Caltech are sometimes shocked to find that we teach history and political science, English, economics, and philosophy, says Kousser, undergraduates here can get close attention from internationally known professors much more easily than at almost any other college in the U.S. Winning the Feynman Prize is a recognition of how much great teaching goes on in the humanities and social sciences division at Caltech and how central our division is to the undergraduate experience at Caltech. A member of the Caltech faculty since 1969, Koussers research focuses on minority voting rights, the history of education, and the legal and political aspects of race relations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Kousser has served as an expert witness in 33 federal or state voting-rights cases and as a consultant in 10 others, and he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981 about the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. His second book, Colorblind Injustice: Minority Voting Rights and the Undoing of the Second Reconstruction won the Lillian Smith Award from the Southern Regional Council and the Ralph J. Bunche, Jr. Award from the American Political Science Association. In addition to being an outstanding professor at Caltech, he has also been a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, Harvard, Claremont Graduate University as well as the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford in 1984-85. I get a prize every yearwatching students grow not only in knowledge, but also in fascination with topics they were barely aware of before, says Kousser. The real prize is the light in their eyes.
2009-2010
Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Computation and Neural Systems and Electrical Engineering California Institute of Technology
Bruck was nominated by his IST 4 students for the inaugural term of the class, which covers the evolution of information systems. Shukis lectures do an excellent job in engaging the attention of a class full of students, wrote one student in support of his nomination. With a teaching style that includes impeccably prepared lectures, detailed and informative slides, and more than a bit of entertainment, Shuki skillfully sets a very inviting stage for the students to grasp the deep concepts of the class.
Zhen-Gang Wang
2008-2009
the theoretical study of biological circuits and systems.
A member of the Caltech faculty since 1994, Bruck was the founding director of the Information Science and Technology (IST)
program from 2003 to 2005. His research combines work on the design of distributed information systems and
Learning is an emotional process, Bruck said in a TEDx talk titled, Teaching the Past; Dreaming the Future. Teaching is an emotional process. We need to fall in love with the material. He believes that teaching needs to go back to the basics...I think we need to focus on our collective ignorance and together try to think about new ideas. I think we need to discover education motivated by curiosity and natural passion. Referencing the Caltech logo, Bruck said, You see one hand handing the fire to the other hand. The fire represents what you believe in, what you love. The fire can be your value system, your knowledge, your jokes, your lame jokesanything that you want to pass to the next generation.
2007-2008
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Michael Brown
Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy California Institute of Technology
While Brown is an astronomer well known for his discovery of the dwarf planet Eris (the so-called tenth planet) and for being the self-dubbed man who killed Pluto, he was awarded the Feynman Prize for his contribution to Geology 1, a class he asked to teach because he wanted to learn the material himself. Students praise Brown for his fun and engaging lecture style. We could watch the formation of the solar system unfold in front of us, a graduate student wrote in
Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering California Institute of Technology
Murray was a Caltech freshman attending frosh camp at Camp Fox on Catalina Island when he first encountered Richard Feynman. I was sitting down, looking across a field, and a professor sat down next to me and started talking about some shells he had found while he was swimming. Lo and behold, it was Richard Feynman although I was an engineering student and not in physics, and Im not sure I knew who he was at the time. That willingness to talk to a student typified his approach to teaching. Such willingness to engage and encourage students also typifies Murrays own approach to teaching. The Feynman Prize Selection Committee singled out Murray for his enthusiasm, responsiveness, and innovation in the classroom and for his contribution to the undergraduate experience through teaching outside the conventional classroom. Murray was also commended for his determination to make sure his students understand the material he teaches. For example, he encourages students to anonymously fill out index cards, dubbed Mud cards, at the end of each class, asking questions about anything they found confusing (or muddy). Answers to the students questions are posted on the class website the same day. This commitment to learning is not lost on Murrays students. In all my classes I have never before had a professor that was so dedicated to answering students questions and making sure that students understood the material, wrote one undergraduate in nominating Murray for the award. Another student praised Murray for his infectious and boundless enthusiasm and perseverance for everything he is involved in and an exceptional talent for leadership. Yet another said that Murray is without a doubt one of the most talented teachers I have ever met.
Richard Murray
2006-2007
observation.
support of his nomination for the Feynman Prize, like a good book that we couldnt put down. One of Browns teaching innovations
was an assignment that required students to travel to nearby Eaton Canyon in order to answer problems by
Surprisingly, Brown describes teaching as terrifying. Its the most stressful thing I do. I have given countless presentations over the years about my research, but talking at the Air and Space Museum is nothing like the classroom experience. One challenge in teaching is the Caltech culture itself, Brown says. The school is legendary for the high expectations placed on students. Not surprisingly, the students in turn are themselves very astute and quite capable of discriminating between really effective teaching strategies and mediocre ones. Around here, you always feel like youre just keeping your head above water when you lecture students, he says. You cant teach and not have some off days, and you know all too well when youre having oneits easy to see when the students are engaged and when theyre not. I guess thats why I try so hard to teach well.
2005-2006
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Christopher Brennen
Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus California Institute of Technology
There is nothing quite as rewarding as when you happen to teach a really good class or when some student says to you, I really thought that was neat or is sometimes excessively appreciative of something you have done for them or of the time you have taken to explain something to them, Brennen says. There is something so fundamentally rewarding about that, that its difficult for me to see how to get it from any other possible source. I love when [students] ask questions, says
George Rossman
2004-2005
that goes beyond just writing something on the board.
Brennen, who served as Master of Student Houses from 1983 to 1987 and as Dean of Students from 1988-1992, because it gives
you a way of figuring out how much theyre really taking in and how much theyre not. It gives you a relationship
In announcing Brennens receipt of the Feynman Prize, Caltech Vice Provost Melany Hunt said, He has shown us the importance of connecting with students, of encouraging their interests and their abilities, and of enjoying and appreciating student-faculty interactions. He has also demonstrated that it is okay to be a little crazy such as riding a bicycle into a swimming poolespecially if it helps students to appreciate the wonder of fluid mechanics and engineering.
2003-2004
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Niles Pierce
Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Bioengineering California Institute of Technology
Now a full professor, Pierce was an assistant professor when he was awarded the Feynman Teaching Prizeone of only two assistant professors to be thus honored. Pierce was recognized for his teaching of ACM 95/100, a combined graduate- and undergraduate-level applied mathematics course. His award citation noted that Pierce teaches without oversimplifying and without intimidating, making the material accessible to this diverse group of students
Joseph Kirschvink
Nico and Marilyn Van Wingen Professor of Geobiology California Institute of Technology
In their letter nominating Kirschvink for the Feynman Prize, two students attributed his popularity among undergraduates as a reflection of his fundamental teaching philosophy: he treats students like colleagues. Kirschvink was noted for inviting students to interrupt him with questions at any time and for explaining and re-explaining concepts, holding to a standard of unanimous understanding. Students also praised his determination to leave no student behind. Kirschvink believes it was his own experience as a Caltech alumBS and MS in 1975that contributes to his classroom rapport. As an undergrad here, I know the capabilities of the students, he says. In all of his classes, Kirschvink employs the Socratic method of doubting and questioning statements. It is a technique he learned, he says, from the late Gene Shoemaker (co-discoverer of the Shoemaker-Levy comet that hit Jupiter), one of his professors from his own days as a Caltech student. Kirschvink frequently involves undergraduates in his research. His major contributions include snowball Earth: the theory that the entire planet may have frozen over several times in its history, potentially causing some of the most severe crises in the history of life on Earth, and perhaps stimulating evolution. Another original concept pioneered by Kirschvink concerns the Cambrian evolutionary explosion, which he believes may have been precipitated in part by a large burst of true polar wander, i.e., in which the earths rotational axis moved to the equator in a geologically short interval of time.
2002-2003
and possesses an uncanny ability to anticipate the frustrations and challenges of the students.
Pierce attributes his teaching style to learning from his mother, who he describes as an extraordinary teacher. I wanted to communicate in a way that students would become excited by the ideas of applied and computational mathematics, says Pierce. Of course, some material is hard to love, and I try to be honest with the students. If I really like a certain topic, I explain why. If were talking about a subject that I think is boring, there better be a good reason, and I give it. My favorite lectures are the ones where the material is potentially hard to understand or absorb. Its not much fun to give a lecture if theres nothing challenging to explain and discuss.
2001-2002
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David Stevenson
Don Cohen
Charles Lee Powell Professor of Applied Mathematics, Emeritus California Institute of Technology
Cohen, who took emeritus status in 2003, was a popular advisor and mentor at Caltech, known not only for his scientific expertise but also for his ability to entertain, engage, and challenge students. For more than 20 years, he guided Caltech undergraduates through the AMa 95 and AMa 101 applied mathematics course sequences, standing out as a teacher for his construction of assignments and exams that not only tested students ability to reproduce a previously seen method of solution, but also challenged them to apply their accumulated knowledge in creative and innovative ways. The Feynman Prize selection committee lauded Cohen for his special ability to make the analysis of even complicated problems seem easy. His playful style in solving problems always entertained, engaged, and challenged students. As perhaps the best testament to his teaching, one student wrote in support of his nomination: In short, if Cohen is teaching it, you want to take it! In addition to the Feynman Prize, Cohen received awards for undergraduate teaching excellence in 1979, 1987 and 1998. Cohens students appreciated his quick wit and entertaining quips. Examples include:
2000-2001
students to 165.
with field trips to give students the opportunity of first-hand observation. The result, the selection committee noted, was to create a lasting impression of how geology research is done,
how our Earth was created, and how our environment evolves. As a result, class enrollment increased from 20
Stevenson notes that teaching is also helpful to him. Teaching helps the teacher as well as the student. This is especially true of people who are more theoretically inclined in their research, because that kind of research is helped by looking at things with a fresh approach.
Nothings happening at infinity. Infinity is Kansas City, maybe. Stopping at this point in the problem is worse than stopping at the beginning. The answer is no, but it usually turns out in applications you can get away with it for a while.
Cohen was also well-known among students for his athletic prowess and often participated with students in activities such as tennis, white water rafting, and hiking.
1999-2000
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Emlyn Hughes
Barbara Imperiali
1998-1999
quality to the teaching of this difficult subject.
teach the mysterious nature of quantum mechanics to a broad audience, as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive
student feedback from Ph2, a core course in sophomore physics. Students described Hughes as charismatic, entertaining, and rad in course evaluations. Hughes, the selection committee said, brings a Feynman-like
Since 2006, Hughes has served on the faculty at Columbia University. His research is focused on the study of new particles and new interactions using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Switzerland.
1997-1998
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on a multidisciplinary approach involving synthesis, state-of-the-art spectroscopy, molecular modeling, enzymology, and molecular biology to address fundamental problems at the interface of chemistry and biology.
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R. David Middlebrook
Yaser Abu-Mostafa
1996-1997
the peripherals!
nomination for the Feynman Teaching Prize. He did not only teach analog circuit design, wrote one student, but a far more
important concept: he taught us how to think! He taught us how to concentrate immediately on the essentials of a problem...But when you think about it, isnt it the way we should tackle large research problems? Isnt this the way we should even handle family life matters? Basically, concentrate on the essentials and do not get fooled by
In addition to teaching at Caltech, Middlebrook taught a course, Structured Analog Design, that was attended by design engineers and managers from the United States, Canada, and Europe at such companies as Analog Devices, AT&T, Boeing, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard, Hughes Aircraft, IBM, Motorola, Philips, Tektronix, and TRW. Middlebrook is also known for writing a pioneering transistor textbook that included mathematical models to help engineers use transistors in their circuit designs.
1995-1996
Abu-Mostafa also directs Caltechs Learning Systems Group, which brings together students in electrical engineering, computer science, computation and neural systems, and physics, to design electronic systems that can be trained to perform various tasks.
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Erik Antonsson
Tom Tombrello
1994-1995
wrote the previous years Feynman winner, Tom Tombrello, in support of Antonssons nomination for the Prize. This is truly the
essence of extraordinary teaching skill. Dick Feynman never took the ordinary or expected path in solving a problem, and that gave us wonderful new ways of looking at the world. Erik has taught in an unusual way and done what we all strive to doexcept the result is better than most of us manage. Antonsson is currently a visiting associate in Caltechs department of Mechanical Engineering and Corporate Director of Technology at the Northrop Grumman Corporation. Past positions he has held include Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chief Technologist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
1993-1994
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recipients of the Richard p. Feynman prize for eXcellence in teaching 1993 - 2013
2012-2013 John Johnson, Planetary Astronomy 2011-2012 Paul Asimow, Geology and Geochemistry 2010-2011 Morgan Kousser, History and Social Science 2009-2010 Dennis Dougherty, Chemistry 2008-2009 Shuki Bruck, Computation and Neural Systems and Electrical Engineering 2007-2008 Zhen-Gang Wang, Chemical Engineering 2006-2007 Michael Brown, Planetary Astronomy 2005-2006 Richard Murray, Control and Dynamical Systems 2004-2005 Christopher Brennen, Mechanical Engineering 2003-2004 George Rossman, Mineralogy 2002-2003 Niles Pierce, Applied and Computational Mathematics 2001-2002 Joseph Kirschvink, Geobiology 2000-2001 David Stevenson, Planetary Science 1999-2000 Donald Cohen, Applied Mathematics 1998-1999 Emlyn Hughes, Physics 1997-1998 Barbara Imperiali, Chemistry 1996-1997 R. David Middlebrook, Electrical Engineering 1995-1996 Yaser Abu-Mostafa, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 1994-1995 Erik Antonsson, Mechanical Engineering 1993-1994 Tom Tombrello, Physics
For more information on the Feynman Prize: www.provost.caltech.edu/FeynmanTeachingPrize.com Produced by the Office of Advancement Communications Layout and written by Alisa Rivera PICTURE CREDITS
Cover: photo from Feynman Lectures on Physics and courtesy of the Caltech Archives; 1, photo courtesy of the Caltech Archives; 2, photo from Feynman Lectures on Physics and courtesy of the Caltech Archives; 3, photo courtesy of the Caltech Archives; 5-11, photos courtesy of Caltech Marketing and Communications; 12, photo courtesy of Richard Murray; 13-15 photos courtesy of Caltech Marketing and Communications; 16, photo courtesy of Joseph Kirschvink; 17, photo courtesy of David Stevenson; 18 photo courtesy of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science; 19 photo courtesy of Caltech Marketing and Communications; 20, photo courtesy of Barbara Imperiali; 21, photo courtesy of Division of Engineering and Applied Science; 22, photo courtesy of Yaser Abu-Mostafa; 23, photo courtesy of Caltech Marketing and Communications; 24, photo courtesy of Tom Tombrello; back cover, photo courtesy of Caltech Marketing and Communications.
Photo courtesy of Bob Paz
Special thanks to Adam Cochran, Michelle Feynman, Lance Hayashida, and the ENGenious staff.
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