GOLDEN, Colo. , Dec. 19, 2006 – Longtime Colorado School of Mines professor David K. Matlock has been awarded the prestigious Board of Trustees Outstanding Faculty Award.
The award is designed to recognize the special contributions of a faculty member who has been at Mines for a minimum of three years and made a significant positive impact on student learning with special emphasis on teaching outside the classroom. It is not intended to be given each year and consists of a plaque, a check for $1,000 and travel support to a national engineering conference for $1,000.
The past recipients of the award are Dr. Robert Baldwin, emeritus professor of chemical engineering in 2001; Dr. Nigel Middleton, vice president of academic affairs in 2000 and Dr. Samuel Romberger, a professor in the geology and geological engineering department in 1998.
Dr. Matlock, ARMCO Foundation Fogarty Professor of Metallurgical Engineering and director of the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center , joined the Mines faculty in 1972 as a member of the physical and mechanical metallurgy program.
In his nomination letter, Dr. John Moore, Trustees Professor and Metallurgical and Materials Engineering department head, noted Dr. Matlock's dedication to his students and referred to him as an “exceptional teacher.”
“His teaching performance has been exemplary for many years, as reflected by his consistently outstanding student evaluations and the letters of support volunteered by several of his current and former students and teaching assistants,” Dr. Moore said. “He spends many hours tutoring students in his office on the more complex concepts of his courses.”
Dr. David Olson, John H. Moore Distinguished Professor of Metallurgy, referred to Dr. Matlock not only as a colleague but as a trusted friend.
“His courses are of the highest standard and his lectures are outstanding; having a seat in his class is a treasured experience. The Colorado School of Mines has received his full energy, wisdom, creativity and leadership,” Dr. Olson said.
Former Mines student Ruthie Coors Swartzlander, a manufacturing manager at CoorsTek, said a mechanical metallurgy class taught by Dr. Matlock stands out as a superior course taken during her undergraduate education.
“I will never forget the late nights my classmates and I spent in Hill Hall working on laboratory write-ups until all hours of the night, nor will I forget Professor Matlock going home for dinner and then coming back so that he was available in his office for questions through the night.”
Founded in 1874, Colorado School of Mines was established to serve the needs of the local mining industry. Today, the School has an international reputation for excellence in both engineering education and the applied sciences with special expertise in the development and stewardship of the Earth's resources. For more information about Colorado School of Mines, visit www.mines.edu .
-MINES-
Contact: Karen Gilbert, 303-273-3541
Karen.Gilbert@is.mines.edu
Send comments & questions about this content to: pr@mines.edu
This Page Last Modified: