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Williams College Awards Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching and Writing
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Sept. 13, 2007 -- Since 1995, Williams College has awarded the Nelson Bushnell '20 Faculty Awards in recognition of excellence in teaching and writing. This year, three received the award: Magnus Bernhardsson (history), Edward Burger (mathematics), and James Carlton (marine sciences). Bernhardsson was noted for his "innovative use of technology in the classroom and record of publication over the last several years"; Burger for his "prolific publication record and stellar teaching in a year when he also won a number of other awards"; and Carlton for his "prolific scholarship and outstanding teaching in the Williams-Mystic Program."
Magnus T. Bernhardsson
Bernhardsson, associate professor of history, focuses on modern Iraqi history, U.S.-Iraqi relations, and archaeology and nationalism in the Middle East. His 2005 book "Modernity's Martyrs," originally published in Iceland and later translated into English, compares the religious and political histories of Iran and Iraq. The Society of Icelandic Authors and Scholars nominated it as the best non-fiction book of the year in 2005. He is also author of the 2005 book, "Reclaiming a Plundered Past: Archaeology and Nation Building in Modern Iraq" which explores the history of archaeology in Iraq and examines the connections between archaeology and Iraqi nationalism. He is co-editor of "U.S. Middle Eastern Historical Encounters: A Critical Survey" (forthcoming from the University of Florida Press). At Williams, he teaches Movers and Shakers in the Middle East, Encountering the Other: the Middle East and the West, and Iraq and Iran in the Twentieth Century. He came to Williams in 2003, having completed his B.A. at the University of Iceland in 1990 and his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1999. He has also taught at Hofstra University and the College of the Holy Cross.
Edward Burger
Burger, professor of mathematics, specializes in number theory, Diophantine approximation, and the geometry of numbers. He has served as associate editor of the American Mathematical Monthly, a member of the board of trustees for the Educational Advancement Foundation, a member of the editorial board of AK Peters publishing, and as mathematics advisor for the NUMB3RS in the Classroom Project by CBS-TV, Paramount Studios, and Texas Instruments. In 2007 he won the Distinguished Achievement Award for Educational Video Technology from the Association of Educational Publishers. He is the 2006 winner of the Lester R. Ford Award, presented by the Mathematical Association of America and its 2001 National Teaching Award. At Williams, Burger teaches classes ranging from Calculus II to The Art of Creating Mathematics and Diophantine Analysis. He also has taught at the University of Texas and the University of Colorado. His 2005 book "Coincidences, Chaos, and All that Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas" will soon be published in at least five other languages. His "The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking" won the 2001 Robert W. Hamilton book award. Together with Thinkwell, he crafted the first-ever virtual CD-ROM, video, interactive mathematics texts/courses over the Web. He received his B.A. from Connecticut College in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990.
James Carlton
Carlton, professor of marine sciences and director of the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program at Mystic Seaport, Conn., is the leading expert on global marine bioinvasions and marine extinctions in modern times. He has been hailed as an "Ocean Hero" by the Smithsonian Institution. A prolific author and contributor to scientific publications, he is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Biological Invasions, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Pew Fellow for Marine Conservation, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of California, and a Duke University Conservation Scholar. In 1999, Carlton received the first Interagency Recognition Award from the federal government for his national and international work to reduce the impacts of exotic invasions in the sea. He has testified nine times, as an expert in the field of invasive species, before subcommittees of the United States Congress and was featured on the nationally broadcast PBS-National Geographic series "Strange Days on Planet Earth." Carlton recently edited and wrote "Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon." The Carlton Marine Science Center, a new 8,000-square foot teaching and research facility, will be dedicated in his honor at Mystic Seaport on September 29. He received his B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley in 1971 and his Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis in 1979. He did his postdoctoral work at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Past winners of the Bushnell Prize include Stephen Fix (English), Ralph Bradburd (economics), Robert Bell (English), Peter Murphy (English), Karen Swann (English), Carmen Whalen (history), Michael Brown (anthropology), Larry Raab (English), Susan Engel (psychology), Dennis Dickerson (history), Jim Shepard (English), and Lawrence Graver (English). Nelson Bushnell was a graduate of the Class of 1920.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu
Magnus T. Bernhardsson
Bernhardsson, associate professor of history, focuses on modern Iraqi history, U.S.-Iraqi relations, and archaeology and nationalism in the Middle East. His 2005 book "Modernity's Martyrs," originally published in Iceland and later translated into English, compares the religious and political histories of Iran and Iraq. The Society of Icelandic Authors and Scholars nominated it as the best non-fiction book of the year in 2005. He is also author of the 2005 book, "Reclaiming a Plundered Past: Archaeology and Nation Building in Modern Iraq" which explores the history of archaeology in Iraq and examines the connections between archaeology and Iraqi nationalism. He is co-editor of "U.S. Middle Eastern Historical Encounters: A Critical Survey" (forthcoming from the University of Florida Press). At Williams, he teaches Movers and Shakers in the Middle East, Encountering the Other: the Middle East and the West, and Iraq and Iran in the Twentieth Century. He came to Williams in 2003, having completed his B.A. at the University of Iceland in 1990 and his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1999. He has also taught at Hofstra University and the College of the Holy Cross.
Edward Burger
Burger, professor of mathematics, specializes in number theory, Diophantine approximation, and the geometry of numbers. He has served as associate editor of the American Mathematical Monthly, a member of the board of trustees for the Educational Advancement Foundation, a member of the editorial board of AK Peters publishing, and as mathematics advisor for the NUMB3RS in the Classroom Project by CBS-TV, Paramount Studios, and Texas Instruments. In 2007 he won the Distinguished Achievement Award for Educational Video Technology from the Association of Educational Publishers. He is the 2006 winner of the Lester R. Ford Award, presented by the Mathematical Association of America and its 2001 National Teaching Award. At Williams, Burger teaches classes ranging from Calculus II to The Art of Creating Mathematics and Diophantine Analysis. He also has taught at the University of Texas and the University of Colorado. His 2005 book "Coincidences, Chaos, and All that Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas" will soon be published in at least five other languages. His "The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking" won the 2001 Robert W. Hamilton book award. Together with Thinkwell, he crafted the first-ever virtual CD-ROM, video, interactive mathematics texts/courses over the Web. He received his B.A. from Connecticut College in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990.
James Carlton
Carlton, professor of marine sciences and director of the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program at Mystic Seaport, Conn., is the leading expert on global marine bioinvasions and marine extinctions in modern times. He has been hailed as an "Ocean Hero" by the Smithsonian Institution. A prolific author and contributor to scientific publications, he is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Biological Invasions, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Pew Fellow for Marine Conservation, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of California, and a Duke University Conservation Scholar. In 1999, Carlton received the first Interagency Recognition Award from the federal government for his national and international work to reduce the impacts of exotic invasions in the sea. He has testified nine times, as an expert in the field of invasive species, before subcommittees of the United States Congress and was featured on the nationally broadcast PBS-National Geographic series "Strange Days on Planet Earth." Carlton recently edited and wrote "Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon." The Carlton Marine Science Center, a new 8,000-square foot teaching and research facility, will be dedicated in his honor at Mystic Seaport on September 29. He received his B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley in 1971 and his Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis in 1979. He did his postdoctoral work at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Past winners of the Bushnell Prize include Stephen Fix (English), Ralph Bradburd (economics), Robert Bell (English), Peter Murphy (English), Karen Swann (English), Carmen Whalen (history), Michael Brown (anthropology), Larry Raab (English), Susan Engel (psychology), Dennis Dickerson (history), Jim Shepard (English), and Lawrence Graver (English). Nelson Bushnell was a graduate of the Class of 1920.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu
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