College of Science Announces 2024 Teaching and Advising Awards

Each year, the College of Science honors exceptional faculty and advisors who have made significant contributions to advancing the teaching and advising mission of the University of Arizona. With six award categories, we recognize individuals who exemplify excellence in their fields.

This year’s award winners include Kate Bunton, Lisa Rezende, Adi Adiredja, Jón Njardarson, Sam Krishnamurthy, and Melanie Lipton. Their dedication to student success and their continuous pursuit of excellence in teaching and advising deserve celebration.

The College of Science is proud to recognize these outstanding individuals, along with our recent patent recipients, at the Teaching, Advising, and Entrepreneurial Award Reception on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

Distinguished Career Teaching Award

Kate Bunton, PhD, Professor

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

This award is given in recognition of a long career as an outstanding classroom teacher and mentor of students at different levels and in diverse settings.

Kate Bunton, PhD, is a Professor in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She has served as Associate Department Head and is currently Director of Graduate Studies for the Ph.D. program in her department. Her research interests focus on kinematic, aerodynamic, and acoustic characteristics of normal and disordered speech across the lifespan, speech perception, and correlates of speech intelligibility.   She teaches courses related to Speech Sound Disorders, Fluency, Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Disorders, Counseling, and Professional Issues.   Across the university, Kate coordinates the Faculty Learning Communities, Learning Assistant QuickStart Program, and has developed a training program for peer observation of teaching in her role as Director of Instructional Support in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Distinguished Achievement in Science Education Award

Lisa Rezende, PhD, Associate Professor of Practice

Molecular & Cellular Biology

This award is in recognition of outstanding contributions directed toward systematic improvement of science and mathematics education beyond the classroom. This includes scholarly works that contribute to improving teaching and learning.

Dr. Lisa Rezende is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona, where she also serves as the department’s Director of Online Education and Introductory Biology I. Her work focuses on implementing evidence-based learner-centered teaching practices in different teaching modalities. She has worked in online education since 2008, developing and teaching 100% online asynchronous versions of several existing courses, helping other faculty adapt their courses to online modalities, and creating an online laboratory course. Over the course of her career at the University of Arizona, she has spearheaded the design and teaching of three new in-person courses for MCB majors, four new asynchronous online courses for in-service biology teachers, as well as the development or co-development of asynchronous online versions of six existing courses. In addition to course and curriculum development, she collaborates on projects looking at the effective use of learning assistants in online classes and large lecture courses. Outside of the university setting, she has participated in many outreach and educational projects, including work with national nonprofit cancer organizations over the past decade to help create and assess patient-facing materials focusing on understanding media reports of cancer research.

Innovation in Teaching Award

Adi Adiredja, PhD, Associate Professor

Mathematics

This award is in recognition of outstanding educational innovation developed and applied to course delivery whether in the classroom or in a virtual setting.

Dr. Adi Adiredja is an associate professor of mathematics education in the math department where he regularly teaches linear algebra, number theory, and recently, mathematics of biological systems. His research lies in the intersection of equity, mathematical cognition, and undergraduate mathematics. As a teacher researcher he investigates how deficit social narratives and our views on knowledge and learning impact the way that we interpret students of color’s mathematical sensemaking. His current grant from the National Science Foundation investigates ways that university instructors can develop to become culturally responsive, by using inquiry methods in their teaching and engaging in race and gender conversations with students and their community. 

Distinguished Mentoring Award

Jón Njardarson, PhD, Professor

Chemistry and Biochemistry

This award is in recognition of demonstrated outstanding, extensive, and continuous involvement in student mentoring.

Jón was born and raised in the small town of Akranes, Iceland. After graduation, Jón moved to Reykjavik to start his studies at the University of Iceland, where he became fascinated by the wonders of Organic Chemistry. Jón then traveled across the ocean to Yale University to pursue his doctoral studies with Professor John L. Wood, where he worked on the total synthesis of natural products and developing new reactions. Jón moved to New York City to train as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Samuel J. Danishefsky at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) as a General Motors Cancer Research Scholar. Jón moved to Ithaca, NY in 2004 to start his independent career at Cornell University. In 2010, Jón and his group loaded the wagons, journeyed across the continent, and settled in Tucson where he is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. Jón’s group works on diverse organic synthesis topics such as new reaction development, total syntheses, drug discovery, novel material chemistry and most recently machine learning. Jón is the creator of the popular Top 200 Drug poster series and the widely used app/website Chemistry By Design (CByD).

Distinguished Early-Career Teaching Award

Samyukta (Sam) Krishnamurthy, PhD, Assistant Professor of Practice

Physics

This award is in recognition of outstanding classroom (in-person or virtual) teaching at the undergraduate or graduate levels. Nominees should be less than ten years as members of the University of Arizona and should have demonstrated sustained commitment to high quality, inclusive teaching in a variety of settings.

Sam joined the Physics Department in 2022 and has made substantial contributions to the department's teaching mission. She has taught a variety of courses in the past two years, ranging from large enrollment algebra-based introductory physics to calculus-based introductory mechanics, electricity, and magnetism for engineering major students to honor courses for physics and astronomy major students. She has been instrumental in developing and implementing evidence-based instructional strategies in classrooms and is actively involved in various education-related activities. Notably, she is involved in two projects investigating the impact of artificial intelligence in physics classrooms. Additionally, she has mentored several young women, encouraging them to pursue their passions and helping them navigate and address the gender and racial imbalance in physics.

Distinguished Academic Advising Award

Melanie Lipton, MA, Assistant Director, Academic Advising

Psychology

This award is given by the College of Science to recognize one advisor who demonstrates outstanding, extensive, and continuous involvement in undergraduate advising.

Melanie Lipton is the Assistant Director of Academic Advising in the Psychology Department.  She has been in the field of academic advising since 2005, when she began working part time as an academic advisor while completing her MA in Sociology at Northern Arizona University.

Melanie joined the University of Arizona in 2017 working with students in the AZ Online program, during which time she worked with her colleagues to grow the online Psychology BA into one of the top 10 online programs in the country.

In her spare time, Melanie enjoys spending time with her family exploring and adventuring around Tucson.