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 ASM’s Graduate Microbiology Teaching
Award honors exemplary teaching and recognizes an individual for distinguished teaching of microbiology and mentoring
of students at the graduate and postgraduate levels and for encouraging
students to subsequent achievement. Thomas M.
Schmidt, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,
Michigan State University (MSU), East Lasing, is honored with the 2010 ASM
Graduate Microbiology Teaching Award in recognition of his dedication to
students and for fostering an intellectually stimulating environment.
Schmidt, a Fellow of the American Academy
of Microbiology, received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, Columbus,
and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Indiana
University, Bloomington,
and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San
Diego. His primary research interests are microbial community
diversity and function.
Known for his remarkable ability to
explain very complicated material in a clear and concise manner, Schmidt is
able to inspire genuine interest in his students. He consistently encourages
students to go beyond simple observation and to be quantitative in their
research. This approach has resulted in more rigorous thinkers and better
scientists. “He continually challenges his students and postdocs to rethink,
revise, and refine their own ideas and concepts,” stated Schmidt’s nominator,
John A. Breznak, Ph.D., MSU.
Schmidt has advised more than 40
students and is a recipient of MSU’s Teacher-Scholar Awards, a highly competitive,
university-wide honor. He also co-directed the Microbial Diversity course at
the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, from 2003-2008 where he
taught over 100 graduate and postgraduate students. His co-director, William W.
Metcalf, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana,
writes, “The real essence of Schmidt as a lecturer is the enthusiasm and
excitement that he brings to his teaching and his ability to convey to the
students what it means to do real research.”
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Last Updated on Friday, 08 January 2010 08:44 |
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