131 Professor David ReidWhat do you think the coolest part of your research is? What I always find to be the coolest thing about research is when I know I am seeing something that no one has seen before be it a numerical result of a calculation, a graph I've produced, or whatever. Is your current research similar to the work you did as an undergrad or graduate student? Yes and no. One of the areas I work in is still precisely what I did in graduate school. However, after graduate school I branched out a bit into some other fields. However, I always seem to find myself writing code no matter what type of physics I'm doing. Fortran forever! What was your least favorite physics class you took as an undergraduate? Introductory electricity and magnetism. I was very unhappy with my professor's teaching and he was a jerk in office hours. He was the kind of guy who, instead of answering your question, would say "If you don't understand that you should get out of physics." What part of your teaching philosophy/method are you most proud of? I try not to be a jerk like my E&M professor. Do you have children/pets/plants that make guest appearances on your zoom calls? Yes, I have a chow mix who likes to hang out in my office while I'm working. This makes my wife jealous. She (the chow mix) will occasionally pop up and make a cameo - although I try to prevent that to avoid the distraction. Have you picked up or spent more time on any hobbies during the stay-at-home period? I get much more exercise now than when I had to commute back and forth. That's a good thing. What is your favorite part of the introductory physics sequence and why? This is a tough one. 1A is the connection between electricity and magnetism. This topic is less intuitive for students than mechanics so the teaching of it is more important. It's also easier to make connections to modern things with electromagnetism. 1B is teaching about energy in mechanics. Energy is such an important topic. It permeates all of physics and I find it rather mysterious and fun to think about. You can learn more about Professor Reid’s research on the Department of Physics webpage and the David D. Reid webpage. Meet the 130s & 140s Professors is a series of mini interviews with professors teaching the standard and honors introductory physics sequences, 13100-13300 and 14100-14300 respectively.
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