As a premier research institution leading excellence in higher education, Temple University features world-renowned faculty who mentor, inspire and collaborate with students and lead breakthroughs in their fields.  

Each year, the university formally recognizes its remarkable professors and scholars for their accomplishments and contributions to teaching, research, service and creative activity. Current and former students as well as colleagues nominate the recipients.

One of two new graduate faculty awards, the Excellence in Graduate Stewardship Award recognizes faculty who have gone beyond the call of duty to develop and maintain graduate training programs. Each award includes a $2,000 prize, and honorees were celebrated at the University Faculty Awards Ceremony. Learn more about all of this year's honorees.

Excellence in Graduate Stewardship Award

David Futer

Professor, mathematics
School/college: College of Science and Technology 
Areas of focus: Low-dimensional topology and geometry 
Years at Temple: 18 

Inspiration for research and teaching

My research in the mathematical areas of geometry and topology is driven by the quest to understand the geometry of potential mathematical shapes of our physical universe. We know our universe is three-dimensional, but we do not know what happens when you go in some direction for a very long time. Do you come back from some other entirely different direction like a sailboat going around the earth east to west? What are all of the ways that the universe connects back to itself? It is only in the last two decades that mathematicians have obtained a complete list of three-dimensional shapes that our physical universe can take. There are a ton of open questions about how the topology of interconnectedness influences geometric features like area and curvature. I’ve been lucky to have some amazing collaborators to explore these questions with me. 

On the teaching front, I am constantly inspired by the way that Temple students persevere through obstacles to master challenging ideas. In undergraduate courses, we are always looking for ways to think more critically and more rigorously about abstract ideas. I have also really loved working with graduate students to explore three-dimensional geometry and discover beautiful new forms of symmetry. 

Proudest accomplishment

I am particularly proud of the reforms to our graduate programs that led to this graduate stewardship award. As graduate chair of our department, I worked hard to make our graduate program more vibrant and more supportive. We launched a professional development seminar to prepare students for the PhD and provided better mentoring by both peers and faculty. All these efforts showed up in retention: The completion rate of our PhD program increased dramatically, as did the proportion of degrees granted to women. In the end, the reforms to our program made it a better experience for everyone. 

Memorable moment

In fall 2021, right when the university returned to in-person learning, I taught a senior capstone course for math majors. The topic, focused on the geometry and symmetry of tiling patterns, was visually appealing but completely new to everyone in the class. In addition, this was the first time I had taught a class in an inquiry-based style in which students discover what’s true instead of being taught the information through a lecture. This was an amazing experience for all of us. Everyone was so excited to work together in the physical classroom, and everyone really leaned into the exploration. With lots of hands-on drawing and doodling, as well as some hard thinking, the group of students learned a ton of geometry and abstract algebra. This experience really transformed the way I think about teaching.