Californian professor Neil Garg Grabs 2018 Prestigious Robert foster cherry award for great teaching

California: As California professor of the year of 2018 Neil Garg receipt the most honored award for great teaching with Robert Foster Cherry Award which is given once in every two years was announced by Baylor University. However, this Cherry awards are for outstanding professors who extraordinary, inspiring teachers with a positive, long-lasting effect on students and a record of distinguished scholarship. Robert Foster Cherry, who enrolled in the Baylor Law School in 1932, made a bequest in his estate to establish the Cherry Award program to recognize outstanding teachers throughout the United States and bring them in contact with Baylor University students. The first Robert Foster Cherry Award was made in 1991.

Michael W.Thompson, chair of the award selection committee and associate dean for undergraduate programs in Baylor’s School of Engineering and computer Science said “Neil Garg emerged from the strong field of nominees because of his record of transformational teaching at UCLA, “The committee was impressed with his ability to combine traditional teaching methods with innovations, such as his widely viewed BACON modules, to inspire students to learn about the difficult subject of organic chemistry while simultaneously developing student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Neil, a professor of chemistry who has been on faculty at UCLA since 2007, said that while he was notified of the award weeks ago, it’s just starting to sink in. As Neil responded to award said “Competing for the Cherry Award at Baylor University was one of the most fun — and, to be honest, stressful — experiences of my career, “I was greatly honored to be named a finalist in the company of two exceptional professors, Clinton Longenecker and Heidi Elmendorf, and am still rather shocked and humbled by the ultimate outcome of the competition. I would like to express my deep gratitude and admiration to Baylor University, whose efforts to strengthen undergraduate education is truly extraordinary. As honored as I am to receive the prestigious Cherry Award, I believe the award is really a tribute to the thousands of brilliant UCLA students I have taught over the years.” Neil, Longenecker and Elmendorf spent several days at Baylor, teaching classes and giving a public lecture, interacting with students and being interviewed by the award selection committee

Dean from the division of physical Science in the UCLA college and professor of chemistry and biochemistry said that Neil’s studenthave said for years about being best professor it won’t come anyone as surprise about his winning country’s most important award for outstanding university teaching as well known among the student community while he being extremely deserving of this award, as also world class researcher.  As Neil himself has said, never underestimate the importance of the way a subject is taught and the importance of an encouraging teacher.”

Neil Garg will be awarded a $250,000 prize and the chemistry and biochemistry department at UCLA will receive $35,000 from Baylor University. The department will put the money toward the creation of an Education Innovation Fund. However he has been getting large number of UCLA students to love organic chemistry for years and has won awards for his teaching and research including UCLA’s EBY award for Art of Teaching and BruinWalk.com’s professor of the year. Neil’s online teaching known it BACON Biology and Chemistry Online notes which he made it available to professor and educators worldwide. Nearly 28,000 students at more than 80 colleges and universities have used or are currently using BACON, including students at UC Berkeley, Caltech, Johns Hopkins, Baylor University, Duke University, Emory University, and universities in China, Australia, France, Israel, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Garg and his two daughters, Elaina, 10, and Kaylie, 6, published the Organic Coloring Book in 2017 to reach children to make them learn wonders of organic chemistry sourced from UCLA website.

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