Engineering Prof. Elliot Soloway was probably pretty startled to open his front door on Dec. 12 and find a seven-person entourage of people looking very much like the Prize Patrol standing before him.

Soloway is the 12th recipient of the Golden Apple Award, an honor rooted in the teachings of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos, who in the first century A.D. professed, "Get your life in order one day before you die." Thus, the award "honors those teachers who consistently teach each lecture as if it were their last, and strive not only to disseminate knowledge but to inspire and engage students in its pursuit."

The Students Honoring Outstanding University Teaching selection committee"s choice of Soloway was an excellent one. Soloway has not only proven himself valuable as a faculty member at the University through his wide academic publication, but also has met and exceeded the demanding criteria of the Golden Apple in that his teaching has dramatically affected his students 15 of whom nominated him for the award.

He is quoted by the College of Engineering as saying the award "makes me feel terrific. It"s reaffirming that students understand that education is different from teaching. Teaching sounds like lecturing. It"s all about discussion. It"s about getting students to engage in discussion. It"s through discussion that they learn."

Soloway is famous among his students for his neon pink syllabi, especially energetic lectures and his resemblance to Jerry Garcia. At least two of these quirks stem from an admirable teaching philosophy that rests on a genuine desire to teach students far more than the curriculum dictates.