Three Honored with 2023 School of Science Teaching Prizes at MIT

The MIT School of Science has announced the winners of its 2023 Teaching Prizes for Graduate and Undergraduate Education. The prizes are awarded to School of Science faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching. Winners are chosen from nominations by their students or colleagues.

Roger Levy, a professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, was awarded a prize for developing and teaching class 9.19 (Computational Psycholinguistics). Levy’s nominators highlighted his success in adapting courses to synchronous and asynchronous instruction during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and in leading an engaging and challenging course for students across disciplines.

Pulin Li, the Eugene Bell Career Development Professor of Tissue Engineering in the Department of Biology and a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, was awarded the prize for teaching classes 7.06 (Cell Biology) and 7.46/7.86: (Building with Cells). Nominators praised Li’s talent for teaching complex topics effectively and her exceptional accomplishments as a teaching partner.

David McGee, associate professor and associate department head for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, was awarded the prize for achieving an outstanding level of community learning in class 12.000 (Solving Complex Problems), also known as “Terrascope.” Nominators noted McGee’s extraordinary investment in both the class material and his students’ learning experiences.

The School of Science welcomes nominations for the teaching prize at the end of each semester. Nominations can be submitted at the school’s website.