Combinatorics and Optimization
In addition to being an excellent researcher, and the current chair of the Department of Combinatorics & Optimization, Dr. Alfred Menezes is also an outstanding teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is the recipient of a 2010 Faculty of Mathematics Distinguished Teacher Award. Dr. Menezes has very successfully taught a number of undergraduate courses in cryptography, coding theory, introductory combinatorics and algebra. Among these courses his 4th year course on applied cryptography stands out. The class was originally designed, and taught almost exclusively by Dr. Menezes. It is immensely popular across the Faculty of Mathematics, and is routinely attended by more than 100 students. Dr. Menezes inspires through his teaching as is evidenced by a long list of impressive student evaluations. Students describe Dr. Menezes as being extremely knowledgeable, insightful, and passionate about the material he teaches. Because of his inspirational style, Dr. Menezes is frequently named a crucial factor in shaping students' career paths.