Winners of 2023 Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students Celebrated

Prize winner Oualid Merzouga, left, and Karen Detlefsen, vice provost for education

Six Penn Arts & Sciences students were among the ten winners of the 2023 Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students. Recipients were recognized from a pool of 44 Ph.D. candidates and master’s students nominated primarily by undergraduates—a quality unique to and cherished about this prize.

“It’s a particularly authentic expression of gratitude from undergraduates, and that’s really the pleasure [of presenting these awards],” said Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen, who announced the winners. Each winner received a certificate and a monetary award. “I’m so proud of our students: Our undergraduates, for taking the time to recognize what it is our graduate students contribute to the student body, and the graduate students who are contributing to the life of the University,” Detlefsen continued. “Students are the lifeblood of the University and without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

The Penn Arts & Sciences winners, all doctoral candidates, were Kai Feng (Demography), Ann Ho (English), Ritesh Isuri (Chemistry), Arianna James (English), Oualid Merzouga (Mathematics), and Derek Yang (Chemistry).

Merzouga (pictured), who received thunderous applause from colleagues and students upon receiving his Prize, said building strong relationships with students is the main ingredient for being a successful teaching assistant.

"First of all, I have really good teachers,” he said, “so I try to replicate what they’re doing. But the main ingredient is I always try to place myself in the student’s position, to judge how the course is going from their perspective. And that’s hard because when you know all the material, it’s difficult to try to relate to students who are learning for the first time.”

He also quipped that because his class takes place at 7 p.m., it’s extra challenging to ensure his students don’t fall asleep. He likes to add peculiar facts about mathematicians to add some flair to the material.

“If you can make them laugh, that’s even better,” Merzouga said.

To read the full announcement, click here.

 

Arts & Sciences News

Timothy Rommen Appointed Vice Provost for the Arts

The Davidson Kennedy Professor and Professor of Music and Africana Studies will begin the new appointment on Jan. 1.

View Article >
Vaughn A. Booker Named George E. Doty, Jr. and Lee Spelman Doty Presidential Associate Professor of Africana Studies

Booker is a historian of religion whose scholarship and teaching center on 20th-century African American religions.

View Article >
Patrick Walsh Named William Warren Rhodes-Robert J. Thompson Professor of Chemistry

Walsh works in the areas of catalysis, methods development, and reaction mechanisms.

View Article >
Michael Mann Appointed Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action

The Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media will begin his new appointment on Nov. 1, 2024.

View Article >
Scott Moore Named Department of Defense Senior Advisor for Climate Security

In this role, Moore, Practice Professor of Political Science, will help shape U.S. government policy at the intersection of climate change and national security.

View Article >
Penn Arts & Sciences Launches Plant ARC

The Plant Adaptability and Resilience Center aims to enhance plant development and fortitude in the face of climate change.

View Article >