Professors Jonathan Emery and Michael Horn Honored with University Teaching Awards

Northwestern Engineering’s Jonathan Emery and Michael Horn are being honored with 2025 University Teaching Awards. The annual recognition is given to professors who demonstrate excellence and innovation in undergraduate teaching.

“Every day, these faculty members imbue their work with intellect, creativity and heart, and the results are life-changing for our students,” Provost Kathleen Hagerty said. “I am so grateful for their talent and dedication. They keep the bar high at Northwestern, and they are why, year after year, we attract the best and brightest students.”

Jonathan Emery

Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction

Jonathan Emery has a multidimensional approach to teaching materials science and engineering (MSE). His emphasis is on using “active and multimodal learning, intuition-building computational learning tools, and formative assessments that scaffold learning.”

For many students, though, it is Emery’s insistence on incorporating real-world applications into his curriculum that makes his classes stand out.

As one student shared, Emery “began every lecture with a ‘Why?’ slide, demonstrating the real-world significance of the topic. This intentional framing captivated our large, diverse class of nearly 100 students, ranging from biology majors to applied mathematics and various engineering disciplines.”

Emery also strives to make learning “personal” by encouraging students to “explore their own interests within the course’s framework.” He has redesigned many course projects to be “student-directed while maintaining alignment with key concepts and learning outcomes.” One of his students, a collegiate fencer, explored how the microstructural features of maraging steel give fencing blades the flexibility and strength essential for her sport — and that’s just one example of many.

In recent years, recognizing that emerging computational models could enhance the teaching of MSE, Emery, together with learning science/computer science PhD student Jacob Kelter, co-led the revision of the introductory MSE curriculum grounded in computational modeling. In 2019, he and Kelter co-authored a low-cost electronic textbook and built a web-based learning platform that integrates computational models, videos, text, interactive exercises and other tools.

But Emery’s influence extends far beyond the classroom, as another student pointed out: “Although I did not have Professor Emery as an instructor for later courses in my materials science major, I continued to talk with him throughout my undergraduate career. He maintained an open door, not just for me to discuss my place in the program, but for all the students currently in materials science and those prospective students who were interested in the major.”

Emery is an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering.

Michael S. Horn

Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence

Whether teaching classes like Introduction to Computer Programming, which attracts more than 200 students from across the University, or engaging undergraduate students to teach fifth-graders in Evanston public schools how to code through music (a partnership he forged to enable his students to put their skillset to use in the real world), Michael Horn emphasizes creativity and accessibility.

“I am inspired to build more inclusive and humanizing learning spaces that break out of the prerequisite mindset that often feels pervasive in higher education,” he says. He adds that, “among the many hopes that I have for my students is for them to see their time here as a starting point for lifelong learning.”

According to School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan Brayboy, Horn is “perhaps best known for teaching coding as a form of literacy” and “this pioneering idea not only makes coding accessible and fun but also influences students' understanding of complex topics and shapes how they view themselves.”

In Introduction to Computer Programming, Brayboy added, “Horn intentionally blends the artistic and technical by applying the Python programming language to fields such as art, music and data science. This approach helps students — who may later become journalists, doctors, performing artists or entrepreneurs — practice using one skill set to learn something new.”

Horn’s students appreciate this holistic view of learning. A senior who participated in Horn’s practicum in Evanston public schools said, “As I watched the children interact with my design and with each other, I was inspired by how combining technical and creative skills encouraged others to engage in active, collaborative learning, giving me hope for future generations.”

Another student, who took Tangible Interaction Design, in which students created an interactive museum exhibit that incorporated the technology they learned about in class, said, “Without a doubt, Professor Horn’s class fundamentally shifted the way that I think about technology, creativity and learning as a whole.”

Horn is a professor of computer science at Northwestern Engineering and a professor of learning sciences at Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy. He directs the Tangible Interaction Design and Learning (TIDAL) Laboratory, a team of designers, artists, learning scientists, and computer scientists aiming to study and create innovative technology-based learning experiences.