Vitaliy Rayz, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, received the Willis A. Tacker Prize for Outstanding Teaching in Biomedical Engineering.

The Tacker Prize is based on student evaluations, student comments, teaching impact, and observations of other faculty and staff. Rayz won for his extraordinary efforts teaching BME 304, Biotransport Fundamentals, and for raising the standard of teaching with his innovation, enthusiasm, and effectiveness.

Rayz received outstanding scores from students who took the course. One student reported: “I loved this course. I can see applications in many areas in BME and think that Dr. Rayz really knows what he is doing. He is always 100% prepared for lecture and answers our questions very well.” Another student wrote: “I really enjoyed this course! It was challenging but well-structured and interesting.”  A third student stated that the course was “one of my favorite courses taken in the BME department.” 

Faculty colleagues also have praised his efforts. A faculty colleague said that “Vitaliy’s impact in teaching BME 304 Transport Fundamentals has had a marked effect on the students’ ability to put the underlying theories of heat, mass, and fluid transport into practice. The students’ comfort with the material is significant. It is clear that he has not only taught the basics, but really focused on students learning the underlying concepts such that they have a better intuitive understanding of the processes that drive transport. With Vitaliy’s deft approach to teaching this material, the students come out of his class ready to design and execute hands on experiments, and develop computational models that inform the experiments and extend the solutions to complex real-world problems.”

Rayz was presented with the Tacker Prize during a surprise ceremony held at the beginning of one of his courses on Halloween. He was presented the award by David Umulis, associate head for research and associate professor of agricultural, biological, and biomedical engineering.