"Did you laugh when he fell?" "No, but the ice sure cracked up."

Using quips, anecdotes and even corny jokes, Ted Alsop teaches his students through humor and energy.

If he doesn't leave a class feeling "exhausted," Alsop said he knows he’s doing something wrong.

"I have an absolute passion for discovery of new material," he said. "I get a charge out of [students'] discharge."

Armed with an "insatiable curiosity," Alsop focuses his research on climatology, but he said he also become fascinated by research on pedagogy, or the science of teaching.

"Learning changes students' lives," he said. "You meet them and forever open vistas of discovery for them."

Varying his delivery methods and seeking to get away from prepared lecture notes, Alsop said he loves teaching; and the most important thing college students can discover about themselves is how they best learn.

"Higher education is all about thinking in an organized way," he said. "It's a logical move from digital data to information to understanding to discovery. That's what's fun."

Alsop said he will never tire of climate research.

From food to energy to psychological health, everything in our lives is impacted by the weather, he said.

"There’s no way to get bored," he said. "This job is constantly renewed. The challenge is in keeping up with all of the new advances and technology."

Named a Carnegie professor in 1996, Alsop credits his students for the award.

"I want students to get their money's worth," he said. "They are committed and I want to reward them for that."

--PHOTO BY JOSH J. RUSSELL; TEXT BY BROOKE NELSON