The Texas A&M University Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) recently named Dr. Kathryn Shamberger, assistant professor in Texas A&M’s Department of Oceanography, as the 2020 Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar for the College of Geosciences.

Nominated for the honor by her colleagues, Shamberger has earned the respect of professors and students alike through her efforts to bring her knowledge and experience into the classroom.

“Dr. Shamberger has a passion for teaching and is able to truly engage her students,” says Dr. Shari Yvon-Lewis, oceanography professor and department head. “This award is well-deserved.”

Started in 1991, the Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholars Program honors a tenure-track developing faculty member from each academic college annually with a $6,500 grant. Shamberger hopes to use the grant to bring vibrant 360° imagery of the world’s coral reefs into the classroom.

“I’d love to get some underwater coral reef videos,” Shamberger says. “I proposed, for this award, to make a bunch of Google 360 videos and incorporate them into a new coral reefs course.”

She also explains that she wants to share the material and technologies with the other departments in the College of Geosciences and the rest of the university.