News

Alley, Viswanathan given Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Penn State Newswire

University Park, Pa. -- Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh professor of geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at University Park, and Nathan Viswanathan, professor emeritus of chemistry at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, have been selected for the 2008 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching.

The award recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full-time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.

Alley is one of several Penn State earth scientists who are contributors to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with Al Gore. His teaching philosophy focuses on helping students discover the motivation, tools and background knowledge to achieve their goals of contributing to society as lifelong learners.

According to one nominator, he "thrives on sharing his knowledge with students." Demand for his course on Geology of the National Parks consistently exceeds availability. The thousands of students who take his introductory courses have enjoyed films made by a small class that he helped lead to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and the archaeological treasures of Mesa Verde.

"Professor Alley's enthusiastic teaching style and his down-to-earth personality invite students to linger after class to ask questions or simply to chat," the nominator added. "He is an outstanding example of a faculty member who is able to successfully transfer his passion for knowledge to his students."

Viswanathan, called Dr. Nathan by his students, retired at the end of the fall 2007 semester after 39 years of teaching and research. In addition to teaching a variety of science courses, he served for a number of years as director of the Pre-freshman Enrichment Program aimed at Fayette County sixth- through ninth-grade students who showed aptitude in science and mathematics.

One of his chief accomplishments was his role in the development of the forensic science program at Penn State Fayette. He was instrumental in creating two new courses for the program and securing nearly $200,000 in funding to provide the necessary equipment for them.

"Professor Viswanathan is the model of a teacher-scholar," a nominator said. "His willingness to invest his time and energy in this interdisciplinary, student-centered activity has been a model for others."