Mathematician Jennifer Crodelle Wins Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching

Jennifer Crodelle, assistant professor of mathematics, received the Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching at a ceremony in McCardell Bicentennial Hall on May 3. The Perkins award is given annually to a mathematics or science faculty member, alternating each year between mathematics and other departments in the sciences.

Students majoring and minoring in the sciences were asked earlier this year to nominate candidates for the honor. A selection committee then chose the winner based on student nominations.

“Jen has already made quite a mark on students through her commitment and dedication to teaching excellence in the spirit of Professor Llewellyn Perkins,” said Rick Bunt, associate dean of the sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “She is tackling some of the most complex challenges at the forefront of mathematical neuroscience.”

Bunt noted that Crodelle has published 12 papers in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Computational Neuroscience, PLoS Computational Biology, and the Journal of Scientific Computing. She has given numerous invited seminars, conference talks, and poster presentations, and was just awarded a two-year project grant from the Vermont Biomedical Research Network.

“I am beyond honored to receive the Perkins Award,” said Crodelle. “I really have to thank the students—not just for sending in kind words and nominations, but for their continued excitement for learning, willingness to try new things, and eagerness to share their thoughts and ideas. I have been lucky to have excellent students who push me to be a more innovative and creative teacher.”

Crodelle earned her BS in mathematics from Marist College and her PhD in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She went on to an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Courant Institute at New York University. She joined the Middlebury faculty in fall 2020, teaching multivariable calculus, differential equations, mathematical modeling, and data science across disciplines. An applied mathematician, she uses mathematical modeling to explore problems in neuroscience and propose mechanisms underlying biological phenomena that may not be uncovered through experiment.

Ai Hattori, a junior majoring in mathematics, spoke at the award presentation, reflecting on her time as Crodelle’s research assistant in computational neuroscience. She says when she began her work, she at first struggled to understand previous studies and coding, and questioned whether she was cut out for research, but that changed with the encouragement of her professor.

“Professor Crodelle noticed that I lacked self-confidence and became my biggest cheerleader,” said Hattori. “She spent extra time with me, going over the code, and assured me that it was part of a learning process. She encouraged me to go beyond what I thought was possible. With her support, I had the opportunity to present at the largest conference in Mathematics in the US. I have grown from a hesitant sophomore who was unsure of my place in the academic world to a more confident junior who is excited about a bright future in applied mathematics.”

About the Perkins Award

Created in 1993, the Perkins Award is provided by the Professor Llewellyn R. Perkins and Dr. Ruth M.H. Perkins Memorial Research Fund, and it was made possible by a gift from Ruth Perkins, Middlebury Class of 1932, in memory of her husband, Llewellyn, who taught at Middlebury from 1914 through 1941.

Their children, Marion Perkins Harris ’57, a science teacher, and David Perkins, a physician, augmented the fund and expanded the scope of the award to honor their mother, Ruth, as well as their father. The award supports the recipient’s faculty development. It is presented in even-numbered years to a member of the mathematics and statistics department, and in odd-numbered years to a faculty member who teaches in the natural sciences.

The 2023 Perkins award was presented by Susan Harris on behalf of the Perkins/Harris family.