Williams College Professor Receives Regional Teaching Award
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Susan R. Loepp, professor of mathematics at Williams College, has been awarded a regional teaching award from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The Northeastern Section Teaching Award is given out every year to an "extraordinarily successful" professor who gets students excited about math.
At Williams since 1996, Loepp teaches Applied Abstract Algebra, Algebraic Error-Correcting Codes, and Galois Theory and Modules. She is an authority on commutative algebra. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Algebra and the Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra, among others.
In 2000, she and physics professor Bill Wootters received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a course on using abstract algebra and quantum physics to protect information. They are the authors of the subsequent textbook "Protecting Information: From Classical Error Correction to Quantum Cryptography."
Teaching awards are not new to Loepp. At Williams, she received the 2001 Faculty of the Year Award, which is presented by the student body. When she was in graduate school, she was recognized four times for excellence in teaching. She is a contender for the MAA’s national Haimo Award.
Loepp received her B.A. and B.S. from Bethel College in Kansas, and her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. She received the 2007 Young Alumnus Award from Bethel. Before coming to Williams, she taught at the University of Nebraska.
Three other Williams professors— Frank Morgan, Colin Adams, and Ed Burger— have won previous Northeastern Section Teaching Awards.
The MAA is the largest professional society that focuses on undergraduate mathematics education. Its mission is to advance the mathematical sciences, especially at the collegiate level. The MAA's Northeastern Section includes the six New England states and four Canadian provinces.
