2014 Albany Lecturer of the Year has great chemistry

Monday, December 1, 2014
2014 Albany Lecturer of the Year has great chemistry

Professor Al Nielson proved great chemistry can make a difference by winning the Albany Students’ Association 2014 Albany Lecturer of the Year.

It is the third year in a row that the Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences — and the College of Sciences — has taken out the top award, with Associate Professor Chris Scogings and Associate Professor Shaun Cooper winning in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

Professor Nielson, from Kumeu, is no stranger to the awards, having been nominated every year since their inception in 2005 and winning the College of Sciences award in 2007 and 2008, and this year. He says he’s delighted to finally win the coveted award.

“I’ve always wanted to win this award — it’s a wonderful reflection of what the students think — and it’s also immensely rewarding to be able to change their lives through chemistry.”

In addition to teaching chemistry classes Professor Nielson also runs chemistry clinics four times a week in the first semester, and tutorials during study week to help students grasp essential chemistry concepts to enable them to succeed.

“When I was their age, I was one of those students who liked things to be explained to me, instead of rote learning. I liked to understand – and that’s the way I like students to be taught now – to have complete understanding of the subject. There are no silly questions. And if they don’t understand, it’s my problem, because I’m not explaining it properly,” he says.

This patience and passion for sharing his love of chemistry is reflected in a small sample of the many comments students sent in, such as: “Lots of passion and so inspiring”, “Makes the topic fun and interactive while caring about student success”, “Good lecture structures; clear and helpful” and “My experience with this paper made me wish I had more chemistry papers in my degree.”

The Lecturer of the Year award is organised by the Albany Students’ Association (ASA) and is based on nominations from students across the year. ASA Advocacy coordinator Penny Lyall says this year they received the highest number of nominations in the awards’ 10-year history.

“We received 167 nominations this year, and it goes to show that exceptional teaching is recognised by students here at Albany,” she says. The inclusion of the Advocacy Accolades also recognises additional effort by lecturers that has been quietly noticed across campus.

ASA President Andre Budel says the awards not only celebrate the winners, but recognise and reward each lecturer nominated. “It cannot be overestimated, the very important thing that lecturers do – imparting information and inspiring students.”

Ms Lyall says she has received wonderful comments from former students who credit Professor Nielson with changing their lives.

“I met one woman at the beach who had returned from overseas that morning, having spent a number of extremely successful years in the US. She credited her career in nutrition to the talented and committed chemistry lecturer she had at Albany. That lecturer was Al Nielson. He’s had so many students that have been able to raise their grades and pursue their dreams because of his teaching.”

Professor Nielson says he is lucky to be surrounded by fellow scientists who are passionate about sharing their knowledge and inspiring students to do well in their studies.

“We have a wonderful team of lecturers in chemistry who love sharing their knowledge, and we’ve had students that have been so inspired after doing the initial chemistry class that they want to carry on and do more. We’ve got a relatively new chemistry degree here at Albany that we’re slowly building up, so the numbers are small and students get that essential contact time with their lecturers. We get to know the students well, and find out how they need to be supported. It’s something that they won’t get in a bigger university.”

The awards were supported by Ti Point wines, who supplied the wine for the event, and Bennetts Bookshop, who supplied the authentic quill and ink set awarded to the winner.

2014 Albany Lecturer of the Year – Professor Al Nielson

College Winners
College of Sciences: Professor Al Nielson
College of Health: Warrick Wood
New Zealand School of Music: Pete France
Massey Business School: Mark Werman
College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Graham Jackson

Advocacy Accolades
The Reinga Award – Dr Frederick Lam
The Natural Treasure Award – Dr Marie-Anne Thelen
The Lotsa Soul Award – Dr Judy Thomas
The Number 8 Wire Award – Associate Professor Johan Potgieter
The Phar Lap Award – Dr Graeme MacRae
The Layered Learning Award – Dr Marilou Raduban
The Polish and Buff Award – Dr David Parsons
The Sure to Rise Award – Associate Professor Margaret Brunton
The Kate Sheppard Award – Dr Shirley Julich
The Buzzy Bee Award – Graham Jackson

ENDS

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