Winter, Thiel receive Cassling Family Faculty Awards for outstanding teaching

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AMES, Iowa – Two faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University will receive Cassling Family Faculty Awards.

Arthur Winter

Arthur Winter, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Patricia A. Thiel, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering and John D. Corbett Professor of Chemistry, will be recognized at the 2013 Fall Convocation, September 11, at 4 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. Chemistry is an academic department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The Cassling Family Faculty Awards recognize and reward outstanding faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The two faculty members will each receive a $5,000 award – one for outstanding teaching performance over an extended period of time (Thiel) at Iowa State and one for early achievement in teaching (Winter).

Patricia Thiel

The awards were established by Randal and Lori Cassling of Omaha, Neb., in honor of Randal’s parents, Robert and Rita Lenore Dunn Cassling of Omaha, Neb. Robert Cassling is a 1956 graduate of Iowa State while Rita attended Iowa State and was a Homecoming queen.

Winter received his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, College Park, and did his postdoctoral work at Ohio State University. He started as an assistant professor at ISU in fall 2009. He is the author of Organic Chemistry for Dummies, which has been translated into German and Portuguese, and is the editor of Pushing Electrons. His research involves the synthesis of organic chemistry tools for biological and medical applications.

Thiel is an excellent teacher of physical and surface chemistry. She makes these formidable topics interesting and tractable by engaging students, using demonstrations and visual aids, and sharing her enjoyment of the material. She constantly works to improve the effectiveness of classroom learning, and to contribute pedagogically to the broader community.

About Liberal Arts and Sciences

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a world-class learning and research community. Iowa State’s most academically diverse college, LAS educates students to become global citizens, providing rigorous academic programs in the sciences, humanities and social sciences within a supportive personalized learning environment. College faculty design new materials, unravel biological structures, care for the environment, and explore social and behavioral issues. From fundamental research to technology transfer and artistic expression, the college supports people in Iowa and around the world.

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NEWS RELEASE College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University

 

Contacts: Beate Schmittmann, Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean, (515) 294-3220 (schmittb@iastate.edu) Laura Wille, Liberal Arts & Sciences Communications, (515) 294-7742 (lge@iastate.edu)