Comments on U.S. Professor of the Year Announcement

CU President Elizabeth Hoffman
Carl Wieman's mantra has always been ‘students come first,' and his winning this prestigious award leaves no doubt that he holds true to that ideal. His ability to create synergy among his research, his passion for excellence and his vision of education makes him one of the university's greatest assets and truly deserving of this recognition. Carl's achievements as both a researcher and a teacher have set a standard of excellence at CU, and we are incredibly proud to count him among our talented and distinguished faculty.

CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard L. Byyny
As chancellor of the CU-Boulder campus, I was delighted to learn of Carl Wieman's selection as the 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year, but I was not surprised. Although Carl is widely known for his breakthrough discovery of the Bose-Einstein condensate and for the Nobel Prize in physics he won later, at CU-Boulder Carl also is known as one of the best teachers of both undergraduate and graduate students. Carl has focused his exceptional intellect not only on improving science education on campus but in the public schools as well. And at CU-Boulder we know that when Carl focuses his efforts on something, good things happen. We are honored that Carl is a member of the CU-Boulder faculty and we congratulate him on once again demonstrating to his peers throughout the nation that his work is of the highest caliber. On behalf of the Boulder campus, I congratulate Carl and thank him for his continued pursuit of excellence in all that he does.

CU-Boulder Provost Phil DiStefano
Carl Wieman has brought great honor and prestige to the Boulder campus through his remarkable discovery of the Bose-Einstein condensate in 1995, later winning the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics, and for countless other major international awards and honors throughout the years. Now, as the recipient of the 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year award, Carl continues to amaze his colleagues at CU-Boulder with his tireless pursuit of the highest level of work and achievement, whether in the research laboratory or teaching undergraduate nonscience students. Carl Wieman epitomizes the very best qualities in teaching and scholarship, and once again we thank him for his tremendous contributions to the CU-Boulder campus.

John Cumalat, professor and chair, CU-Boulder department of physics
The Department of Physics is very excited to learn of Carl Wieman being named the CASE and Carnegie Foundation U.S. Professor of the year. It is a well-deserved honor as Carl has worked diligently to address the evidence that shows that the traditional science teaching approach needs to be changed. To that end Carl has adopted interactive and active learning methods and has developed Web-based examples. Finally, Carl has treated teaching like research; anecdotal evidence is not enough. We believe Carl's work will lead to a transformation in the way we will teach science to the next generation of students.

John Lippincott, president, Council for Advancement and Support of Education
Carl Wieman's success as a Nobel Prize-winning scientist and as an exceptional teacher underscores the connection between scholarship and teaching. The professors who are best at reaching students and making their subjects not just accessible, but also intriguing, are often the leaders in uncovering new knowledge in their disciplines. As a Nobel laureate, one might expect that Dr. Wieman would be more engaged with the latest research findings in physics than with undergraduate students. Yet, he is equally committed to both, and his students reap the rewards of his expertise and reputation as one of the world's leading researchers, especially because many have the opportunity to work as research assistants in his lab. What also distinguishes Dr. Wieman is that he is not interested merely in the quality of his own teaching; he sees his role as helping to transform the way science is taught throughout the University of Colorado campus.