|
|
|
June 18, 2007
By Dr. Cathie
J. Atkins
Dr. Ricardo Carretero, Associate
Professor, Mathematics is the 2007 Northrop Grumman
2007 Excellence in Teaching Award
recipient for the College of Sciences.
The Award
is based on the following criteria: Teaching area in a
physical science, computer science, math or engineering;
Techniques that show excellence in teaching; High degree
of interaction with students, faculty and staff; High
personal and professional standards; Well-organized
activities, lectures and/or labs; Teaching procedures
that contribute to student interest, enthusiasm, and
achievement; Concern for students as individuals;
Evidence of significant professional development as it
relates to teaching excellence.
Dr. Carretero has been a faculty member in the Department
of Mathematics and Statistics since the fall of 2002.
During that time, Dr. Carretero has distinguished himself
as an outstanding teacher and scholar, not only among
his students; but among his colleagues as well. Often
described by his students as "entertaining" "enthusiastic"
"well-organized" (no small feat for a professor who
teaches Mathematics), Dr. Carretero is known and appreciated
for his clear explanations, his excitement about the
field and the way he keeps the class interested and
engaged in the topic. Thus, we feel he is an excellent
candidate for this award
and that he meets or exceeds all of the criteria outlined
in the award
announcement.
As
an outstanding classroom teacher, Dr. Carretero
has demonstrated an ability to teach classes ranging
from lower division undergraduate courses through upper
division and graduate level courses. He teaches a wide
variety of Mathematics courses including Calculus I and
II, Methods of Applied Mathematics, Partial Differential
Equations, Advanced Differential Equations, and has
developed two new courses based on his area of expertise
in Dynamical Systems and Chaos. He also established a
distance-learning course that is transmitted to San
Diego State University's Imperial Valley campus. Dr. Carretero'
makes extensive use of technology and animated
visualizations to enhance student comprehension. He
connects Mathematics to real world problems and uses
lots of interesting examples from interdisciplinary
areas such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics and
Engineering. He loves to challenge students and most
appreciate his efforts.
Dr. Carretero's
commitment to student learning goes beyond his classroom
teaching. For example, Dr. Carretero
established and maintains the WeBWork automated homework
system for the department. WeBwork is designed to assist
and support students of Mathematics and Computer
Sciences in their homework activities. WeBwork is a
web-based homework checker. It has been developed at the
University of Rochester (and collaborating institutions)
under support by several NSF grants. Importantly, Dr. Carretero
has been a mentor and advisor to quite a number of
undergraduate and graduate students in Mathematics.
Moreover, he has successfully included student authors
on his research papers. One of the most time consuming
aspects of working with students is the mentoring that
is involved in including them in the publications
process as student authors. The publications and
presentations in which students are included as authors
is yet further testimony to Dr. Carretero's
commitment to student training.
Not
surprisingly, Dr. Carretero's
passion and energy for his subject matter and teaching
is equaled by a passion for his research program. He has
established and maintained an outstanding and focused
research program and is a leader in the study of the
solutions and stability of dynamical systems. His main
research interests are in Dynamical Systems and
Computation applied to spatio-temporal systems. These
interests include spatio-temporal nonlinear time series
reconstruction, discrete breathers, nonlinear wave
propagation, blowup and metastability in
reaction-diffusion systems, adaptive mesh methods for
solving Partial Differential Equations. He has
particular interests in the dynamics of chains of
optical (fiber optics) or quantum matter (Bose-Einstein
condensates) solitons. His publication history is
outstanding and includes a long list of conference
presentations, awards and fellowships. Dr. Carretero
has also been extremely successful in securing funding
to support his research from a number of funding
agencies including National Science Foundation.
|
| | |
