06/19/95
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
STANFORD -- A mechanical engineer, a political scientist, a medical doctor and two teaching assistants received Walter J. Gores Awards for excellence in teaching at Stanford University commencement ceremonies Sunday, June 18.
The winners were David Beach, professor (teaching) of mechanical engineering; James March, professor of political science; Dr. J. Edwin Atwood, assistant professor of medicine; Lyle Brenner, a graduate student in psychology; and Calvin Lui, a graduate student in mechanical engineering.
Beach was honored "for his dynamic vision in establishing the Product Realization Laboratory, an extraordinary learning environment where students are eager to learn, and where they are encouraged to transform ideas into reality."
Beach also was cited for his "leadership in developing courses that transcend disciplinary boundaries and that reflect his enthusiasm for the design and manufacturing process."
March, who also is the Jack Steele Parker Professor of International Management at the Graduate School of Business, received the award for "providing generations of Stanford graduate and undergraduate students with inspired teaching -- offering wisdom as well as education in Organizational Theory and Leadership" and "for teaching his students and colleagues that 'life is not about making decisions, but about making decisions work.' "
Atwood, honored in the junior faculty category, was honored "for his extraordinary devotion to the teaching of cardiology, and to the training of careful, caring young physicians" as well as "for his dedication to undergraduate growth and learning in his teaching and advising as a resident fellow in Juniper House."
Brenner, from Washington, D.C., won the award "for taking complex mathematical principles and translating them into 'plain English' in a manner that preserves rigor and impresses both fellow graduate students and faculty mentors" in psychology. He also was cited "for taking every student question seriously and seeking to increase comprehension and understanding for all members of the class, at all skill levels."
Lui, from Fremont, Calif., was honored for "making the underlying concepts and theories in even the most difficult areas of mechanical engineering seem exciting and comprehensible" and "for dedicating hundreds of hours to students in extra review sessions, office hours and in one-on- one meetings."
Gores awards are given annually for excellence in teaching at Stanford. At least one is awarded in each of the following categories: senior faculty, junior faculty, and teaching fellow or teaching assistant.
The awards are named for Professor Walter J. Gores, a member of the Stanford Class of 1917.
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