The University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) congratulates Catherine Edwards, a member of the faculty at SkIO and an associate professor in the Department of Marine Sciences in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, for receiving a Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award.
The Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Awards annually honor outstanding faculty in Franklin College who have made a life-changing impact on students through sustained commitment to high-quality instruction.
“I’m honored by the recognition of my teaching accomplishments, but even more so, I’m just so touched that our students, both undergraduate and graduate, wrote letters of support,” said Edwards. “Our focus as educators is on student success, and it’s meaningful that their experience at Skidaway and in the department was such that so many of them took the time to support their faculty.”
Students play a significant role in determining the recipients of the Sandy Beaver Awards. First, students are invited to nominate candidates. A student committee then reviews the materials submitted by the nominees and identifies a group of finalists, before turning the finalists over to the Faculty Senate Awards Committee, which then recommends recipients to the dean.
“I am extremely pleased to see Catherine recognized for her commitment to excellence in education,” said Clark Alexander, SkIO director and professor in the Department of Marine Sciences. “Her emphasis on writing across her courses provides foundational experiences that support student learning and illustrate her creative approach to the classroom.”
“Dr. Edwards is a gifted educator who blends deep disciplinary expertise with a remarkable ability to engage students in complex scientific inquiry,” said Daniela Di Iorio, professor and head of the Department of Marine Sciences. “Her ability to connect with students across our two campuses and maintain an interactive, dynamic classroom environment is a testament to her teaching skill and dedication. Her courses exemplify rigor, innovation and care, embodying the highest standards of instructional excellence.”
Edwards is a physical oceanographer whose research focuses on the physical oceanography of the continental margins, where shelf-scale processes can have complex interactions with topography and stratification at the nearshore boundary as well as the shelfbreak.
The Edwards Lab deploys and monitors a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles used for both hurricane intensity forecasting and monitoring for critically endangered right whales off the coast of Georgia. The lab also operates multiple high-frequency radars in Georgia and Florida as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) high frequency radar network. Measurements of surface currents are transmitted to the national database in near-real-time and can be used to aid hazardous spill responders, search and rescue operations and navigators.
About SkIO
The UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) is a multidisciplinary research and education institution located on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. The Institute was founded in 1967 with a mission to conduct research in all fields of oceanography. In 2013, SkIO was merged with the University of Georgia. The campus serves as a gateway to coastal and marine environments for programs throughout the University System. The Institute’s primary goals are to further the understanding of marine and environmental processes, conduct leading-edge research on coastal and marine systems, and train tomorrow’s scientists.