Ranga D.
Private tutor in Cambridge, MA
Education
Dr. Ranga Dias is a scientist at Harvard University, Department of Physics. He completed his Ph.D. at Washington State University in 2013, where he gained extensive experience in transport techniques at high pressures and low temperatures. During his thesis work at WSU he discovered the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetic ordering in a molecular solid—first such observation of superconductivity in simple diamagnetic molecular solid at high pressures. His recent accomplishments have been published in leading scientific journals and also reported in popular press. Education: Ph.D. (Physics) 2013, Washington State University, Washington, USA. B.Sc. (Physics, Mathematics) 2006, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Experience
Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year - Washington State University Awarded by American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) GRE (Quantitative) (170) SAT II Physics (800) Mathematics Level 2 (800) SAT Math ( (800) I consider myself to be a practicing physicist, a passionate researcher, and a physics educator. Each of these aspects is strengthened by the other and I believe my obsession in striving to achieve a balance among these, has pushed me forward in the field. It is said that student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing. Making students question themselves is a way of finding the problem. I also make it a practice to provide in class exercises which make students think and, in certain instances, even provoke them in thinking about the significance of these exercises. In this sense, I often encourage students to question the answer, and to find alternate answers to stray away from the conventional brick wall and the concrete column and to envision emotional experience that spatial structures afford. I like to experiment with different technologies and tools to see if it can make life easier. I believe that there is no use of teaching the same thing, the same way it has been taught 100 years ago. Teaching methods need to be constantly updated and should relate to students. Motivation is a strong factor in education, and students can be motivated by relating education methods to their daily life, so that subject matter does not seem alien. For example, if mobile technology is a part of a student’s daily life it makes sense to connect lessons through that technology. I believe that efficiency, accessibility, and affordability are important criteria in selecting technologies for education, and I have adopted some strategies which have helped me communicate better and made learning more efficient. It is my belief that the answer to our question does not necessarily lie in the most popular or most used way of looking at things. Experimentation often leads us to unexpected solutions to problems. I take this viewpoint very seriously and try to experiment a lot, using tools and software which are not always thought of as mainstream, but often are affordable and easy to use. In summary as an educator, I strive to encourage active learning and enhance student motivation by continuous and close involvement with the students, as well as through new technology. While embracing these digital tools, I believe that they are not a means to themselves. I value and emphasize the importance of the core fundamental concepts in design visualization for design communication and ideation. Even though I consider it to be over ambitious, as an educator, my ultimate goal in teaching a student is to see to it that they become not only proficient in the craft but also develop the ability in thinking critically
Subject Expertise
Elementary AlgebraAlgebra 1AP Physics 2: Electricity and MagnetismAP Physics 2: MechanicsApplied MathematicsCalculus 1Calculus 2Calculus 3College AlgebraElectromagnetismSAT Subject Test in PhysicsGeneral RelativityGRE QuantitativeMaterials SciencePhysicsQuantum MechanicsQuantum PhysicsQuantum TheorySAT MathSAT Mathematics
Availability
Any day after 5PM, Weekends at any time
Can Meet
Up to 10 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I am a professional artist and I do build flying model airplanes. Huge fan of any kind of sports
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