University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Bassam Shakhashiri is among five recipients honored with the 2013 Friends of Education Award, according to a university press release.
State Superintendent Tony Evers emphasized the importance of citizens’ commitment to education in his State of Education Address.
“Each day through their work and volunteer service, these individuals demonstrate what it means to be a Friend of Education,” Evers said.
In addition to fulfilling professorship duties, Shakhashiri is a Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea, helped found the Institute for Chemical Education and is the former American Chemical Society president.
“His science advocacy seeks to impart the joy of discovery, which he believes will lure future generations to careers as researchers, entrepreneurs, and teachers,” the Department of Public Instruction stated.
Shakhashiri imparts this joy in a unique way over the holidays through the production of his annually televised show, “Once Upon a Christmas Cheery, In the Lab of Shakhashiri,” during which he entertains sold-out audiences with visual chemical experiments.
