Chemistry educators honored as 2015 Professors of the Year
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2015 — For her accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom, Amina K. El-Ashmawy, Ph.D., has been named a 2015 U.S. Professor of the Year. El-Ashmawy, who is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is one of just four professors to earn this year’s national honor. In addition, 35 professors have been designated as 2015 state Professors of the Year, including five chemistry professors who are ACS members.
El-Ashmawy, a professor of chemistry at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, was selected as Outstanding Community Colleges Professor of the Year through a program sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
“I teach to make a long-term, positive impact on students’ lives by making science fun, interesting and relevant,” El-Ashmawy says. “I use everyday examples and analogies to make each topic memorable and relevant. A bad hair day becomes a hydrogen-bonding phenomenon, and cooking spaghetti becomes an exercise in intermolecular forces and time management.” She also helps students understand how the material they are learning relates to important societal challenges.
El-Ashmawy earned an A.S. in science from Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas; a B.A. in chemistry from Texas A&M University in College Station; and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Texas in McKinney.
The state winners who are ACS members are Neil K. Garg of the University of California, Los Angeles; Daniel Gurnon of DePauw University; Susan E. Shadle of Boise State University; Nevart Tahmazian of Montgomery College, Rockville Campus; and Vincente Talanquer of the University of Arizona.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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Image credit: Collin College/Nick Young Click here for a high-resolution version.
