Faculty, staff honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring, service

Each year, the university honors members of the Rice community who have served the students through outstanding teaching, dedication and service. Below are recipients of some of this year’s awards:

James DeNicco

Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award

The junior and senior classes have bestowed upon James DeNicco, lecturer in economics, Rice’s oldest teaching award: the Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award. Created in 1966, the award is funded by the Salgo-Noren Foundation.

Presidential Award for Mentoring

Alexander Butler, Naomi Halas and Mikki Hebl

The Presidential Award for Mentoring went to Alexander Butler, professor of finance; Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Mikki Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Chair of Psychology in the School of Social Sciences. The award is given to faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to mentoring graduate or undergraduate students.

Rajdeep Dasgupta

Charles Duncan Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Rajdeep Dasgupta, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, received the Duncan Award, which is presented by Rice deans upon the recommendation of senior faculty. It honors tenure-track or tenured faculty members who have less than 10 years of experience.

Esther Fernandez

Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching

Esther Fernandez, assistant professor of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies, received the Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching. Given by Phi Beta Kappa, this award goes to a nontenured assistant professor who demonstrates outstanding commitment to education in the liberal arts or sciences, as determined by student evaluations.

Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences

James DeNicco, lecturer in economics, has been awarded the Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences, an annual honor given to an outstanding teacher in the School of Social Sciences. Professor Emerita Sarah A. Burnett served on the psychology faculty for 40 years. During her years at Rice, she also served as dean of students and the vice president for student affairs. Her research focused on learning, memory and cognitive processes.

Ming Tang

(T+R)2 Award, School of Engineering

Ming Tang, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering, is the 2018 recipient of the (T+R)2 Award. T+R stands for teaching and research, and the award honors outstanding work in both areas based upon research-based teaching methods, student evaluations and comments, peer input, research funding, impact of journal publications and contributions to the field.

STC Teaching Award

Chas Taylor

Lucy Lai

Alumni Chas Taylor ’17 and Lucy Lai ’18 have been named winners of the Student-Taught Course (STC) Teaching Awards for the spring and fall 2017 semesters, respectively. The winner is selected by a committee of a current college master, a former Brown Teaching Award winner and a member of the Center for Teaching Excellence’s undergraduate advisory board and is based on class observation, instructional materials and course evaluations.