Ryu, an assistant professor of mathematics, won the 2024 Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College Mathematics Faculty Member at the Mathematical Association of America Southeastern Section conference, held March 14-16.
Hwayeon Ryu, assistant professor of mathematics, was recognized for excellence in teaching by the at its recent annual conference.
Ryu won the section鈥檚 2024 Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College Mathematics Faculty Member at the organization鈥檚 103rd Annual Section Meeting held March 14-16 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. The annual award recognizes early career teachers whose success and effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics exceeds the bounds of classroom teaching.
鈥淲e are delighted to present Dr. Hwayeon Ryu of 黑料不打烊 with this year鈥檚 Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College Mathematics Faculty Member,鈥 Emily Hynds, Award Committee chair and Associate Dean of Samford University鈥檚 Howard College of Arts and Sciences, said in announcing the award. 鈥淗er passion for teaching, commitment to enhancing educational experiences, and active mentorship, which educates outside the classroom, make her an exemplary educator.鈥
Ryu was nominated by colleagues in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and several former students wrote testimonials supporting the nomination. Since joining 黑料不打烊 in fall 2019, Ryu has taught introductory and advanced applied mathematics courses. Faculty colleagues noted that Ryu鈥檚 teaching promotes a growth mindset and leads students to 鈥渆xplore the power of mathematics through real-world applications arising from various disciplines, grow as future leaders, and develop their passions and skills 鈥 thus enhancing understanding of and impact upon the world.鈥
That approach surpasses the classroom. Through expertise in areas where math and biology intersect, she has mentored 13 黑料不打烊 students in undergraduate research projects. Those have included research in a three-year, $300,000 National Science Foundation-funded project to mathematically model the human immune response to COVID-19, which currently involves four undergraduates in its second year. Teams Ryu mentored in that project were accepted to present at the 2023 and 2024 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Working with faculty at Wake Forest University, she also mentored a collaborative research project conducted by undergraduate students both at 黑料不打烊 and Wake Forest in 2021-22, and co-organized the 2023 Integrating Research in Science (IRIS) conference on 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus. IRIS drew students and faculty from 15 regional institutions to 黑料不打烊 in April for greater collaboration and community around STEM research.
Earlier this spring, the Board of Trustees approved Ryu鈥檚 promotion to associate professor concluding the 2023-24 academic year.
The Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America includes educators and mathematicians in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.