The Edith C. Alexander Award for Distinguished Teaching honors professors who have made outstanding contributions to university teaching. Criteria include a) evidence of superior teaching resulting in significant impact upon the lives of students; b) demonstrated creativity in curricular development and academic planning; c) evidence of innovation related to pedagogy. The winner of the Award for Distinguished Teaching will be invited to give the graduation address at the A&S Graduation ceremony on the evening of December 13, 2002.
Prof. Margaret M. Hanson
2002 Edith C. Alexander Award Winner
In less than four years, astronomer Margaret Hanson has become one of the brightest stars in the Department of Physics. Since coming to the University of Cincinnati in 1998, Dr. Hanson not only has established herself as a respected researcher awarded more than $600,000 from the National Science Foundation and granted fifteen telescope observing runs at major facilities, but also has dedicated herself to creative teaching and a high level of community service. Her introductory astronomy classes are the largest lecture courses in the department, with class sizes exceeding 300, but she engages students with her energy and enthusiasm along with peer learning, in-class demonstrations, and extensive use of Blackboard to present online course notes complete with links to images and animated clips that illustrate complicated concepts. A student commended Dr. Hanson for her excellent multimedia lectures, saying she is ``uniquely suited to the difficult task of effectively teaching to a large lecture hall.'' Dr. Hanson also works with her students at a personal level, training undergraduates to serve as teaching assistants. She is active in the University Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), and is a model mentor for both graduate and undergraduate students. ``She has completely inspired and changed the course of my life,'' says Amanda Bauer, who, with Dr. Hanson's support, presented her undergraduate research at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting, and will be attending graduate school in the Fall. Dr. Hanson also serves as faculty advisor to the Society of Physics Students, is on the Nominating Committee for the AAS, is working to develop a high school astronomy curriculum at Clark Montesorri School, and serves on the Committee for Science and Technology for Girls of the American Association of University Women.