Mark Bentum wins Bachelor Teacher of the Year Award

© Photo: Bart van Overbeeke

At ASTRON, our scientists not only improve the telescopes and use them to unravel the mysteries of the universe. They also share their knowledge with the next generation of scientists. And when they are awarded for excellence at teaching, we want to share the pride.

Mark Bentum is head of the Astronomy and Operations group at ASTRON. On 16 October, he was awarded the Best Bachelor Teacher Award at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) where he, among other things, teaches the mandatory Electromagnetics II course in the bachelor phase, which is considered one of the most difficult courses in the curriculum.

TU/e writes on its website: "The pass rate has increased from 15-20 percent to over 60 percent since Bentum has been teaching the course. Students praise the fact that in his teaching he interweaves his research into equipment for radio astronomy. Last year, Bentum made videos for his subject on location, for instance at the ASTRON astronomy institute in Dwingeloo. In this way, he made students enthusiastic for the practical aspect of Electromagnetics II. He is also very open to feedback.”

We are proud of Mark’s achievement and look forward to his future efforts for improving education.