"The real value of a course is the sharing of intuition"

Donna Testerman has been teaching linear algebra at EPFL for 15 years. Alain Herzog 2020 EPFL Donna Testerman, a professor at EPFL's Institute of Mathematics, is this year's recipient of the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching. Her achievements include a comprehensive MOOC in linear algebra that is open to all. At 6 a.m. on Saturday mornings, in the quiet of the day, Testerman likes to arise and work on mathematics problems. "You need a calm setting to do math, because you have to be very focused." Being a good mathematician, this professor, who teaches at EPFL's School of Basic Sciences, is disciplined even though she can occasionally digress. "In class, I'll sometimes go off-topic, because I can't resist a good story." This is not surprising for someone who wanted to study literature, art history and theater, before her engineer father convinced her to switch to math. "He told me, 'An education is expensive, you need to learn something that you can do later on,' and so I completed a Bachelor's degree in math and theater." A double major like this was possible in Virginia, where she grew up - after all, mathematics is a sort of art form.