Why a UT professor scored a $250,000 teaching award

A University of Texas professor recently won a top teaching award. Why it matters: From elementary school to graduate school, teachers deserve recognition.

Catch up quick: Jay Banner was awarded Baylor University's Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching , which comes with a $250,000 prize.

• Banner, whose teaching interests are in sustainability, environmental science, geochemistry and environmental justice, is a professor in UT's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and director of its Environmental Science Institute.

Plus: He oversees the public lecture series Hot Science – Cool Talks , as well as a scientist-in-residence program that partners graduate-student researchers with K-12 teachers, and a new project that connects researchers and people in underserved communities to address climate resilience challenges.

What they're saying: Banner "not only shows that geosciences matters when it comes to big issues, but why it matters on a community scale," Claudia Mora, dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences, said in a statement.

• "When I think of great teachers I've known, they share their excitement of discovery about how the world works," Banner said. "If a teacher can take a complex concept, whether it's in science, engineering or the humanities, and help students understand it and be excited about having learned it, that's what it's all about."

What we're watching: Great teaching in action — Banner's Cherry Award finalist lecture, delivered last year, titled "21st Century Texas: Climate, Water, Science, and Society."

💭 My thought bubble: Banner has been a patient resource not only for students, but also journalists.

• When I covered the energy and environmental beat at the Austin American-Statesman, Banner kindly invited me on spelunking expeditions and into his classroom to chat about the consequences of a changing climate.

What's next: Attend the next Hot Science – Cool Talks event — it's free and open to the public — on March 22 at Welch Hall, where astronomy professor Caitlin Casey will deliver a talk titled "Breaking the Universe: Discoveries From the Beginning of Time."

• Banner tells Axios that with all that money he will probably write bigger checks to his favorite charities.

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