Joe Woo wins Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student!

We are pleased to announce that Joseph Woo, a 3rd year graduate student in the Chemical Engineering Department and a member of the McNeill Group, has been selected to receive a 2012 Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student.  Only three graduate students across the entire University are selected to receive this award, and Joe is the only recipient from SEAS.

Joe has twice served as the Teaching Assistant for Transport Phenomena-I, one of the most demanding undergraduate chemical engineering courses at Columbia.  He has a talent for explaining difficult concepts in a clear and easy to understand manner. He also repeatedly went well beyond the call of duty for the sake of the students by regularly providing them with extra help, even on a Sunday in advance of an upcoming examination.  In their course evaluations, students have repeatedly described Joe as “awesome” and “amazing.”  In the words of one student: “Joe … is the stuff that teachers should be made of. … Can we have more Joe Woos as our TAs?”

Joe will receive the award from President Bollinger at the University Convocation in May.

CONGRATULATIONS, JOE!!