Thinkwell Author Edward Burger Receives the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baylor University has named Dr. Edward Burger the 2010 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The award includes a $200,000 award, plus $25,000 for his home department at Williams College in Massachusetts, where Dr. Burger is the Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Gaudino Scholar. Dr. Burger will teach in residence at Baylor during fall 2010.

“The idea of capturing the talents of a great teacher like Dr. Burger and then sharing that talent to all students is as exciting today as it was 10 years ago.”

Thinkwell’s CEO Carl Tyson said, “The Cherry Award stands alone as the premier vehicle of national recognition for teaching excellence, and is the richest award of its type. It is truly fitting that Ed Burger has been chosen for this honor as he exemplifies the spirit of the award in so many creative ways. Ed simply is a force of nature, with a love for his discipline and a tremendous gift to communicate and share the beauty of mathematics. Countless students, colleagues, and audiences have benefited from his hard work, insight, and enthusiasm.”

Dr. Burger earned his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, having graduated summa cum laude with distinction in mathematics from Connecticut College. Prof. Burger has won many other awards, including the 2001 Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching of Mathematics, the 2004 Chauvenet Prize, and the 2006 Lester R. Ford Award, all from the Mathematical Association of America.

Dr. Burger began working with Thinkwell more than ten years ago when he authored Thinkwell’s first math course, Calculus. His work with Thinkwell was groundbreaking, based on the idea that modern multimedia could be an effective means to teach college students math. The collaboration led to five more math courses with Thinkwell, from Prealgebra to Calculus II. The courses replace traditional textbooks for thousands of students in colleges and universities across the nation.

“Communicating mathematical concepts in an engaging way via video was our challenge,” said Amy Bryant, co-founder of Thinkwell. “The idea of capturing the talents of a great teacher like Dr. Burger and then sharing that talent to all students is as exciting today as it was 10 years ago.” Student response has been overwhelming. Every day, new students discover a fresh way to learn math through Thinkwell courses and places like YouTube, where Dr. Burger’s video “Calculus in 20 Minutes” has more than 400,000 views.

About Thinkwell

Thinkwell was founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas with the mission to bring great teaching to students worldwide. Thinkwell's multimedia products in math, science, and social science integrate technology, art, and video with great teaching to produce a new path to success for students. Thinkwell's products and courses are being used by thousands of students at schools and universities across the globe. For more information, please visit Thinkwell at www.thinkwell.com.