Computer Science Prof Receives Teaching Award

Five UT Dallas educators were recently honored with President’s Teaching Excellence Awards for their outstanding efforts in the classroom.

The award recipients received medallions at the University’s annual Honors Convocation on May 10. They also were recognized at an April reception hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, where center director and associate provost Dr. Paul Diehl said the awardees were chosen from an outstanding group of nominees from across the campus.

“It’s very important for the institution to recognize our best instructors, and to do that in a public fashion surrounded by our colleagues,” said Diehl, Ashbel Smith Professor of Political Science. He noted that earning a President’s Teaching Excellence Award is “quite an achievement.”

Among the teaching award recipients was the Jonsson School’s own Dr. Ravi Prakash, who was honored with the President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Graduate/Professional Instruction.

Dr. Ravi Prakash, a professor of computer science, has taught undergrads and graduate students for nearly 20 years in the Department of Computer Science and the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College.

He said one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is the opportunity to engage with all students, and to challenge them to look at issues and problems in ways that they may not have before.

“We are not here to teach facts. Our students are smart enough to get them from textbooks, research papers and the internet,” Prakash said. “We are here to teach them how to critically analyze and interpret information, and use this to develop new ideas and products.”