America
Indian-American professor wins award for excellence in teaching
By
By Arun KumarWashington, May 13
An Indian-American
professor of chemistry from Tamil Nadu has won the University of North
Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr.
Sivanadane (Siva) Mandjiny was one of the 17 winners of the annual
awards that serve to underscore the importance of teaching. It also
carries a commemorative bronze medallion and a $12,500 cash prize.
Announcing
the award, UNC Pembroke Chancellor Kyle R. Carter praised Mandjiny's
dedication to teaching and mentoring students. "In the nearly two
decades Siva has taught at UNC Pembroke, he has developed a reputation
for his enthusiasm in the classroom, dedication to mentoring, unfailing
presence on campus, and commitment to student success," he said.
"This award is a fitting acknowledgement of all that he brings to the student experience at UNC Pembroke."
Mandjiny
came to UNC Pembroke from France where he obtained his PhD and was
doing post-doctoral research, according to a university announcement.
A
native of Tamil Nadu, India, he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical
engineering from the University of Madras and a master's degree in
biochemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.
He
earned a second master's degree in chemical engineering from the
University of Toronto and a PhD from the Université de Technologie de
Compiègne in France.
Mandjiny studied in three languages, Tamil,
English and French, and he taught himself Hindi. Hard work,
determination and a strong wife fueled his educational achievements.
"I sat for three weeks in my PhD programme with 85 students, and I could not even say 'bonjour,'" he said.
"My wife grew up in France; she was a great help. I wanted to quit, but she would not let me, so I made up my mind."
Mandjiny
joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Physics in 1996
as a teaching associate and earned tenure in 2006. He became department
chair in 2011 and continues in that role today.
Mandjiny finished
his doctorate in just three years as the top student in the programme.
As a doctoral candidate, he had three papers published by international
journals, and defended his dissertation in French.
Recipient of
three Excellence in Teaching Awards from the Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee, Mandjiny won the university's Outstanding Teaching Award in
2006.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])