Stephen Hall, ScM, PhD

I teach a variety of courses in the physics department, including Astronomy and Energy and the Environment for non-science majors, the introductory physics courses, and upper division courses such as Relativity, Electronics and Thermal Physics. I have also developed a special course on computer-aided data acquisition in which students learn to use the LabVIEW programing language to take data and control experiments. I also teach the first year optics courses in the College of Optometry.

I am active in the development and implementation of recent innovations in teaching physics that foster active learning and improve student understanding. I encorporate a variety of these research-based techniques in my teaching and have presented my work at meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Along with Dr. James Butler, I received a grant from the Berglund Center for Internet Studies to adapt and implement a variety of technology-based techniques, including Peer Instruction and Just in Time Teaching, in the Geometric and Physical Optics courses in the College of Optometry.

My research interests are in soft condensed matter physics. Current research, supported by a grant from the Research Corporation, is on detecting a liquid-liquid transition in the fragile glass formers OTP and Salol.The project provides students at Pacific an opportunity to be involved in scientific research. 

Before coming to Pacific, I held a post-doctoral position at the University of Oregon working in a large effort to study turbulence with low temperature techniques. I was responsible for developing very small velocity sensors for use at liquid helium temperatures (4 K).

My research at Brown University was on cavitation (bubble nucleation) in liquid helium.

Education

PhD at Brown University, Providence, R.I. in 1996

Master of Science at Brown University, Providence, R.I. in 1991

Bachelor of Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass., in 1988