Top Teaching Honor Presented to Southampton Graduate Campus Science Professor
David Newton Award for Teaching Excellence Presented to Professor Edward Himelblau

Southampton, NY — Edward Himelblau, a professor at Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University, has been selected to receive the David Newton Award for Teaching Excellence for 2004. He was honored along with recipients from other Long Island University campuses.

Himelblau was raised in San Diego, CA where he spent hours at the beach and developed a life-long love of science. He studied both biology and art at the University of California at San Diego, earning a bachelor of science degree in biology in 1995 and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2000. In late summer of 2001, at the age of 31, he left that midwest state to join a nationally recognized program in natural science at Southampton College as a professor of genetics and cell biology.

Himelblau’s research interests are in the fields of plant biology, biotechnology, DNA, and genetically modified organisms. While at the University of Wisconsin, he served as a Biotechnology Education Specialist, discussing the potential benefits and risks of biotechnology with the public. He began his career as a Research Assistant at the Salk Institute, and has held teaching posts at both the University of California at San Diego and the University of Wisconsin. Prior to graduate school, Himelblau taught at the Catalina Island Marine Institute, an outdoor education facility off the coast of California.

Himelblau’s professional work also has a humorous side. Penning funny ideas while in a laboratory or in a faculty meeting has resulted in the creation of many single-panel, one-liner cartoons. His enthusiasm for science, his energy for teaching and his talents as an artist, have inspired him to use some of his cartoons to illustrate concepts for his students. With hopes to one day illustrate a biochemistry textbook, his artistic works have so far landed on the pages of "Newsday" and in the scientific journal "Nature."

Himelblau’s wife, Kit, is an artist. They live in Hampton Bays.

Winners of Long Island University’s Newton Award are selected by a committee of their peers following nomination and support from faculty, students and alumni. The award is named for David Newton, a former executive vice president of Long Island University.