Faculty Education Awards for Daniel Wegner and Katharine Mulrey

13 January 2026 News item

Daniel Wegner and Katharine (Katie) Mulrey have this year received the Education awards from the Faculty of Science. The awards were presented during the New Year's gathering by Laura van Niftrik, Vice-Dean of Education.

Junior Lecturer Education Award 2025: Katie Mulrey

The jury has awarded this year's Junior Lecturer Education Award to Katie Mulrey. Katie is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics and was nominated by the Physics and Astronomy Programme Committee, the WiNSt Teaching Institute, and the Marie Curie student association.

Students appreciate the enthusiasm with which Katie delivers her well-structured lectures. She is approachable and helpful, and encourages students by connecting the concepts she teaches to her own research. She is also committed to their personal and professional development. She creates a wonderful atmosphere in her lectures and is praised by students for her sense of humour.

In addition to being an excellent lecturer, Katie is also involved in many ways in improving the quality of the programme as a whole and teaching within the Faculty. She is a member of the curriculum review committee for the Physics and Astronomy bachelor's programme, where she leads the personal and professional development working group. She is also a member of the working group developing the Faculty's educational vision.

Laura van Niftrik en Katie Mulrey (op het scherm)

Senior Lecturer Education Award 2025: Daniel Wegner

The jury has awarded this year's Senior Lecturer Education Award to Daniel Wegner. Daniel is an Associate Professor in Scanning Probe Microscopy and was nominated by students from the Physics and Astronomy Programme Committee.

Students praise his enthusiasm and his innovative and interactive teaching style. Daniel uses tutorials in which he places mathematical equations within the context of physics concepts, and students indicate that this really helps them understand the material. Students appreciate his elegant combination of well-structured slides with calculations on the blackboard. He explains things well and is able to motivate students effectively. According to students, it is clear to see that Daniel himself enjoys teaching. His open and attentive manner ensures that students feel free to ask questions and discuss the content.

In addition to being an excellent lecturer, Daniel has contributed greatly to the overall quality and organisation of teaching, both within the WiNSt Teaching Institute and within Molecular Sciences. He was coordinator of the Physics of Molecules and Materials specialisation within the Physics and Astronomy programme and played an important role in rebranding this specialisation to "Quantum Matter". He is currently Programme Director of the Natural Sciences bachelor's programme within the Molecular Sciences Education Institute. Daniel is also involved in the curriculum review committee for the Physics and Astronomy bachelor's programme, where he leads one of the working groups.

Contact information

Organizational unit: Faculty of Science, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Astrophysics
About person: Dr K.B. Mulrey (Katharine) , Dr D. Wegner (Daniel)