The Academic Senate at Sonoma State University has named Elizabeth Martinez, Modern Languages and Literature, and Byrant Hichwa, Physics and Astronomy, as this year's recipients of the annual Excellence in Teaching Awards. A reception honoring these distinguished professors will be held later in the year.
Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez, of Santa Rosa, teaches Latin American literature in the Spanish Program, and U.S. Latino literature in the Chicano and Latino Studies Department, where she is currently Chair. She was previously Chair of the Modern Languages & Literatures Department.
Prior to her arrival at Sonoma State, she taught journalism and Spanish at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. At SSU, her classes range from advanced level Spanish classes in Composition, Latin American Culture and Literature, to classes on significant Mexican, Central American and Caribbean authors, and Chicano writers.
She frequently publishes academic and popular articles, and published a book titled "Before the Boom: Latin American Revolutionary Novels of the 1920s" in 2001. She has a new book being published this summer on Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska's early fiction.
Bryant Hichwa rejoined academia in 2002 as a member of the faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty at Sonoma State University. Following his undergraduate education at Georgetown University and earning the Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Hichwa taught physics at Hope College in Michigan for 10 years. Then he worked extensively in industry, ultimately taking on the role of director of research and vice president of research product development at Optical Coating Laboratory in Santa Rosa and in 2000, president and chief operating officer at MetroPhotonics (USA), Inc., also in Santa Rosa.
Dr. Hichwa has taught introductory-level and upper-division courses in physics as well as a new general education course, Physics of Music. In addition, he has developed several innovative courses in telecommunications and photonics including a state of the art laboratory in fiber optics and laser communications. He has mentored a number of undergraduate and graduate theses and research projects in optical communications.
Areas of special interest are fiber optic amplifiers, optical ring resonators, optical MEMS switching devices and optical waveguide design in 3-5 semiconductor materials.
The awards are funded by a grant from the Sarlo Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund and by Dr. Bernard and Estelle Goldstein.
