Keith Willson

Keith Willson, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor of physics, teaches the calculus-based introductory physics sequence taken by students majoring in physics, chemistry, engineering, and computer science, and the algebra-based introductory physics sequence taken by students majoring in biology and other life sciences.

In his classroom, students take part in demonstrations and discussions of physical phenomena and the mathematical models used to describe them, and work on practice problems. In the lab, students work in groups to set up hands-on experiments, and record and analyze data. The lab component allows students to have hands-on experience with the phenomena they learn about in lecture, helping to better retain concepts for future lectures.  

Dr. Willson’s teaching style is influenced by the Socratic Method wherein a teacher asks questions of a student, and the student, by answering the sequence of questions, comes to a deeper understanding of the topic under consideration. He has an open-door policy allowing students to stop in his office or the physics lab any time he is available.  

Dr. Willson’s classes prepare students for future careers in:  

• Engineering
• Computer science
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Biology
• Medicine