Academy instructor, grad take home Air Force service, tech awards

  • Published
  • By Julie Imada
  • Academy Education Directorate
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. --  One instructor in the Chemistry Department here and one Class of 2013 graduate who majored in aeronautics received awards at the annual Air Force Science and Technology Awards Aug. 29.

Dr. Timm Knoezer and 2nd Lt. Zachary Adams were recognized as the Air Force outstanding science and engineering educator and the 2013 cadet researcher of the year, respectively.

Knoezer was recognized for his dedication to education in and out of the classroom. He directed and taught nine courses over a three-year period. He also led and published cutting-edge research on synthetic cannabinoids, also known as "spice," and mentored more than 20 undergraduate students including students from the Academy, Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Mines.

In addition, Knoezer mentored dozens of high school students for participation in the International Chemistry Olympiads, resulting in three gold and five silver medal winners. Knoezer also mentored the 2013 first place winner for the Intel Science and Talent search, Sara Volz.

Volz, who had a cooperative research and development agreement with the Academy's Life Science Research Center, was the first high school student to conduct research in the Academy's labs. Her work on algae biofuels with Knoezer, Dr. Don Ververka and Melanie Grogger of the Biology Department helped her to win her early acceptance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the $100,000 Intel Science and Talent grand prize.

"All too often, we try to provide the easy road for students, but that is not my philosophy," Knoezer said. "I want to push my students to meet challenging situations head on. The hard truth is that learning science takes hard work. For most of us, it does not come easily, and as educators, we cannot forget that fact."

Therefore, Knoezer said, he sees his job as a coach who leads his cadets through challenges so they can succeed.

"There is nothing more satisfying than to see a struggling student push through the adversity of the moment and turn it around to achieve success," he said. "The true reward is the transformation in understanding that comes from opening our minds to learning. Whether it is in the classroom or in the research laboratory, we have the responsibility to work side-by-side with our students to model and mentor the learning process."

Adams was recognized for his ground-breaking research on an award-winning cyclogyro search and rescue medical evacuation aircraft project. He conducted some of the research in partnership with the University of Maryland during a 2012 Cadet Summer Research program and continued the research with a team of other cadets during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Dubbed "The Night Owl", the project ultimately won a Boeing Defense Company-sponsored design competition between the service academies.

Adams's work has resulted in patent-pending technologies developed for the project. He is currently continuing his research and education as a PhD candidate at Purdue University.