Sarah Demers, professor of physics, and a member of Yale’s Wright Lab, and Adriane Steinacker, senior lecturer in physics, were among six recipients of Yale College’s annual teaching prizes who were recognized by Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis during a reception on April 29.
Lewis praised all the recipients for their commitment to teaching undergraduates and to undergraduate education. The citations for Demers and Steinacker follow:
Sarah Demers, the Dylan Hixon ’88 Prize
Awarded for teaching excellence in the natural sciences
“Sarah Demers, Professor of Physics, you are recognized as a leading researcher in your field, and you also have the unique ability and a solid reputation of dazzling students with your teaching. You have taught hundreds of students taking Physics for the Life Sciences as a pre-requisite for majors in the Biological Sciences and/or medical school — making the material enjoyable with your infectious enthusiasm. Your innovative pedagogy and collaboration resulted in an interdisciplinary course examining ‘The Physics of Dance.’ Though the students in these courses are unlikely to become Physicists, with some saying, ‘I’m taking physics because I have to, not because I want to,’ you have helped many of them enjoy your courses, some of them to the point where they ‘fall in love with physics’ as a result of your teaching.
“One student shared that ‘she fosters an environment that facilitates superlative learning…she exuded a positive energy that made learning topics in an arduous class, such as physics, an enjoyable experience — a rarity in modern education… she was able to bring lively anecdotes, stories, and interactions into her teachings… As the course progressed and the topics started to get more abstract, it was evident that she took the time to slow down and reiterate key points to make sure people were understanding them… Her emphasis on the importance of collaboration helped pushed me out of my comfort zone to work with other people on the problem sets. Working with others not only helped me get through the problems but also showed me that I wasn’t the only one struggling through these challenging problems. Knowing I wasn’t the only one struggling helped elevate how I felt about myself and aided in my personal growth.’
“You have been able to build an inclusive environment in a large lecture course, seeking and incorporating feedback in real-time as your courses progress and fostering a collaborative environment among your students. One student said it well: ‘Her love for the subject is inspiring and contagious, and it manifests in the way she takes such good care of her class and students.’ Another shared: ‘She stayed late, went in early, took her class to the next level, and we are all the better for it. While taking a midterm, I vividly remembered her re-explaining a concept to me during class, and that made all the difference in the way I answered the question (and got it correct!).’
“You bring that same enthusiasm and individual guidance to your role as Director of Undergraduate Studies, advising students in the major, facilitating student/mentor research relationships and ensuring that students ultimately cross the finish line.
“For your inclusivity, patience and engaging classroom presence which instills passion in your students, Yale College is delighted to bestow the Dylan Hixon ‘88 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences on you, Professor Sarah Demers.”
Adriane Steinacker, the Richard Brodhead ’68 Prize
Awarded for teaching excellence by instructional faculty
“Adriane Steinacker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, your students are in awe of your ability to make a large lecture feel like home, a family. Over your years, sometimes teaching two large lectures of introductory Physics, students are astonished that you not only remember their names, but that you get to know them as students and as human beings. Your enthusiasm and love for Physics inspires your students, and motivates them to work hard, for themselves, but also as a way of thanking you for your efforts.
“Your students repeatedly share their love for your in-class demonstrations, your wealth of online resources, sketches and notes, and your elaborate homework/practice problems — where you are constantly innovating, over the years, but also within a given term. This has ‘illuminated the beauty of the physical world’ for your students. One student shared, ‘This inspired me to appreciate physics in a way that I hadn’t before — I became able to view the world around me with a curious sense of wonder as I thought about all of the physics around me, from the Doppler effect illustrated by a passing ambulance to a car’s momentum.’ And another said, ‘She truly finds physics *beautiful,* and uses demonstrations and real life examples to relate the material to her students and help us see the logic and simplicity (and even beauty) in physics too.’
“Of course, it is not just your classroom teaching that warrants praise. Over years of teaching, with the number of students you teach ever-expanding, your office hours are legendary. An overflow area needed because of your packed office, students feel encouraged in these spaces and appreciate the individualized attention they get, where ‘mistakes are welcomed as opportunities to learn.’ In your classroom and in your office, you have fostered a sense of belonging that comes up again and again, making students feel ‘capable of more than they think.’ As one student shared: ‘Professor Steinacker was never once condescending or judgmental, even when re-explaining basic rules of algebra or geometry that I had forgotten. Professor Steinacker did not for a single moment make me feel like I belonged any less in her class. She absolutely believed in me and my ability to learn. Another shared, ‘No form of help is beneath her.’
“You have a way of immersing students in a difficult subject, helping them understand difficult concepts, without eroding the rigor of what they’re learning. One student called you ‘The bright point in this dark, swirling sea of derivatives and vectors’ and another shared, ‘Above all, she is always smiling and reminding us of the life’s joys, from quotidian to profound — the midday sun, the satisfaction of setting up a physics experiment and seeing it unravel, the sight of Jupiter’s moons.’
“Yale College is thus honored to award the Richard H. Brodhead ’68 Prize for Teaching Excellence to you, Adriane Steinacker.”
This story was adapted from the Yale News story of May 1, 2024. See below for link to the original story and other related links.