Early Career Teaching Award

Gail Zasowski, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has been awarded an Early Career Teaching Award from the University of Utah. This is considered the highest teaching award for pre-tenured faculty and recognizes significant contributions to teaching at the university through new and innovative methods. The University Teaching Committee evaluates nominees based on a teaching portfolio, a curriculum vitae, letters of support, and student evaluations. This year the committee selected six early-career faculty from across campus for the award, including Zasowski.

“I am honored and grateful to the U for this recognition,” said Zasowski. “The U’s educational mission is being fulfilled every day in so many enthusiastic, impactful, and creative ways, and it’s very exciting (and fun!) for me to be a part of that.”

David Kieda, Dean of the Graduate School, Distinguished Professor of Physics & Astronomy, and Co-Director, Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, nominated Zasowski for the award. Anil Seth, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, and Tobin Wainer, Research Assistant and Associate Instructor in the department, were among those who wrote letters of support.

Seth described Zasowski’s excellence in teaching and mentoring students, particularly within her research group. “Gail’s approach to mentoring within her research group is very student-focused. She engages her students not just about the science they are doing but also by encouraging them to develop non-research professional skills from networking to writing. She regularly checks in with students about their career goals and is flexible in her assignment of student projects to accommodate their interests.” Wainer noted her approach to teaching STEM classes. “Through my work with Dr. Zasowski, I have come to learn that not only is she a brilliant scientist but she is also a model for how professors should approach teaching STEM classes. What sets Dr. Zasowski apart is her compassion for people in the department, her dedication to being the best professor she can be, and her willingness to expend exuberant effort to help others.”

Zasowski, who joined the university in 2017, is an astronomer whose research focuses on understanding how galaxies produce and redistribute the heavy elements that shape the universe and enable life in it. She has taught classes ranging from introductory astronomy up through graduate-level courses on stars