When Jonathan Veinot joined the U of A's vaunted chemistry department in 2002, the department was looking to build on its limited selection of graduate courses in the academic field of materials chemistry.
Looking to satisfy the needs of the existing and incoming materials chemistry graduate students, Veinot says he was given the freedom to fill the void as he saw fit.
He, in turn, handed some of the academic license over to his graduate students and simply asked them what they wanted to know. The trust Veinot has placed in his students has served him well over the years and has resulted in a 2012 Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.
"I try to tell them it is their course, not mine," said the popular chemistry professor. "I give my students a little more freedom than I ever had when I was a student. If they really want to chase a particular related topic they can mention it to me and I usually say, 'OK, let's dig a little deeper as a group.'"
In one of Veinot's classes, he says, he considers himself more a tour guide than a teacher.
"I don't want to get up in front of a class and simply tell students what they are going to learn," he said. "What I try to do is say, 'Look at this exciting attraction; here is a little bit about it and if you are interested we can go and chase it.'"
"We always cover the same fundamental material, but in some years we may end up digging deeper into different areas. That makes the class fun for me too because the students end up teaching me as much as I teach them. They ask the tough questions and push into areas I haven't explored with classes in previous years."
When Veinot does give specific direction, it is often to shape the classroom to mirror real-life chemistry, which often goes beyond theory and concepts to include evaluating the peer-reviewed literature critically and writing research proposals.
In one of Veinot's graduate courses, his instructions at the beginning of the semester are simple: "Your final exam is to write a research proposal that justifies new instrumentation for a multi-purpose facility in materials chemistry-your time starts now."
"Students effectively make their own exam; they must justify every one of their purchases in the context they were given," said Veinot. "Routinely students come back and say they learned more from preparing for and doing that exam than in the course. What it comes down to is students are people and they have their own interests. When we respect and foster this, they end up growing a lot as people (and scientists) in the space of a term."
Veinot, who earlier this year secured a $100,000 grant from the Oil Sands Research and Information Network to look at the use of non-toxic silicon nanomaterials in the remediation of tailings ponds, is currently on a research sabbatical in Munich, Germany.
Since he has been there, Veinot says, he is constantly reminded of why he decided to come to the U of A.
"I am repeatedly told that we all do at U of A is very impressive. Those of us at U of A have the unique opportunity to stand on the shoulders of giants, and it's a self-perpetuating cycle. We have the firm grounding, world-class infrastructure, and top-notch students, that allow us to continue building and doing leading edge research-and it just keeps growing."