2nd Annual Teacher Inspiration Award Ceremony
The 2nd Annual Teacher Inspiration Award Ceremony were held by the Computer Science Department at UT Dallas on Friday, 10/24/2014. Inspiration Awards were given to teachers who inspired Computer Science students at UT Dallas to pursue an education in Computer Science (CS). Teachers were nominated by freshmen students from the CS Department. The program was created and organized by Dr. Janell Straach, a Senior Lecturer in the CS Department. Dr. Linda Morales and Ms. Mary Vogel helped to make the event a huge success! Recipients of the 2014 2nd Annual Teacher Inspiration Awards are listed in the following table:
| Teacher | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Campbell | Philips Exeter Academy | Exeter, NH |
| Eric Ferrante | Cupertino High School | Cupertino, CA |
| Bill Hill (James Hill) | Creekview High School | Carrollton, TX |
| Elaine Hitch | Flower Mound High School | Flower Mound, TX |
| Ann Horton | Plano East Senior High | Plano, TX |
| Tracy Ishman | Plano West Senior High | Plano, TX |
| Scott Kaufman | Frisco High School | Frisco, TX |
| Lubna Lorena | Clements High School | Sugar Land, TX |
| Brenda McGurgan | Highland Park High School | Dallas, TX |
| Leon Schram | John Paul II High School | Plano, TX |
| Henry Vo | Richardson High School | Richardson, TX |
| Annette Walter | Friendswood High School | Friendswood, TX |
| Linda Woessner | Carroll Senior High School | Southlake, TX |
| Denise Schnitker | Denison High School | Denison, TX |
| Milton Guerra | Health Careers High School | San Antonio, TX |
| Marilyn Turmelle | School of Science and Engineering | Dallas, TX |
| Johnny Rolando Flores | Townview Magnet Center | Dallas, TX |
| Becky Heslep | Plano Senior High School | Plano, TX |
| Nilima Shett | Vidya Valley | Maharashtra, India |
| Beverly Trollinger | New Braunfels High School | New Braunfels, TX |
| Joseph Payne | Centennial High School | Frisco, TX |
| Donna Orozco | Trinity High School | Euless, TX |
| David Culp | Dewitt Perry Middle School | Carrollton, TX |
| Nathan Schutz | Hebron High School | Carrollton, TX |
| Heidi Leventhal | Yes Prep Gulfton | Houston, TX |
| Jeremiah McMillan | Jack C. Hays High School | Buda, TX |
| Gail Womack | South Garland High School | Garland, TX |
| Jessica Patterson | Westwood High School | Austin, TX |
| Cynthia Gallatin | Plano Senior High School | Plano, TX |
After lunch, some faculty members from the CS department talked about some undergraduate and graduate programs at UT Dallas.
Certificates of appreciation were given to each teacher by Dr. Mark Sprong and Dr. Gopal Gupta. After lunch, the teachers attended several demonstrations about the research being done by the CS department. Teachers, who were able to attend the event are pictured, in alphabetical order, in the following table.
At the language lab, the teachers learned about how technology is being used to understand and correct speech defects. At the motion lab, the teachers watched a demonstration in the 3D motion lab. One teacher-volunteer used the 3D equipment to walk around in a virtual world, while the rest viewed a display of the virtual world the volunteer was navigating.
The Department of Computer Science at UT Dallas is one of the largest CS departments in the United States with more than 750 undergraduate, 500 master, and 125 PhD students. They are committed to exceptional teaching and research in a culture that is as daring as it is supportive.