Professor at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, constantly has a massive heap of papers sitting on her office desk. This is most indicative of her near-superhuman workload. First of all, she has a heavy administrative role as Director of UWaterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University's new Computer Science/Business Administration Double Degree program. Not only does she manage the everyday operations and the external promotion of the program, she also has to co-ordinate communications with Laurier.
Profiles
Filter by:
The sense of accomplishment you get when interacting with students is the most rewarding thing about teaching. Engaging students in some thought, getting them to think about a problem at hand and solving it, is very satisfying.
Riding a wave of inspiration from her own university professors, Yu-Ru Liu approaches teaching in a unique way – to inspire her students, relate to them as best she can, and treat them as if they were her own. With an overwhelming excitement to meet her students every term, Liu brings a maternal instinct into the classroom. “Being a new mom, I have a different outlook on teaching now. I want to teach [my students] the same way I would want someone teaching my own children. I look at them like my own kids now so it’s easier to be relaxed and play with the material a bit more,” says Liu.
Perhaps rightfully so, most people are cynical when they hear a CEO praising his or her own firm. As Dean of Mathematics at Waterloo (2010-2015), Ian Goulden was essentially the CEO of the Mathematics faculty, but his testimonial holds great credibility because he faithfully spent his entire academic career at this institution.
Perhaps the best indicators of the quality of an instructor’s teaching are testimonials from his pupils. According to one Rate My Professors website reviewer who has taken MATH 212 with Serge D'Alessio: “Words aren't enough to describe the amazingness [sic] of this prof. He's super clear, and super organized. Encourages students to ask questions and is genuinely interested about the material he teaches. You can see his excitement when he's talking about Maxwell's equations.” Others have attested to Serge’s dedication, saying that he is willing to “skip Thanksgiving to hold a review session for you before a midterm”.
Living in Italy and France for a long period of time is an entirely different experience than visiting these countries as a tourist. This trip allowed for us to be immersed in the local culture and explore what the city had to offer.
Taking a natural skill and hobby and molding it into a dream job wasn’t Wolczuk’s intention when he was thrust into the teaching world in 2004. Looking back retrospectively, it’s a surprise that the connection didn’t come to him earlier. Motivated by a love of all aspects, teaching is a perfect fit for this extrovert. “I just love everything about it – the material, the teaching. I love watching students get the A-Ha! moment”, says Wolczuk.
There is one thing David McKinnon absolutely despises: poor instructing. “There are a lot of weak instructors who are in denial about it, or don’t want to work on improving it for a host of reasons. There’s nothing to be said to such people,” he remarks.
Keep an open mind when you come to university. Just because you signed up for a program does not mean you’re trapped in it if you find it doesn’t suit your interests and abilities. There are always options and opportunities available. /*-->*/
Every day was in itself a highlight and a privilege. Living in two different cities and environments
for the entire three months is quite a remarkable experience. The students
are forced to test and develop their adaptability and resilience in various challenging situations. Furthermore,
in order to optimize this situation, the students must fine tune their time-management skills: it is hard to prepare
Surya Banerjee
Mathematical Economics program advisor
Kitchener-Waterloo Top 40 under 40
Associate professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, faculty member at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo and affiliate member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Also a faculty member of the Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute and a scholar with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
If you figure things out week by week, you’ll do a lot better. It’s a common experience to not understand material in class. Try figuring it out yourself and if you can’t then go to the Mathematics Tutorial Centre or see your professors. As professors, most of us feel that our office hours are underused; we don’t get enough knocks on the door.
Joining the Faculty of Mathematics in 1993 as an assistant professor, Haxell took a love for the beauty of mathematics and turned it into a teaching style.
I like video games that require strategic thinking. I also like building toys (the Mega Bloks Halo line is my favorite) and models like Gunpa. I think my basement looks better than Toys R Us.
/*-->*/
Before going to class, Alfred Menezes purposely discards his lecture notes in order to force himself to know all aspects of the material and to present a highly organized lesson. Spontaneity is also the key to making his classes interesting. “I think students find it more engaging when the lecture is more lively and not just copying from a piece of paper; the material needs to be developed as we speak,” says Alfred.
A lot of students, such as myself, already have a program in mind when they arrive. I came to university interested in applied mathematics but after two years decided that it’s not my thing. My courses were still general enough that I could switch to statistics from applied math without slowing down my degree process.
Professor Michele Mosca
Professor in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, University of Waterloo
A lecturer who describes teaching as a way to help build understanding, Stephen New first started at Waterloo in 2000 as a core math instructor teaching introductory courses to math, science and engineering students. Similar to his colleagues, New walks into the classroom excited to teach. “There’s no need to find motivation for it, I just enjoy it,” said New. Over the past 13 years, his dedication to teaching has taken him across the world all while flying the Waterloo flag.
Professor John-Paul (J.P.) Pretti came to the University of Waterloo for his undergraduate degree and has stayed here ever since. He graduated with a Bachelor of Mathematics (joint degree in Combinatorics & Optimization and Pure Mathematics). Then, he went on to complete his Master of Mathematics (at UWaterloo, of course). And now?
Take a walk through William G. Davis Computer Research Centre (DC) and peer into room 3134. There, you will find books and papers piled from the floor to the ceiling, a rock collection, and one of 2011’s winners of the Distinguished Teachers Award for Mathematics, Professor Jeffrey Shallit. Professor Shallit has been teaching at the University of Waterloo since 1990, and has been a professor for about 30 years.
I came to Waterloo in 2001 as an undergrad student and never left!
The great thing about studying at Waterloo is that everybody in the Faculty of Mathematics loves math. A lot of times people who love math are considered nerds, but at Waterloo, we’re all nerds!
A humble and hardworking professor, Tuncel takes a no secrets approach to his craft. Between acting as associate dean, graduate studies for a two year term beginning in July 2011, on top of supervising a number of undergraduate research assistants, multiple masters students, and a handful of PhD students, all while conducting his own research, and teaching courses in Combinatorics & Optimization, you would expect him to be an expert juggler. However, Tuncel says he does not have a magic formula to being successful. Instead it’s about preparation, care, hard work, and focusing your passion.
In a class of 200 students – a large percentage of which are spectators who aren’t even registered in the section – Ian VanderBurgh would typically learn two-thirds of their names. He says, “It makes the students feel a lot more connected to me and it helps me feel a lot more connected to them.”
Lately, there has been a viral video circulating of Troy Vasiga dancing behind a podium at the opening ceremonies of the International Olympiad of Informatics (IOI) 2010, where University of Waterloo played host to the world’s top high school computer scientists. Is Troy quirky? Perhaps. But there is no denying that he earns genuine respect from his students in part because of his quirkiness.
Professor Daniel Younger
Retired Professor Emeritus, Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, University of Waterloo
