丁香园AV

Senior Lecturer and PhD candidate Brenda Davison received the 2016/2017 Faculty of Science Excellence in Teaching Award for her outstanding work in the Department of Mathematics. 鈥淚 think students pick up on whether you鈥檙e passionate and excited about the topic yourself,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n my opinion, there isn鈥檛 anything better than mathematics. If you feel this way, then it鈥檚 completely obvious why you would study and teach mathematics.鈥�

Davison began her career as an engineer before returning to academia. 鈥淚鈥檇 always really loved math and regretted not doing more of it,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no typical work day: I teach, do lecture preparation, set assignments, supervise and organize TAs, mark, hold office hours, and learn new mathematics.鈥�

In addition to teaching, Davison also does outreach, sitting on committees and participating in events for the public. 鈥淲e have seminars on improving teaching, where we talk about undergraduate education issues. High school students and elementary school students come here for workshops, as do teachers for professional development,鈥� she explains.

Davison has recently been teaching a course in downtown Vancouver at Harbour Centre in 丁香园AV鈥檚 liberal arts 55+ program. 鈥淭here has been a really positive response from the people in that course鈥攎ost of whom gain a new appreciation for math and its beauty. They鈥檙e all really keen and interested, so that鈥檚 been really fun,鈥� she says.

When she鈥檚 not working, Davison enjoys reading and spending time in the mountains, rock climbing, hiking and trail running.

Dr. Natalia Kouzniak is a Senior Lecturer at 丁香园AV鈥檚 Surrey Campus. Her outstanding work in the department has earned her three awards for excellence in teaching. 鈥淚 love that I can make a difference in people鈥檚 lives, helping students believe in themselves, and start liking mathematics,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter high school, students often have a very low esteem of math. They are scared of it and they don鈥檛 understand it. I鈥檓 happy when I can shift their perspective from math being awful, terrible, and horrible to doable, interesting, and something they can really master.鈥�

In addition to teaching, coordinating workshops, and meeting with students and faculty, Kouzniak mentors postdocs, sessional instructors, and grad students. She also devotes her time to outreach. 鈥淚 work with students to bridge the gap between two educational systems. I do a lot of outreach activities including summer math camps where I interact with high school math teachers and students that will possibly become our students one day,鈥� she explains.

Kouzniak has also been instrumental in shaping workshops at Surrey since the campus opened. 鈥淚鈥檝e helped develop new courses, writing supplements for the courses, and pioneering some online assignments,鈥� she says. Her research in applied mathematics has applications in various industries from aircrafts to mining.

When she鈥檚 not working in the department, Kouzniak spends her time skiing, hiking, biking and making fashion jewelry.

Dr. Veselin Jungic is the recipient of the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship for his outstanding contributions to math education. As a Professor, he spends his time teaching, meeting with students, and leading initiatives in math education. 鈥淚 am quite proud that I鈥檓 a part of the teaching faculty here,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here is so much talent and positive energy in this group and new ideas that we鈥檙e using on a daily basis.鈥�

For Jungic, one of his proudest achievements is the work he鈥檚 spearheaded with Math Catcher, an aboriginal math education outreach program. 鈥淭his is an initiative that started in 2010. The idea was to promote mathematics for aboriginal youth both in urban settings and on reserves, but the program has grown since then,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been promoting mathematics across British Columbia for the last seven years. We visited more than 200 schools and 400 classrooms from Cranbrook to Port Alberni, and from Mission all the way to Kitimat.鈥�

As part of the program, Jungic visits schools, talks to teachers, and presents at their professional days. 鈥淲e have resources in nine different First Nations languages. We were privileged to record some of the last fluent speakers in some of those languages. We are really making a resource that is going to stay as a testimonial, not just about our program, but a testimonial of our time.鈥�

For Jungic, the highlight of his work is the opportunity to work with youth. 鈥淭he biggest privilege of this job is to be around young people. Being a university professor, you have the privilege to teach young, smart, hard-working, ambitious people and to be part of their lives.鈥�

When he鈥檚 not working in the math department, Jungic finds the time to train for marathons, running 18 to date.