Sarah Reisman Receives Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Sarah Reisman, Bren Professor of Chemistry and Norman Davidson Leadership Chair of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, has been awarded this year's Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Caltech's highest teaching prize.

Reisman's research focuses on the chemical synthesis of organic molecules produced in nature by bacteria, fungi, or plants, and seeks to advance both our understanding of their chemistry and their biology. Over the years, she has taught a variety of classes ranging from introductory courses for all incoming undergraduates to some of the most advanced and challenging courses taken by Caltech chemistry students.

"Professor Reisman stood out among this year's nominees for the breadth and quality of her classroom teaching and for her ability to inspire students through instruction," said Provost David A. Tirrell during the presentation of the prize at the Athenaeum on February 11, 2026.

Letters from students supporting Reisman's nomination for the prize spoke of her ability to engage and invigorate students through her enthusiasm for science and learning.

"During her lectures, she would skillfully weave together chemistry and society, frequently highlighting chemists from underrepresented backgrounds who made groundbreaking contributions to the field and even had each student present an underrated chemist of their choosing," one student wrote. "Her genuine love for chemistry, talent and dedication for nurturing the next generation of socially minded scientists, and ability to do it all as a woman in STEM make her a beacon of excellence and teacher we all want to experience at least once in our lifetime."

Another student remarked, "Professor Reisman's courses imbued in me not only the technical confidence to develop graduate and postdoctoral research ideas but also the audacity to never waver in my commitment to inspiring a love for chemistry in others."

Reisman joined Caltech in 2008 after earning a PhD in chemistry from Yale and completing postdoctoral work in the field of asymmetric catalysis as a National Institutes of Health fellow at Harvard. She has received numerous awards and honors including the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2012 and the ASCIT Teaching Award in 2021.

"It is deeply meaningful to be recognized for my teaching at Caltech and to join a group of teacher-scholars I admire," Reisman says. "Organic chemistry has a somewhat notorious reputation in popular culture, so it is especially rewarding when a student tells me they were surprised by how much they enjoyed it. We have very special students at Caltech, and I am sincerely grateful to those who nominated me."

The Feynman Prize was established in 1993 to annually honor a professor who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or laboratory teaching. Recipients, chosen by a committee appointed by the provost, are nominated by faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and alumni. The prize is endowed by Ione and Robert E. Paradise and an anonymous local donor.

Recent awardees include Joel A. Tropp, Steele Family Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics; Rustem Ismagilov, the Ethel Wilson Bowles and Robert Bowles Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Lulu Qian, professor of bioengineering; and Rob Phillips, the Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics.text here