Fun Facts

Love being on the water and swimming. I read all the time, mostly scifi and fantasy books. Someday I want my own 'library'. When I am not reading or studying, I enjoy programming and computers. I used to do a bit of web site design, but was never very good at the artwork involved in making graphics. I also enjoy watching movies, when I get the chance.

About Me

Originally I am from Michigan, where I was raised and grew up. I love the water and miss the great lakes. In high school I hated physics, until I realized what you could do with it and grew to love it. I went to a very small high school, so I went to a local university to start taking further physics and astronomy courses as part of the MI Duel Enrollment program. After graduating, I went as far away from home as I could, to Michigans Upper Peninsula. I spent 6 years at Michigan Technological University (MTU), and received my Bachelors in Physics in 2009 and my Masters in Physics in 2011. Currently I am enrolled at the University of Utah as a PhD student. Research wise, I spent a year working in Nanotechnology, then two years in high energy gamma-ray experiment analysis, and currently I am working in analysis of high resolution spectroscopy data, trying to figure out what objects in the galaxy are made of. Tried many things, in order to get to where I am today.

Experience

Undergraduate:

Physics I Lab Teaching Assistant- 6 semesters
Astronomy Lab Teaching Assistant- 1 semester
Astronomy Teaching Assistant- 1 Semester

Graduate:

Physics I Teaching Assistant- 1 semester
Astronomy Lab Teaching Assistant- 2 semesters
Astronomy Teaching Assistant- 3 semesters
Physics I Discussion Teaching Assistant- 1 semester
Graduate Astronomy Course Teaching Assistant- 1 semester
Astronomy Course Grader- 1 semester
Astronomy Athletic Dept. Tutor- 1 semester

Approach

I want the student to ask questions and will work at making them comfortable with me and asking me questions. There are no stupid questions. Questions allow me to gauge where the student is stuck in the process. We can start by reviewing and any questions they may have. Then the most important part in learning physics or math is actually working problems. Setting up problems is the hardest step for most people. Once you have the problem setup, solving it is usually simple.