Graduate Students Receive Awards for Excellence in Teaching

Five doctoral students from the University of Rochester have been selected to receive the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. The award, established in 1984, recognizes graduate students who assist in undergraduate teaching and have had significant interaction in the classroom or in the laboratory.

University President Thomas H. Jackson, Provost Charles Phelps, and Dean of Graduate Studies Bruce Jacobs will present the awards at a luncheon May 3. The award recipients are Seth Bordenstein, Department of Biology; Matthew Coppenbarger, Department of Mathematics; Kari Kraus, Department of English; and Scott Murphy and Ian Quinn, both from the Department of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music.

Jacobs selected the winners based on nominations from departments or undergraduate student groups. Each student will receive a $500 award with an additional $250 to their departments for improvements in materials for undergraduates.

Among the winners, Bordenstein is in the second year of a doctoral program in evolutionary genetics, studying the role of bacteria as agents of speciation. He received a bachelor of science degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University.

Coppenbarger, who is working on a doctorate in mathematics, is studying quantum mechanics on graphs. He received a bachelor of science in mathematics and physics from the University of Arizona.

Kraus, a doctoral student in English, is analyzing 18th-century British literature and bibliotextual studies, dealing with texts and how they have changed. She received bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Texas A&M University.

Murphy, who is in the second year of a doctoral program in music theory, is studying music in film and its composition and theory. Nominated by Eastman's Department of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, Murphy received bachelor's and master's degrees in music theory and composition from the University of Kansas.

Quinn, who also is working toward a doctorate in music theory at Eastman, received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in music, and earned a master's degree at Eastman in music theory. His specialty is the philosophy of music theory and its role as a science.