Kenan Awards for Teaching Excellence

New York City Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence

Elmer-Rico Mojica, PhD

Associate Professor, Chemistry and Physical Sciences

Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

Professor Elmer-Rico E. Mojica joined Pace in 2011 and teaches general chemistry, analytical chemistry, and instrumental analysis courses. With a teaching career that started in 1998, he successfully incorporates popular media in teaching chemistry—dubbed as “CHEMTERTAINMENT”—which adds excitement to the challenging courses he teaches.

As a researcher, Professor Mojica specializes in analytical chemistry, having worked on various instrumental techniques (chromatography, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry), analyzing chemicals of interest to biochemistry, nutrition, food science, and environmental science. He promotes undergraduate research with a 75-member research group called Mojica Research Group, also known as T.E.A.M. E.L.M.E.R or Together Everyone Achieves More and Every Lab Member Experience Research. Team E.L.M.E.R. is active in presenting at scientific conferences, and obtaining grants and awards, of which 36 have publications in peer-reviewed journals. He successfully incorporates undergraduate research components in several of his courses.

Professor Mojica is also the Program Director of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), a New York state-funded grant that provides academic enrichment and research experience in STEM content areas for low income and underrepresented minority students.

Zhan Zhang, PhD

Assistant Professor, Information Technology

Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems

Professor Zhang’s research spans human-computer interaction and healthcare informatics. Since joining Pace in the fall of 2017, he has been the recipient of one million dollars in research grants from federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

In 2023, Professor Zhang received the NSF CAREER award, the most prestigious award for junior faculty across the US from a federal agency. Professor Zhang has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses on the New York City and Pleasantville campuses. He integrates his research into teaching while creating an interdisciplinary curriculum to foster collaboration among students from different disciplines. He uses novel strategies (e.g., working with non-profit organizations) to provide experiential learning opportunities for his students.

Professor Zhang is committed to the creation of interdisciplinary programs as well as new courses to remain competitive with the latest industry trends and demands. This includes his contributions in launching two graduate programs, the MS in Human-Centered Design and the MS in Health Informatics. As an educator, Professor Zhang is committed to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in conducting research through honors theses, master’s and PhD dissertation projects, as well as independent studies. He has advised a diverse body of students, many of whom are first-generation, female, and minority students.