Meet Our Faculty
Julie Ziffer
- Title
- Assistant professor of physics
- Department
- Physics
- Areas of interest
-
Astronomy, comets, and asteroids. General physics courses,
sustainability energy usage/consumption.
What are the strengths of the Physics Department?
All four faculty members are committed to teaching and engaging students. All of us are involved in research, and we all have students involved. That’s very rare in undergraduate physics departments. We’re able to make research accessible to students. That’s what interested me most about coming to USM, that huge emphasis on teaching.
What are some of the advantages to studying physics here?
Student access to faculty. One area I’m researching is a very hot topic right now - the potential impact of asteroids on the earth. General media have taken an interest in it. Students are getting excited about it. It’s interesting to see in the newspapers things related to what we’re researching.
What notable professional experience has influenced your teaching?
I think you teach according to what best fits your personality and your students. Your style has to work for your students and for you. For my personality, being student-focused works best for me. I’m a social person, I enjoy working with colleagues and students, and that’s the way my research will excel; it’s critical for my research, because that’s how I work best, collaboratively.
What do students want from their physics education?
Physics attracts a very special type of person. People interested in physics are very inquisitive. They want to find answers to their questions about the world around them. They want to know how things work. It’s a lot like the way philosophers are drawn to philosophy. And, like philosophers, they want to have the mathematical tools to get to the answers.
What is your role in students’ lives?
My role is to be a mentor as well as a guide. It’s very important to be accessible to students, to be a resource. It’s also my role to engage students at all levels. It doesn’t matter if it’s an introductory or a major-level course, students have to care about what they are doing if they’re going to be successful at it. I do what I can to make sure students are passionate about their work.
For you, what’s the appeal of teaching at USM?
The Portland area is a wonderful community, it was a real draw for me. When I was checking out USM on the Web, I looked at the physics page and the faculty profiles. I said to myself, “This is a place where I can see myself spending the rest of my professional life.” The student population is just wonderful. There’s such diversity of backgrounds.
Where do you live and why?
I’m the faculty advisor of the sustainable living community in Upperclass Hall in Gorham. That’s part of the engaging-students piece of things, facilitating a community feeling on campus. That’s a truly wonderful part of working at an academic institution. If students aren’t engaged, I’m not doing my job.
What’s Portland’s best-kept secret?
Just the abundance of activities to do every week. Instead of trying to hunt for things to do with our two small kids on the weekend, we have to choose between two or three wonderful activities every day. Most things are very affordable or free.
