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AP50: Lessons from Pandemic Teaching, at LInc Lunch Talk, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, Wednesday, September 13, 2023:
linc_lunch_talk.pdf

Teaching online during the pandemic provided a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching in any modality and discover that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be improved by making them asynchronous and self-paced. Some key points that emerged from the move to online teaching are that giving students more autonomy, emphasizing active learning, and promoting social interactions between students are key to better learning. Finally, recognizing that education is not a conveyor belt where ever student is identical, provides an...

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Classroom demonstrations, at Professional Development Day, Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, PA, Friday, March 24, 2023:
2._classroom_demonstrations.pdf

Classroom demonstrations have two important purposes: to increase student understanding of the concepts demonstrated, and to increase student enjoyment of class. Previous studies have cast doubt on whether traditional demonstrations accomplish the first, finding that passive observation of demonstrations does not significantly improve student understanding of the associated concepts. Indeed, many students alter their memory of demonstrations to match their ideas about the underlying physics. Data show that having students predict the outcome of a demonstration and discuss their...

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Peer Instruction Demo, at Professional Development Day, Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, PA, Friday, March 24, 2023:
3._pi_demo.pdf
A brains-on demonstration of Peer Instruction and a discussion of the cognitive benefits of having students engage in active learning.
Extreme optics with zero-index and flat-band metamaterials, at AP483 Optics & Electronics Seminar, Stanford University, Monday, February 1, 2021:
zim_stanford.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. We have developed a variety of in-plane metamaterial designs that permit obtaining a refractive index of zero in the optical regime. We will report on some of the exotic physics of zero-index metamaterials, including strong enhancement of nonlinear optical phenomena, and on flat-... Read more about Extreme optics with zero-index and flat-band metamaterials
The surprising world of zero-index materials, at Wednesday Night Research Seminar, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Wednesday, September 23, 2020:
wnrs_zim.pdf

VIDEO OF PRESENTATION

 

Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances...

Read more about The surprising world of zero-index materials
Assessment: The silent killer of learning, at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA), Friday, May 12, 2017:
talk_2707.pdf
Why is it that stellar students sometimes fail in the workplace while dropouts succeed? One reason is that most, if not all, of our current assessment practices are inauthentic. Just as the lecture focuses on the delivery of information to students, so does assessment often focus on having students regurgitate that same information back to the instructor. Consequently, assessment fails to focus on the skills that are relevant in life in the 21st century. Assessment has been called the "hidden curriculum" as it is an important driver of students' study habits. Unless we rethink our approach to... Read more about Assessment: The silent killer of learning
Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index, at University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA), Thursday, May 11, 2017:
talk_2706.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances of the nanostructure. We present an in-plane metamaterial design consisting of silicon pillar arrays, embedded within a polymer matrix and sandwiched between gold layers. Using an... Read more about Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index
Teaching Physics, Conservation Laws First, at Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ), Monday, February 27, 2017:
talk_2685.pdf
The Principles and Practice of Physics is a groundbreaking new calculus-based introductory physics textbook that uses a unique organization and pedagogy to allow students to develop a true conceptual understanding of physics alongside the quantitative skills needed in the course. The book organizes introductory physics around the conservation principles and provides a unified contemporary view of introductory physics. In this talk we will discuss the unique architecture of the book, the conservation-laws-first approach, and results obtained with this book.

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