Surprise Patrol delivers 3 more $5K Kemper Awards today; 10 more to go

LAWRENCE -- KU professors Maggie Childs, Philip Baringer and Rodolfo Torres each were surprised today with a $5,000 Kemper Award for excellence in teaching and advising.

Seven other KU professors received Kemper Awards Thursday, the first day of classes. In all, 20 professors will be honored and $100,000 will be distributed with Kemper Awards by early September this year.

The Surprise Patrol includes Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David Shulenburger; Commerce Bank representative Mark Gonzales, community bank president in Lawrence; and Dale Seuferling, president of the KU Endowment Association.

The W.T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. Now in the eighth year of a 10-year program, the awards were established by a $500,000 fund from the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, and $500,000 in matching funds from the KU Endowment Association.

Biographies of today's winners:

Philip Baringer, physics and astronomy

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1985 from Indiana University at Bloomington, Professor Philip Baringer joined the KU faculty in 1988. Since then, he has worked to increase interest and understanding of physics at KU and in the community. Baringer is the regional director for Kansas QuarkNet, a program funded by the National Science Foundation. The program shows high school physics teachers how to explain particle physics.

Baringer also works to improve scientific awareness outside the classroom. Under his direction, the Society of Physics Students holds demonstrations for school-age children. According to a colleague, "Physics majors [learn] how to communicate with a non-technical population by wowing them with demonstrations of physics magic such as a luminescent burning pickle." The SPS students who participate commonly list this as their most memorable KU experience.

Maggie Childs, East Asian languages and cultures

Professor Maggie Childs began her career at KU in 1987, just four years after earning her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. As a professor of Japanese, she has attracted more students to the foreign language. Childs also has served as program director for a study abroad program in Hiratsuka, Japan, for four years. One student said, "She is the kind of teacher one wants to impress."

Childs stresses the need to understand the cultural differences as well as the language. She teaches several Japanese literature classes. She also has published a book, "Rethinking Sorrow: Revelatory Tales of Late Medieval Japan." Childs says she challenges her students but she adjusts the pace according to each student's situation. A colleague said, "Maggie truly believes in the potential of her students and works tirelessly to help them realize that potential."

Rodolfo Torres, mathematics

Rodolfo Torres joined the KU faculty in 1996 as a professor of mathematics. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He recently became principal investigator for a research grant awarded by the National Science Foundation. Torres also serves as a reviewer for the American Mathematical Society and various mathematical journals.

In his teaching and advising statement, Torres stresses the importance of being able to explain difficult concepts and apply them to other sciences. As chair of the Lower Division Undergraduate Studies Committee at KU, he revised the curriculum for calculus courses to include more interdisciplinary work. He says, "In order to contribute effectively to our intellectual and technological progress, we have to educate the society so it can understand, appreciate and take advantage of major scientific accomplishments."

[Biographies written by Jamie Rentfro]

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