Dev Ashish Khaitan wins Curtis Award
Dev Ashish Khaitan '11, a third-year graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has received the 2015 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. The Curtis Award is awarded to up to five full-time graduate students at the University of Rochester, and includes an honorarium of $500. In his nomination, Mr. Khaitan was cited for contributions on all scales of undergraduate instruction, from 1-1 tutoring to teaching and managing large introductory classes, and was particularly praised for helping establish innovative teaching methods in those large classes. His teaching activities have aided particularly in the retention of students who enter UR with a desire to major in engineering or physical science, but whose math and science preparation are incomplete.
Mr. Khaitan belongs to the research group of Prof. Frank Wolfs. His thesis research involves development of digital electronics for the direct detection of dark-matter particles, and he participates with his research group in the LUX direct-dark-matter experiment in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota.