Jan 16, 2008 -- On tour in Montreal, Canada, Mazur lectured at Concordia University on teaching large classes and on the Peer Instruction method. Mazur's call/response form of teaching allows for a “continuous assessment and feedback. A number of faculty at Concordia are implementing the method in their classes. More

At Concordia

Jan 5, 2008 -- An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education explains how the Economics Department at the University of Akron has begun taking the task of assessment more seriously. Rather than measuring "things that are easily measured" (read: end of semester evaluations), the department now developed a comprehensive assessment plan based on undergraduates' proficiencies. One professor likens it to the "ConcepTest" strategy developed by the Mazur group. More

See also: Chronicle of Higher Education, January 5, 2008

Oct 23, 2007 -- Eric Mazur was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in recognition of his "pioneering contributions to optical waveguiding at the nanoscale level and to understanding the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with materials." A certificate confirming the election will be presented to Mazur at the CLEO/QELS meeting to be held May 4-9, 2008 in San Jose, CA.

OSA Fellow

Jul 17, 2007 -- In a conversation with Eric Mazur for the Science section of The New York Times, Claudia Dreifus discusses doing physics, teaching, and serendipitous discoveries. She notes that Mazur is "as experimental in his classroom as he is in his research laboratory." The article became the 11th most emailed article on the New York Times web site on the day of publication. More

Eric Mazur on Physics

See also: The New York Times, July 17, 2007, Science, p.2

May 18, 2007 -- Mazur "conquered the audience" during his hour-long lecture on education at the Fundação Serralves in Porto, writes Andrea Freitas in the Portuguese daily Público. The lecture was the first in a cycle on education in a series entitled Crítica do contemporâneo. In it Mazur used examples from his teaching career to convince the audience that every teacher ought to abandon the podium and take on the role of a coach to help students learn. More

Mazur in Portugal

See also: Público, May 17, 2007, p. 12

Apr 27, 2007 -- Brian Tull successfully defended his thesis titled, Femtosecond laser ablation of silicon: nanoparticles, doping and photovoltaics, at 1:00 pm on Friday, April 27, 2007. Afterwards, there was much rejoicing. Thesis committee: Prof. Eric Mazur, Prof. Cynthia Friend and Prof. Mike Aziz. (Photo: Ruby Arguilla Tull)

The doctor is in