We are pleased to share that Dr. Patrick Parra Pennefather, Associate Professor, Design and Production, has been awarded a 2025/26 Killam Teaching Prize. The Killam Teaching Prize is awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.
Patrick’s teaching, research, and service are rooted in an ongoing inquiry to understand how technologies shape our interactions in the interconnected digital and physical spaces we inhabit. His roles as an xR researcher, project-based educator, sound designer, author, and technology developer are compelled by ceaseless experimentation and an interdisciplinary spirit that seeks collaborations across disciplinary boundaries.
In addition to teaching sound design, Patrick is Director of the Transmedia Spatial Storytelling Lab, where his research includes applied and experimental work in spatial audio, motion capture, and fine-tuning machine learning models.
On receiving the award, Dr. Pennefather shared: “This award is a reminder that I have had excellent students that I continue to learn from. It is an affirmation that undergraduate, graduate, alumni and Emerging Media Lab students are open to learning differently: peer-peer, hands-on, multi-modal, in-person and hybrid project-based learning environments. Students I’ve worked with have come from Theatre, Film, Digital Media, Music, Visual Art, Cognitive Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Biology, Earth Sciences, Forestry, Journalism, Media Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies and more. I am honoured to share the award with the many excellent teachers I have had, have co-taught with and learned from. I will strive to continue to improve my approaches to teaching and learning.”
Congratulations to Patrick on this well-deserved recognition!
