Tag: MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award

MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award – Spring 2024 Recipient – Scott K Pomerville

Scott Pomerville in a grassy valley with mountains behind
Scott Pomerville, Computer Science

Learning is hard, and it takes effort, but it can be easier when you’re having fun and feel like there is someone there helping you along. My name is Scott Pomerville, and I’m a PhD candidate in the department of Computer Science working on Architectural design of computer processors under Dr. Soner Önder. I did my undergraduate degree here, and decided that I loved both the area of Computer Science and the University enough to continue getting my Doctorate here.

I have found my voice in the classroom in trying to be openly energetic, passionate, and excited to hear what students say. I want to let my personality and passion bleed into the classroom. By being relatable and demonstrating excitement over the material, I think I can help students connect with the same topics that I personally also find fun. My objective as a teacher isn’t to just convey information, but to also show how exciting the field can be, from my lectures down to the assignments I give them.

My mentors and fellow colleagues have been instrumental in shaping me as both a researcher and as a teacher, and I am very thankful to each and every one of them for helping inspire both a love of research and a love of teaching. I am thankful for the nomination, and I am humbled and honored to be representing the university for Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Excellence in Teaching Award for 2024.

Nominations Open for 2024 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, December 13, 2023.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2023 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

Nominations Open for 2023 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 4, 2023.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2022 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

2022 Nominee for MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award – Parth Bhatt

“Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach,” is how Greek philosopher Aristotle put it.  My name is Parth Bhatt and I come from the western coast state of Gujarat in India. I came to Michigan Tech in the Fall of 2016 for a master’s in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES). Before coming to the states, I completed my master of science in the field of Environmental Science in India and was working as a trainee at the Space Application Center, Indian Space Research Organization. It was during my time at the space agency I got exposure to the field of Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing and realized that I want to go abroad for higher education. When I got the admit letter from  Michigan Tech, I was assigned Dr. Ann Maclean as my advisor, and to be honest, the email conversations I had with her were the driving factors for making Michigan Tech and CFRES my choice. I should say choosing Michigan Tech, CFRES, and Ann as my advisor were some of the best decisions of my life. I completed my MS here at Tech in Fall 2018 and continued the journey further by joining Ph.D. under Dr. Maclean. My master’s and Ph.D. project involve working with the USDA Forest Service, mapping the Hiawatha National Forest at the Natural Habitat Community level. We use high-resolution UAV and airborne NAIP imagery coupled with machine learning algorithms to classify the forest. The project is significant for the USFS as the end products (i.e. classified maps) help the management authorities to protect and manage the forest and help in better decision making. I also work on a national level project of mapping and monitoring the Forest Health by ecoregions across the contiguous United States using Google Earth Engine with the USDA Forest Service. Along with research, I have been enjoying teaching GIS classes in CFRES since Spring 2017, I mainly teach the undergraduate and graduate-level GIS classes and labs. Since Fall 2020, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be a Graduate Teaching Instructor (and thanks to my advisor Dr. Ann Maclean and my dean Dr. Andrew Storer, who trusted and motivated me) to take on this opportunity. I am thankful to my department who nominated me and grateful to the university for selecting me as a nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award. It is an absolute honor to represent Michigan Tech at the MAGS 2022.

Nominations Open for 2022 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 6, 2022.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2021 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

Nominations Open for 2021 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 7, 2021.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2020-21 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

Nominations open for 2020 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 9, 2020.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2019-20 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

Nominations open for 2019 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 9, 2019.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2018-19 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.

MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award 2018 Nominee – Nadun Dissanayake

Nadun Dissanayake
Mathematical Sciences
Nadun Dissanayake 201801

I’m a PhD Student in Computation and Applied Mathematics at MTU. I am also a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Mathematical Sciences teaching Pre-Calculus during fall and Calculus II during spring. Teaching is my favorite hobby because I enjoy being with students and helping them. Mathematics is a subject students often struggle with, and I love to teach mathematics in a way that makes sense to students. I interact with students in and outside of class and make them work hard. The students at MTU are very talented and smart, and I consider myself lucky to teach them. I want every student to reach their full potential. Teaching well raises the standards of my university and department, and I always keep that in my mind when I teach. We all have a responsibility to represent our university well and to produce successful students from our classes. I consider teaching to be not just a job, but the greatest service to the world.

Nominations open for 2018 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

Nominations are now open for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Awards.  Michigan Tech may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Each graduate program may nominate one student at the MS and PhD level. Nominations are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, January 10, 2018.

Eligible students

  • will have been enrolled at Michigan Tech during the 2017 calendar year and have a teaching appointment
  • will have earned the Michigan Tech Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
  • will have an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations

See the application page for complete details on what is required for a nomination.