David Gilmour receives C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching
David Gilmour, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, has been honored with the 2010 C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching, sponsored by the Alumni Society of the Eberly College of Science at Penn State. Instituted in 1972 and named in honor of Clarence I. Noll, dean of the college from 1965 to 1971, the award is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching in the college. Students, faculty members, and alumni nominate outstanding faculty members who best exemplify the key characteristics of a Penn State educator, and a committee of students and faculty members select among nominees.
Gilmour maintains a research program focused on understanding mechanisms of gene regulation in animal cells. Since many diseases, developmental defects and cancers occur when genes are misregulated, insights from Gilmour’s research could lead to possible cures. Since he joined Penn State’s faculty in 1989, Gilmour has mentored the doctoral work of 13 doctoral students, and he has served on the thesis committees of more than 100 doctoral-candidate students. He teaches courses both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels, and he is the only faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to be awarded two Tershak Memorial Teaching Awards for Distinguished Teaching.
Gilmour is involved in activities outside the classroom and the laboratory that further undergraduate education. For the past 11 years, he has chaired the Scholars Student Affairs Committee for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In addition, he oversees the activities of the Schreyer Honors College students and participates in the First-Year Testing Consulting and Advising Program (FTCAP). He has served as a McNair Scholars Mentor for an undergraduate student and as a judge for the Undergraduate Research Exhibition.
Gilmour earned doctoral and bachelor’s degrees at Cornell University in 1984 and 1978, respectively.