A World of Bits

Teaching

Beer, pizza,
and a theorem

A twenty-year accumulation

What follows is a record of awards I did not expect and still do not entirely understand, presented in the order they arrived, because the joke only works if it accumulates.

The saga

Lightning, it seems, does strike twice

  1. 2005–06

    Certainly surprised by the Rutgers Engineering Governing Council — a student group spanning all of engineering — with a Teaching Excellence Award in E&CE.

  2. 2008–09

    Almost fainted on being told about the second Teaching Excellence Award in E&CE. Lightning, it seems, sometimes DOES strike twice.

  3. 2009–10

    It struck a third time. Apparently the free beer and pizza served during every class is working well. Perhaps a formalism is in order.

  4. ∎
    Theorem

    Beer + Pizza = Academic Excellence

    Proof: three EGC teaching award wins. ∎

  5. 2011

    A stunning corollary that actually brought tears — manly ones, of course — to his eyes.

    Corollary

    Beer + Pizza + BBQ = Universal Academic Excellence

    Proof: 2011 EGC Best Teacher in Engineering Award. ∎

  6. 2012–13

    I think Rutgers ECE students might be masochists. There is really no other explanation. Unrepentant torture of tender young sophomores with an intro EE class in Fall 2012 was rewarded with another EGC Teaching Excellence Award. Or maybe they just love pizza and beer more than they hate intellectual pain.

    Seriously: thank you, Rutgers E&CE and SoE undergraduates — teetotaling, at least in my classes — for your unflagging support. It means a lot to an increasingly old man.

  7. 2016

    The Brown Center for Students of Color was somehow tricked into giving me the ONYX Society Award. I am not exactly sure what I did beyond ordinary advising and counseling, but it is deeply appreciated. Put another way: Brown undergraduates are amazing. Make a simple suggestion and POOF, it gets done better than you could have imagined. Brilliant and self-starting. What's not to love?

  8. 2022

    The IEEE Education Society was also tricked into awarding the 2022 IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award. Amazingly it came with a plaque AND a medal, and required an acceptance speech. News from Brown did a nice piece.

    I was thrilled at the award, but primarily thrilled about the reasons given: "For innovations in team-oriented signature design and inspiring women and under-represented minority students to pursue engineering."

  9. 2025

    Blindsided twice. First the Karen T. Romer Prize for Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring. Brown takes undergraduate advising VERY seriously — I have never seen anything like it. Then an ambush during the School of Engineering graduation ceremony with a teaching award from Tau Beta Pi.

Christopher Rose receiving the Tau Beta Pi award, 2025
Someone flashed this from the audience. Not my best, but it does reflect the excitement and surprise.
"Your superpower of teaching doesn't just stay in the classroom — it spreads, inspires, and lifts students all across our department and the university."

— a recent student, in a note that misted me up a little.

Courses

Things I have taught

Student work

Undergraduate projects

Mount a cheap directional antenna on a mobile platform, add ultrasonic sensors and student ingenuity, and what do you get? Pure design delight.