Teaching and Educational Activities | Courses Taught

Teaching and Educational Activities

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: Research relies on talent, and talent must be nurtured from an early stage. As a part of a Johns Hopkins University program I am offering lectures at local High schools to whet the appetite of bright students for a research career. My debut was at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute where I gave three lectures entitled ``From Radio Waves to Neutron Waves.'' I would like to continue this type of work on a regular basis. It is important for me to keep in touch with other parts of the educational system and I think it is important for students to realize that scientific research is an exciting, important and realistic career opportunity.

UNDERGRADUATES: Johns Hopkins has a strong tradition for undergraduate research in condensed matter physics. This is in part due to a grant from the Pew Charitable Trust providing state of the art instrumentation for undergraduate research. I hope to include neutron scattering as an experimental technique available to the budding scientists and engineers. They will be able to perform short, well-designed neutron scattering experiments probing magnetism or phonons in solids. Irrespective of what career they may follow, I think having `seen' a phonon or excited a spin wave is a truly thrilling experience which gives different meaning to understanding condensed matter.

GRADUATES: In the spring semester of 1995 I am introducing a new course entitled ``Scattering Techniques in Materials Science.'' The course covers the use of X-rays, Neutrons, Light, Electrons and Muons as probes of condensed matter. A comprehensive introduction to each of the techniques will be followed by examples from their wide range of application to materials science. Some of these techniques are available to scientists free of charge at National Laboratories. It is intended that this course prepares the students to utilize such facilities. During the course we will visit the neutron scattering facility at NIST and if circumstances permit we will perform a demonstration experiment.

Next year I will teach a course on ``Magnetism", which will cover advanced theories of magnetism in metals and insulators. Most of the course will be devoted to understanding developments at the forefront of research in this field. I will sharpen the students feeling for what is interesting and important as opposed to complicated and irrelevant.

I also advise 2-3 graduate students in neutron scattering based research programs. My objective is to produce independent researchers for industry and universities with a can-do attitude built on extensive experimental experience. A typical project covers everything from sample preparation, design of special equipment and execution of experiment to the analysis and presentation of results.

EXPERIENCED RESEARCHERS: There is an unfortunate tendency for neutron scattering to appear as black magic to non-professionals. I would like to dispel this myth so that the tremendous opportunities of the experimental tool can be made available to more scientists. On a personal level I have long attempted to achieve this goal by encouraging non-experts to join me for experiments. I will increase my efforts towards this objective by writing a ``Handbook Of Neutron Scattering Techniques." This book will describe the numerous instruments associated with probing different length and time scales and document the essential ``tricks of the trade".

 Courses taught:

2002 Spring	171.312	Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics
2001 Fall	171.764	Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
2001 Spring	171.312	"Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics"
2000 Fall	Graduate course	"Magnetism"
2000 Spring	171.104	"General Physics for Bio-Science Majors II"
1999 Fall	171.103	"General Physics for Bio-Science Majors I"
1999 Spring	171.112	"General Physics Laboratory"
1998 Fall	171.103	"General Physics for Bio-Science Majors I"
1998 Spring	171.112	"General Physics Laboratory"
1997 Fall	171.103	"General Physics for Bio-Science Majors I"
1997 Spring	171.764	"Experimental Techniques in Condensed Matter Physics"
1996 Fall	171.103	"General Physics for Bio-Science Majors I"
1996 Spring	171.634	"Magnetism"
1995 Fall	171.621	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1995 Spring	171.632	"Scattering Techniques in Materials Science"
1994 Fall	171.621	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1994 Spring	171.622	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1993 Fall	171.621	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1993 Spring	171.302	"Introduction to E & M"
1992 Fall	171.621	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1992 Spring	171.622	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1991 Fall	171.621	"Condensed Matter Physics"
1991 Spring	172.632	"Physics seminar"

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