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Professor Daniel Becker receives the 2020 Master Teacher Award

Dr. Daniel Becker was honored with the 2020 Master Teacher Award in recognition of his outstanding record of teaching.  Dr. Becker cares deeply about the success of each student, and strives to help students make connections between chemistry and the world. Dr. Becker’s research is focused in medicinal chemistry toward the discovery of new treatments for infectious diseases and cancer, and his excitement for organic chemistry and drug discovery carries over into his teaching of Organic Chemistry, including CHEM 221/222 for chemistry majors and CHEM 223/224 for non-majors, as well as his very popular Medicinal Chemistry course (CHEM 323/423).

Undergraduate Megan Beulke describes Dr. Becker’s passion for teaching: “I have not only had the privilege of being in the classroom with Dr. Becker, but also in the research lab! What is so wonderful about Dr. Becker’s teaching style is that he pays close attention to each and every one of his students. So, regardless of my being in the larger classroom, filled with Orgo students, or in our smaller research lab, filled with undergrads and graduate students alike, I never found myself feeling out of the loop or skipped over. Instead, Dr. Becker goes above and beyond, making a point to reach out to each of his students, to ensure that their learning remains on track.”  In 2015, Dr. Becker received the Loyola University Alice B. Hayes Award for Advising and Mentoring.