• Details


• FEB 27
• Wed 1:25pm - 2:30pm
• Center for Teaching Excellence
• Thomas Cooper Library, Room L511
  

This event is sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Considered the highest honor for teaching, the Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year Award is given annually to a truly exceptional educator. The 2012 awardee is Dr. Milind Kunchur, a graduate of Rutgers University and, since 1997, a member of USC’s Physics and Astronomy faculty.  He was a Post-doctoral Fellow at Virginia, an ORISE Research Associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and a NRC Senior Fellow at Wright Patterson, prior to coming to USC as an Assistant Professor. An internationally recognized expert in flux dynamics and superconducting materials, he has published over 45 peer reviewed papers and presented his work worldwide. He has been a steady contributor to the undergraduate instruction in physics, developing classes both for science majors and for non-science majors.  He teaches one particularly popular and successful class on the physics of sound for non-majors. 

When asked about how it was to take a physics class as a non-major, students from various disciplines commented on his enthusiasm and dedication to teaching, and how good he is at explaining things in clear simple terms. “He knows every student by name in spite of the size of the class, and every day before class he moves around the class asking how the students are doing and are they having problems with the previous day’s materials.” He is known for adding humor to his lectures, and for bringing the science to a level where they can both appreciate and understand the basic physical properties.  His students appreciate that every question gets a clear, informative answer, yet his class remains focused.

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