Education

I enjoy teaching a lot. I teach several physics courses at bachelor and master level, and I am the director of Studies of the master programme in Applied Physics. International students are welcome to apply to this programme through the central admission office of the TU Delft.

I have a longstanding experience as a teacher and I have tried out many different formats. I believe teaching is successful when there is a good match between the personality of the lecturer (which is hard to grasp in quantitative studies), the content, and the student's background.

I have taught many courses in a 'traditional' format (lectures and exercise classes, with emphasis on the latter). I like writing out derivations on my linux tablet, using the program xournal http://xournal.sourceforge.net . This has the advantage that one avoids rushing through the material, and the students can access everything which I wrote at the lecture as this is posted on the digital learning environment (DLO).

I also have used computer-based instruction material, which I developed in the 1980-ies. For many years, I have taught computational physics as an international project-based course, together with Profs. Rajiv Kalia (then at LSU, now at USC) and the late Simon de Leeuw from Delft, then with Phil Duxbury (Michigan State). I have abandoned this course since a few years now. 

I have taught Advanced Statistical Mechanics in Delft for several years using a 'flipped classroom' concept: the students study the material using lecture notes/books/videos and they use the class time (4 hours/week) mainly for working on problems, in collaboration and lecturers and TA's helping them when they get stuck.

Currently, I am (one of) the main lecturer for the courses: 

  • Statistical Physics (BSc)
  • Advanced Statistical Mechanics (MSc)
  • Applications of Quantum Mechanics (MSc)
  • Introduction to Mathematics for Physicists (Minor, BSc level)

In addition, I teach some lectures within the course 'Fairy Tales of Theoretical Physics' and 'Molecular Electronics' (both MSc).

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