Brock University Honors Outstanding Teaching and Research in Math and Science Awards

On the first day he lectured at Brock University, Ali Emami caught himself searching for a seat among the students instead of heading to the front of the auditorium to teach the course.

Having recently completed his PhD, he felt more like a fellow learner than the educator.

The moment was the catalyst for a vow he made to approach teaching with passion, relevance and a student-like curiosity for learning. He believes that philosophy led him to receiving the 2024 Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences (FMS) Excellence in Teaching Award less than three years later.

“As I get older, I’ll naturally relate less to the students, but I’ll never forget that I belong there in the auditorium with them,” says the Assistant Professor of Computer Science. “My students often say it’s as if I’m really on their side. I stop myself in the middle of my lecture and metaphorically go and sit with them to see the lecture through their eyes. I gauge their reactions, thoughts and feelings and ask them for their opinions.”

Emami fell in love with natural language processing during his PhD studies but felt he had limited opportunities as a student to share his enthusiasm. As a professor, he can passionately highlight his research interests, which focus on the development of intelligent machines for everyday use. He hopes to enhance large language models for better communication, reasoning and practical application, ensuring they are trustworthy and effective.

While he initially held back from referencing his research in his lectures, the feedback Emami received from students affirmed that his enthusiasm inspires them to be passionate about their own aspirations, even if they aren’t directly connected.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of being proud and passionate about our field, thinking it’s not relevant to others, because the common denominator we share is our passion for our own work and interests,” he says.

Emami also incorporates different teaching methods into his courses. In Internet Technologies (COSC 2P89) for example, he supplements theoretical lessons by demonstrating code in real time on a projected screen and leads an improv-like coding session every other week in which students take turns trying to solve a coding problem with each adding on to the previous student’s work.

“It helps students to develop the muscle memory needed for coding,” he says. “And I think they like the challenge and uncertainty of it. We don’t always solve the problem. But we’re all working on it together and encouraging each other, which makes the experience much more engaging.”

Also recognized this year is Professor of Chemistry Tony Yan, who received the 2024 FMS Research Excellence Award.

As a synthetic organic chemist, Yan focuses his research on the chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics of nucleic acids, which are biomolecules that are crucial in all living organisms. His work involves chemically modifying nucleic acids to introduce what is not natural to them to better understand their structures and how they function in the biological system.

Some of his work has involved chemically synthesizing a type of nucleic acid called cyclic dinucleotides to examine their ability to augment immune responses in mammalian species.

“The compounds turned out to be outstanding adjuvants for vaccines that are given mucosally — administered through nasal spray or orally — instead of through injections,” he says. “Historically, it has been really challenging to induce immune response mucosally with vaccines without the use of killed or attenuated pathogens.”

More recently, Yan has become interested in understanding how nucleic acids behave in conditions that represent those typically found in biological systems rather than the “overly simplified diluted conditions” he says are used in experiments. With 30 to 40 per cent of cell’s cytoplasmic fluid occupied by molecules, he says the environment in cells is much more “crowded” than the conditions used in most investigations.

Yan says this research could have real-world implications, potentially impacting how medicinal chemistry is conducted and how pharmaceutical companies can improve the way they identify new drug candidates.

“The drug discovery process has become so expensive, and the failure rates are so high, that the industry is hoping for different ways to look at this process,” he says. “An understanding of the differences in the structures and properties of biomolecules in diluted and crowded conditions offers the potential to optimize the drug discovery process where the conditions more accurately represent what actually happens in the cellular environment where these drugs operate.”

Emami and Yan were presented with their awards at a FMS gathering Tuesday, June 18. Also recognized at the event were:

• Dorothy Levay, Instructor and Manager, Academic Support with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, received the 2024 FMS Distinguished Staff Award for her exceptional service beyond expected duties to enrich the experience of students across campus and her essential role in maintaining the operations of the department amid a period of great transition.
• Andréanne Hébert-Haché (BSc ’16, PhD ’24), who recently graduated with her PhD in Biological Sciences, received the FMS Best PhD Thesis in 2023 Award for her thesis “The influence of grapevine cultivar, clone, and rootstock on cold hardiness and dehydrin proteins.”
• Connor Wilson, a Master of Science in Physics candidate, received the FMS Best MSc Thesis in 2023 Award for his thesis “Localized Vibrational Modes in High-Entropy Oxides.”
• Martin Head, Professor of Earth Sciences, and Georgii Nikonov, Professor of Chemistry, were recognized with the new honorary title of Distinguished Professor, a lifetime appointment acknowledging outstanding achievement in their academic discipline.