2010: Zhe Lu and Yoda Patta

Zhe Lu receives his award  Yoda Patta receives heraward

Chemistry; materials science and engineering

Zhe Lu is a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry who has served as a teaching assistant in Principles of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry I, and Advanced Organic Chemistry. One student describes him as “the most dedicated and helpful TA I have ever had, and one of the most intelligent, most sincere people I have had the blessing to know.”  A faculty member states, “I have not encountered a student with the enthusiasm, dedication, and talent for teaching that he has exhibited during his graduate studies at MIT.”  MIT thanks Zhe Lu for his energy and commitment.

Yoda Patta is a graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering who has served three times as a TA in Microstructural Evolution in Materials. Her department head notes that her incredible work as a TA “is one of the reasons why our department’s declared majors have significantly increased over the past three years.” One student writes, “When students have questions, she continues to explain the material in different, creative ways until everyone understands.” Another said that she was “without any doubt or exaggeration, single-handedly responsible for my academic success in 3.022 my sophomore year.”  MIT thanks Yoda Patta for being someone who others describe as “simply born to communicate complicated ideas.”