The King's Connection Magazine Volume 21 Number 3//Fall 2011 | Page 7

Featured article

and the aWard goes to....

T

he King’s University College is pleased to announce that
Dr. Peter Mahaffy is the recipient of the 2011 James Flack
Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching
of Chemistry. This prestigious award is sponsored by the
Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society and
was first issued in 1951, making Dr. Mahaffy the 60th recipient
and only the second Canadian to be recognized. The recipient is
selected from an international list of nominees who have served
with special distinction as teachers of chemistry at any level,
and whose efforts have had a wide-ranging effect on chemistry
education. Above all, the recipient’s specific achievement must
be coupled with excellence in teaching.
Within the classroom, Dr. Mahaffy is known for his highly
effective and innovative teaching methods. He is committed to
helping students, educators, scientists and the general public
observe the intricate connections between science and their
everyday lives. As part of this commitment, Dr. Mahaffy was
instrumental in establishing, with colleague Dr. Brian Martin,
The King’s Centre for Visualization in Science, which they
co-direct. Through this centre, Doctors Mahaffy and Martin
and a team of King’s undergraduate student researchers
develop digital learning resources that allow learners to see and
understand concepts that are otherwise difficult to visualize
or explain. Each month, over 10,000 people from 70 countries
enhance their knowledge of science by visiting www.kcvs.ca to
access information on topics ranging from elementary science to
chemistry, physics and the science behind climate change.
This commitment to education is also evident in Dr. Mahaffy’s
co-authorship of Chemistry: Human Activity, Chemical Reactivity,
a new integrated package of an introductory university Chemistry
textbook and interactive digital learning resources, published by
Nelson Canada.
Dr. Mahaffy chairs the International Union of Pure & Applied
Chemistry’s Committee on Chemistry Education, where he
has helped lead the effort to obtain UN designation for the
International Year of Chemistry 2011. He also serves on the
global IYC-2011 management committee. His international work
has given him the privilege of interacting with and learning from
chemists and educators from around the world, observing the
imaginative solutions they bring to the many challenges facing
our planet. He hopes to serve as a catalyst for education and
understanding that enables the tools of imagination and science
to make a positive difference in our world. ?

The Award will be formally presented to Dr. Mahaffy at the
November 10 meeting of the Northeastern Section of the
American Chemical Society in Boston.

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