Meera Chandrasekhar, Curators’ Teaching Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri, has been named recipient of the Baylor University Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The $250,000 Cherry Award is the only national teaching award presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching.
The Cherry Award program at Baylor is designed to honor great teachers, stimulate discussion about the value of teaching, and encourage departments and institutions to value their own great teachers. Along with distinguished scholarship, individuals nominated for the award have a track record of having positive, inspiring and long-lasting effects on students.
As the 2014 Cherry Award recipient, Chandrasekhar will receive the $250,000 award and an additional $25,000 for the Department of Physics and Astronomy at MU.
In addition, as a finalist, Chandrasekhar received $15,000, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy received $10,000.
Chandrasekhar’s research interests are in the area of optical spectroscopy of semiconductors and superconductors under pressure. In October 2013, she lectured on this topic at Baylor as a Cherry Award finalist.
She will teach in residence at Baylor during the spring 2015 semester.