[cmath] Edward Bierstone to receive the 2008 CMS Excellence in Teaching Award

[Graham Wright]

News Release

Edward Bierstone to receive the 2008 CMS Excellence in Teaching Award

Ottawa Ontario - The Canadian Mathematical Society is pleased to award 
the 2008 CMS Excellence in Teaching Award to Professor Edward 
Bierstone of the University of Toronto's Department of Mathematics. 
The Award will be presented at the Society's 2008 Summer Meeting in 
Montreal.

The award recognizes sustained and distinguished contributions in 
teaching at the post-secondary undergraduate level at a Canadian 
institution. Nelson Education Ltd., a well-known Canadian publisher, 
is a supporter of this Award.

"Ed Bierstone is a professor who demands a lot from his students, 
inspiring the best to go on to do great things, while at the same time 
consistently scoring high in teaching evaluations and getting great 
comments", said Jeremy Quastel, the Department's Acting Chair. His 
colleagues describe as "extraordinary" the influence he has on 
generations of students who have passed through the Mathematics 
Specialist program, many of whom themselves have gone on to become 
great educators and researchers. They also praise his enthusiasm for 
teaching students at all levels in Mathematics, Engineering and other 
programs. His former students cite him as a mentor and inspirational 
role model. They praise his clear presentations to a point where one 
student decided last year to type up 60 pages of lecture notes, 
because "the exposition cannot be lost!". Students always comment on 
how well prepared he is, how his enthusiasm engenders inspiration, how 
helpful and generous he is with his time and how skillful he is in 
unlocking the textbooks mysteries around very difficult topics.

"Throughout his many years at the University of Toronto, Professor 
Edward Bierstone has asked of his students only what he asked from 
himself: to strive enthusiastically on the endless road to excellence" 
said Mike Lorimer, former Associate Chair for Undergraduates.

Professor Bierstone's unwavering commitment to education goes beyond 
his teaching. During his mandate as Undergraduate Chair, he instituted 
some major changes by introducing the specialist program "Mathematics 
and its Applications" which created opportunities for students to 
combine mathematics with concentrations in areas like teaching, 
finance or a "design-your-own" program. Each summer he supervises 
several NSERC or UTEAS (University of Toronto Excellence Award) summer 
research students. He is currently involved in Curriculum review and 
renewal at the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of 
Toronto.

Professor Bierstone's distinguished contribution to teaching has been 
recognized by the University of Toronto through the Faculty of Art and Science 
Outstanding Teaching Award in 1996.


Edward Bierstone completed his undergraduate studies at the University 
of Toronto and his graduate studies at Brandeis University where he 
obtained his Ph.D. in 1973, the same year he joined the Department of 
Mathematics at the University of Toronto. Professor Bierstone has held 
visiting professor positions and has been a distinguished invited 
lecturer in many top institutions. His research interests are in 
algebraic and analytic geometry, resolution of singularities, and 
analysis on singular spaces. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal 
Society of Canada in 1992, is a Founding Fellow of the Fields 
Institute (2002) and was the 2005 winner of the Jeffery-Williams Prize 
of the Canadian Mathematical Society.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Graham P. Wright
Executive Director
Canadian Mathematical Society
Tel: (613) 562-5702
director at cms.math.ca

or

Dr. Joseph Khoury
CMS Education Committee
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Ottawa
Tel: 613-562-5800 ext 3487
Jkhoury at uottawa.ca