The 2021 MacVicar Faculty Fellows are (clockwise from top left): Michael Short, Larry Guth, Elsa Olivetti, and Michael Yaffe.
Photo credits (clockwise from top left): Gretchen Ertl, Bryce Vickmark, Travis Gray, Bryce Vickmark

By Peter Chipman, OCW Digital Publication Specialist and OCW Educator Assistant

For the past 29 years, the MacVicar Faculty Fellows Program has honored several MIT professors each year who have made outstanding contributions to undergraduate teaching, educational innovation, and mentoring.

This year’s awardees are Professors Larry Guth (mathematics), Elsa Olivetti (materials science and engineering), Michael Short (nuclear science and engineering), and Michael Yaffe (biology and biological engineering).

OCW is honored to share courses from two of this year’s fellows:

Larry Guth

• • 18.S997 The Polynomial Method
  • 18.156 Differential Analysis II: Partial Differential Equations and Fourier Analysis

Michael Short

• • 22.033 Nuclear Systems Design Project
  • 22.S902 Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Geiger Counters
  • 22.14 Materials in Nuclear Engineering
  • 22.THT Undergraduate Thesis Tutorial
  • 22.01 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering and Ionizing Radiation

The OCW sites for 22.033, 22.S902, 22.THT, and 22.01 feature Instructor Insights sections in which Prof. Short discusses his approach to teaching; the Insights section for 22.01 also includes an embedded audio interview with him from MIT OpenCourseWare’s Chalk Radio podcast.

Interested in Instructor Insights from past MacVicar fellows? Visit our OCW Educator portal and search for “Insights from MIT Teaching Award Recipients.” Delve into the minds of John Essigmann, Dennis Freeman, Jeffrey Grossman, Hazel Sive, and many other MIT professors advancing teaching and learning in their fields.