“As a physicist, there is no greater pleasure than...seeing formerly science-anxious students realize that physics is not some incomprehensible fog, but a process of discovery in which they can participate.”

Leon Hsu was once asked if he would ever tire of teaching. His answer was a definite “no.” His love for teaching is good news for U physics students because in Hsu they have not only a brilliant scholar but also one who takes genuine interest in their learning.

The first thing that strikes Hsu’s students is that by the end of the first week he will know their names, whether in a class of 40 or 200. He wants to know his students--and encourages them to pay him a five-minute introductory visit by offering grade boosts for those who do. Says one student: “It’s really exciting to find a professor at such a large school who takes such an interest in knowing his students. This simple gesture alone has made him shine in my memory forever.”

Hsu possesses a strong sense of responsibility toward the education of all his students. His efforts in getting to know them allow him to find ways to relate to each student as an individual and adapt to their unique learning needs. “I’ve never had a teacher so devoted to his students’ achievement in so many ways,” a student says.

Hsu is by no means a one-dimensional professor. An innovative physics education researcher, Hsu helps teachers design effective instruction for introductory physics and for teaching physics to non-science majors, especially culturally diverse students who have had negative experiences in science. Regular visitors to the U Rec Center will also see him teaching aerobics classes, where he shows the same enthusiasm and concern for his students as in his physics classes.

Visit the Leon Hsu faculty Web page here.