Visit for more information and to complete the nomination form. The nomination deadline is Monday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m.

The award is open to all educators who have classroom teaching responsibilities, including faculty, instructors and contract instructors. It is presented to individuals who have displayed excellence in teaching and made a significant impact on the lives of their students by acting as a positive role model.

Photo by Mike Pinder

By Emily Cook, TLS Staff Writer

If you鈥檙e not a fan of chemistry yet, Professor Maria DeRosa is here to change that.

DeRosa helps her students develop an understanding not only of fundamental material, but the broader impact chemistry has in the world.

鈥淚 love chemistry, so I want to show how these concepts are important to them in their everyday lives,鈥� she says.

DeRosa has been teaching in 杏吧原创鈥檚 chemistry department for 10 years. This year she was recognized with a Capital Educators鈥� Award for her ability to connect classroom learning to the real world.

DeRosa says she wants to help everyone in her classes learn to appreciate or even love chemistry, but negative stereotypes about the subject can make this hard.

鈥淢y first goal is to really break down those initial barriers that many people have when they think about chemistry,鈥� she says.

DeRosa says she instills an appreciation for chemistry in her students by asking them to find applications of it in the media. She says this activity increases student engagement in her classes because they see why it matters.

鈥淲e know literacy鈥檚 important, but what about science literacy? I think everyone should have a basic understanding of chemistry,鈥� she says.

DeRosa says she wants to focus now on applying these concepts to larger classrooms. She says she鈥檚 considering a flipped classroom, where class time is for working through problems and lectures happen at home.

鈥淚鈥檓 always trying to investigate how we do a better job in teaching these large groups,鈥� DeRosa says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to be doing for the next few years, really focusing on that.鈥�

DeRosa says she鈥檚 also always been an early adopter of new software to engage students, including online office hours, and she incorporates her own research whenever she can into her classes to teach students the role research plays in moving science forward. All these teaching methods work towards her ultimate goal, she says, to extend students鈥� views of chemistry to the real world.

鈥淢y biggest goal, if they don鈥檛 love chemistry at the end, is at least they respect and appreciate chemistry.鈥�

The award is open to all educators who have classroom teaching responsibilities, including faculty, instructors and contract instructors. It is presented to individuals who have displayed excellence in teaching and made a significant impact on the lives of their students by acting as a positive role model.

Kevin Cheung, Richard Taylor, Claudia Buttera and Alexis Luko at the 2014 EduGala ceremony.

杏吧原创 University is proud to announce that three of its outstanding educators have been honoured with 2014 Capital Educators鈥� Awards.

Claudia Buttera (Biology), Dan Patterson (Geography and Environmental Studies) and Kevin Cheung (Mathematics and Statistics) were among 18 winners who were celebrated at the 2014 EduGala ceremony on Thursday, May 22 at Algonquin College.

The awards recognize outstanding educators鈥� achievements and celebrate public education in the community across the entire spectrum, from elementary to post-secondary.

The winners were selected from a pool of 65 finalists, six of which were from 杏吧原创, including Alexis Luko (Studies in Art and Culture), Richard Taylor (English Language and Literature) and Shelagh McCartney (Architecture and Urbanism).

A common theme across the 杏吧原创 nominations was each educator鈥檚 passion for teaching.

Claudia Buttera

One student who nominated Buttera noted her ability to motivate students to keep learning even after they leave the classroom.

鈥淭o Claudia, education is not about subject matter; rather it is about the empowerment of students. She creates a passion and excitement in students and can light a spark in an individual that can be harnessed for years to come.鈥�

Dan Patterson

Patterson was also recognized for his student-centred teaching. One of his nominators emphasized how his expertise, passion and drive 鈥渃ombine in an infectious manner to inspire students to become completely engaged in the subject matter, to reach beyond their comfort zones, to embrace a strong and focused work ethic and to achieve significant learning outcomes that have a very practical relevance in their career development.鈥�

Kevin Cheung

Cheung鈥檚 caring and supportive personality, along with his use of technology in the classroom, earned him the award. One innovative way that he has incorporated technology in his teaching is through his YouTube聽channel 鈥淢athApptician,鈥� where he creates videos that explain concepts and walk students through examples of some of the math behind apps.

For more information on the awards and this year鈥檚 winners, visit .

On the wall hang several plaques. Some are in recognition of research, some congratulate his years in professional service, and others, including a Capital Educators鈥� Award and a Graduate Mentorship Award, focus on teaching excellence.

鈥淚 like history,鈥� says Nicolas Papadopoulos from his office at 杏吧原创鈥檚 Sprott School of Business, where evidence of his life鈥檚 work hangs.

He points to one frame, commemorating his first published piece in 1976. The man who signed it then is the father of a professor who works five doors down from Papadopoulos at 杏吧原创. After teaching international marketing and business for 39 years, he says there aren鈥檛 many in his field that he doesn鈥檛 know personally.

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 scary,鈥� he says with a laugh. But he鈥檚 most proud of his continued connection with students. He鈥檚 now friends with former students from every year he has ever taught.

Originally from Greece, Papadopoulos could easily have stayed in the private sector. He worked at Esso, 3M and Procter & Gamble until he was 28. But he always dreamed of being an academic and had once confided this to a colleague while pursuing an MBA. Then one night, while celebrating his wedding anniversary and a recent promotion with friends, the phone rang. It was his former MBA colleague, who now worked at a university in Canada.

鈥淲e have a position, do you want to come?鈥� he remembers that colleague asking. He never looked back.

鈥淟ife is full of opportunities and oftentimes the right one comes along,” Papadopoulos says.

Now, he has almost 300 publications from research in 76 countries. Many of his studies are collaborative.

鈥淵ou learn to work with others,鈥� he says, adding he鈥檚 been playfully dubbed Mr. Synergy. As impressive as his prolific work is, it鈥檚 even more remarkable that more than 40 per cent of the papers are co-authored by people he has taught.

鈥淚鈥檝e had fantastic students,鈥� he says, adding research is a key driver behind good teaching. 鈥淭he two go hand in hand.鈥�

The basics of his teaching approach haven鈥檛 changed over the years: a high level of interaction with students aiming to help them become the best they can be.

鈥淭he key is to be yourself (and) to be passionate and to really, really, really like what you do.鈥� That鈥檚 the case with his love of international marketing. 鈥淚f you live and breathe it, it comes across.鈥�

He says students respond when a person teaches with knowledge, authority and confidence. And he tries to bring excitement and avoid the typical dry lecture.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 hesitate to show pictures, show ads or even sing a song,鈥� Papadopoulos admits. He says the best teachers, not unlike advertisers, are always searching for the 鈥淎-ha! experience.鈥�

鈥淎s you say something you see the students’ eyes suddenly light up. They鈥檙e having this epiphany,鈥� Papadopoulos says. 鈥淭he minute you do that 鈥� if you can implant that idea 鈥� and you see this excitement… then you say, 鈥楪eez, I鈥檝e accomplished something.鈥欌��

The award is open to all educators who have classroom teaching responsibilities, including faculty, instructors and contract instructors. It is presented to individuals who have displayed excellence in teaching and made a significant impact on the lives of their students by acting as a positive role model.

For more information and to complete the nomination form, please visit .

Troy Anderson (Sprott School of Business), Craig Bennell (Department of Psychology), Steven Cooke (Department of Biology), Carter Elwood (Department of History), Mariana Esponda (Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism) and Daphne Uras (Centre for Initiatives in Education) were named among 62 finalists from across the city.

The Capital Educators鈥� Awards recognize individuals who have displayed excellence in teaching and made a significant impact on the lives of their students by acting as a positive role model. A community panel of judges will select 16 award recipients.

The 2013 award winners will be announced on May 23 at the 12th annual EduGala at Algonquin College.

Get more information on the Capital Educators’ Awards .