Ten faculty members have been chosen to receive this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, an honor given out since 1953 to recognize the university’s finest educators.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank will present the awards at a ceremony to be held in conjunction with the Teaching and Learning Symposium from 4:30 to 6 p.m. May 19 at Union South in Varsity Hall. The event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Association in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty.
Douglas Weibel, associate professor of biochemistry and chemistry, was among the recipients of the awards. He received the Class of 1955 Award. Just as he does with his research, Weibel takes an interdisciplinary approach to teaching.
He has made critical contributions to several biochemistry courses, including a complete reorganization of Biochemistry 651, a capstone for the major that now interweaves physics, engineering, chemistry and biology concepts, and also includes hands-on opportunities for students to dissemble instruments and study their design.
Moreover, Weibel has improved undergraduate education through nontraditional mechanisms. For example, he co-founded the UW-Madison International Genetically Engineered Machines team, which brings undergraduate students in biological science and engineering together to work on projects in synthetic biology.
“As an experimentalist at heart, Professor Weibel uses a wide arsenal of teaching methods to tailor courses for students, and he constantly alters and optimizes content to maximize engagement and impact,” says Elizabeth Cavert Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Chair Elizabeth Craig.