The recipient of the 2020 Ohio Section of the MAA Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, Dr. Marepalli (MB) Rao. Dr. Rao was honored at the spring 2021 virtual meeting.

Dr. Rao is a gifted mathematician. He graduated from Madras University with first rank and did his PhD from Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), one of the oldest and most prestigious university in the field of statistics. It is one of the toughest universities to be admitted to in India with the acceptance rate of less than 1 %.

Before joining the University of Cincinnati with a joint appointment as a Professor of Statistical Genetics in the College of Medicine as well as a Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering, Dr. Rao held faculty positions at the University of Sheffield, U.K , University of Pittsburg and North Dakota State University.

Anyone who has attended one of Dr. Rao’s talks can testify to his enthusiasm for mathematics and statistics. He is a dynamic presenter who taps into relevant and funny topics to engage his audience. This extends this to his teaching as well. His interactive teaching style and his special ability to explain even the most difficult concepts in the form of stories makes him popular among his students. In addition to teaching and research he has supervised almost 100 master’s and PhD students.

Dr. Rao is widely recognized for his commitment to teaching. He has received teaching awards from North Dakota State University, The University of Cincinnati and The Mathematical Association of America North Central Section. The section is proud to follow in this line and present him with the Ohio Section of the MAA Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.