X

Clarkson professor Fowler receives award for distinguished teaching

Posted 8/30/10

POTSDAM – Kathleen Fowler, mathematics and computer science professor at Clarkson University, has received the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Clarkson professor Fowler receives award for distinguished teaching

Posted

POTSDAM – Kathleen Fowler, mathematics and computer science professor at Clarkson University, has received the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member from the Mathematical Association of America

The award was established in January 2003 to honor beginning college or university faculty whose teaching has been extraordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms.

An awardee must have taught full time in a mathematical science in the United States or Canada for at least two, but not more than seven, years since receiving the Ph.D. Henry Alder was MAA President in 1977 and 1978 and served as MAA Secretary from 1960 to 1974.

Fowler is cited as an exceptional teacher both inside and outside the classroom. Her students view her as “awesome” and appreciate her encouragement. Her peers affectionately refer to her as "Queen of Calculus" and recognize her curriculum innovation and outreach activities.

She has directed 10 students in research projects and this work has resulted in five publications.

She works with or directs an impressive number of programs, including Mathcounts, Pi Day, the McNair Scholars program, and numerous grants, including a summer mathematical camp for middle and high school students. She develops and runs workshops for teachers and she mentors junior faculty.

She created a "flourishing" student chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics with over 50 members, and she advises the University‘s Mathematical Contest in Modeling teams. She has received two University-wide teaching awards.

Fowler joined Clarkson in 2003 after obtaining her Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in computational applied mathematics.

Her efforts as a mathematician are split between the scientific and campus/local communities. Her research area is in optimization with an emphasis on developing hybrid derivative-free algorithms for simulation-based engineering problems.

Her interdisciplinary projects span hydrology, polymer processing, psychology, and physiology.

She is an active member in the scientific community—giving over 25 talks and organizing 7 mini-symposiums in the last 6 years at national and international conferences.

In 2008, she hosted the American Institute of Mathematics Workshop on Derivative-Free Hybrid Optimization Methods for Simulation-Based Problems in Hydrology.

She is committed to educational outreach, bringing in approximately $3 million in funding to her community.

She co-developed nine science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) summer institutes for teachers, in addition to the IMPETUS for Career Success program, which includes a mathematics-physics roller coaster summer camp for students and teachers.