It
is clear that the Physics Department has had a strong interest
over time in improving the teaching of physics, and has contributed
nationally to this effort. Integrating research and teaching
seems to have been a more fractious issue for the department,
one answered differently by its various members at various
times. Underlying the different approaches lurk different
definitions of what research is and what expectations it must
meet. The spectrum of opinion is wide, perhaps owing something
to the nature of the discipline itself. Containing within
itself theoretical and experimental strands, physics lends
itself to an extraordinary level of abstract thought, as well
as work that is concrete and instrument-bound. Thus the field,
and the department, contain theoretical physicists who experiment
by thinking, writing, or working on a computer, and experimentalists
who rely on outside funding to support their needs for expensive
and extensive instrumentation. In the Reed physics department,
these objective differences have been amplified at times by
personal style.
At
one end of the spectrum thus created stands theoretical physicist
Nicholas Wheeler, capable of making the most abstract ideas
so beautiful that students don’t care if they don’t
completely understand. "His research is to take a piece
of a larger picture that has been left murky, a piece no one
has ever understood well, and untangle it to make it elegantly
intelligible," says David Griffiths. "I know of
30 or 40 instances of such monographs that he has written.
I footnoted one in my text on particle physics, and I’ve
had at least 50 requests for that monograph. I mail it out
all the time."
For
Wheeler, the priority is not publishing–he does not submit
his monographs to publications–but teaching, and the
research it spawns. "For many faculty research (in physics)
at Reed tends… to spring from their teaching activity,"
Wheeler says, "thus blurring the distinction between
"teaching" and "research" and making the
teaching more exciting, and making it possible for the students
to become co-participants in the research."
Other
faculty have displayed a different emphasis, one more similar
to that found in Reed’s chemistry or biology departments,
or, for that matter, in large universities, where grants are
common and publication of results the expectation. At this
end of the spectrum stand some, such as Fred Brown, Asim Barut,
and Stavros Theodroakis who have gone on to such other facilities.
Jean
Delord is another faculty member publicly known for his research,
but much of his primary work took place off-campus and led
him to divide his time and attention between Reed and Tektronix.
While students undoubtedly benefited from his connections
there, at the same time, Delord was less available to students
and his department for many years than if he had been full-
time at Reed. More recently, Johnny Powell has concluded that
the emphasis he had placed on funded and publishable work
did not fit easily within the department.
"There’s
a wide chasm between the priority that research is given verbally,
and what is actually done operationally in the department,"
says Richard Crandall. "I believe, with most, that teaching
should be the first priority, with research coming a close
but vital second. But I mean meaningful, peer-reviewed research.
You have to stand up to be counted. You have to put your work
up for scrutiny. The irony of the chasm is that students deserve
such honesty."
"There’s
an ongoing tension over this issue in the department and in
the college," says Mary James. "My feeling is that
it’s a mistake for us to try to be a little Stanford,
to try to do vital research with undergraduates. Physics is
a fairly hierarchical subject, which makes that very difficult–much
more so, for example, than with a subject like psychology." For a student to
get far enough in course work in three years to do serious independent research in
the fourth is nearly
impossible, she believes.
"Johnny
Powell and I are the only faculty to have applied for and
gotten research grants since I’ve been here," says
John Essick. "This may make it appear that this is not
a state of the art department, but remember, theoretical physicists
don’t need that kind of money to do their research, and
for the rest of us, because of the thesis, we keep up to date,
and the department is state-of-the-art. I don’t feel
pressure to get grants," Essick adds, "but I always
go for them to keep myself current."
David
Griffiths has solved the problem for himself by cultivating
an interest in some relatively unexplored issues in classical
electrodynamics. "Some would say it was all wrapped up
100 years ago," says Griffiths, "but there are some
small aspects that are not clear, and it’s a wonderful
subject for me–very do-able here, and I’m not worried
about others racing to publish on it first." In 21 years
at Reed, 13 of Griffiths' research publications have included
students as coauthors. "Year before last year I supervised
three theses," he adds, "and all resulted in publication
of some form." The American Journal of Physics is the most common vehicle.
But as for the college demanding that professors publish, "the pressure in Physics,"
Griffiths says, "is precisely zero." He adds, "Nick
Wheeler is one of the most brilliant physicists I’ve
ever known, and he almost never publishes, which is kind of
a shame. Many could benefit from his work."
"What
my colleagues notice about my work is the quality of the senior
theses that I supervise and if my classes are current and
challenging," summarizes John Essick. Says David Griffiths,
"Because of its location, Reed is very isolated intellectually.
As an elementary particle physicist, I’ve found that
there’s no one in my field within a one to two hour radius.
I think the best thing I can do in the summer is get …
out of town–and often we go to Berkeley. It might be
good for the students, however, if more opportunities existed
to work here with faculty then."
Below
follow some comments by graduates on their perception of the
tradeoff between teaching and research:
- "Reed
gave me a spectacularly good grounding in basic physics,
including things like the path integral approach to quantum
mechanics, which were not yet fashionable in the outside
world but were soon to become so…On the other hand,
because Reed was not a research institution and had no one
doing research in my chosen subfield, I was at a disadvantage
relative to students who came from schools with research
faculty in that field. This affected my first year in grad
school at MIT as far as the time it took to learn the material
and the faculty’s perception of me. It is at least
one of the reasons that I did not end up working with Steven
Weinberg, the best person in my field at MIT. On the other
hand, that the Profs did not do much significant research
was good in that they devoted more of their time to teaching
and interacting with students." Tom Banks, ’69
(Banks is a world-reknowned professor of physics at Rutgers
University.)
- "After
I did my post-doctoral work, I applied to teach at a university.
Now I’m glad I didn’t get the job. I’m interested
in students–their growth and learning. You don’t
have that luxury at the university level; it conflicts with
the pressure to get grants and scientific results. I didn’t
feel that conflict at Reed." Russell Kauffman ’84
(Associate Professor of Physics at Muhlenberg College).
- "I
did perceive conflicts between the ability of faculty to
advance in research and have adequate time for students…
But my personal experience was that I had an involved thesis
adviser (Johnny Powell) who counseled me about my career
and fostered my interest in Biophysics. This seems even
more notable to me when I realize that these were his first
years at Reed as a non-tenured faculty member. So, although
it’s hard, I think that good faculty members can and
do strike the balance." Melanie Bennett ’89 (Bennett
is a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, having received her
PhD from UCLA.)
- "Reed
science faculty members do nothave research programs
anywhere comparable to those expected of faculty at research—oriented
institutions with graduate programs. Most research seems
to be well-intentioned, but aimed more for the low-level
pedagogical benefit of the students rather than serious
advancement of a field of knowledge, but I would argue that
the best way to inspire and educate students is for the
profs to have serious and active research programs--publishing
regularly if not frequently in serious, peer-reviewed research
journals as opposed to pedagogical publications." James
Farrell ’97 (winner of a 1997 NSF fellowship, now in
a graduate program in biophysics at UCSF).
- "I
believe the research Reed conducts is rather meager and
inconsequential (there are exceptions of course). I don’t
think Reed has the resources, personnel or money to do otherwise."
Benjamin Palmer ’95 (graduate student at the University
of Maryland)
- "Some
of the problems with the physics curriculum (see curriculum
section) may have been partially because the department
is out of touch with the requirements of a modern graduate
physics department, and to some extent with the field of
active physics research." Rachel Somerville ’89. (Somerville
is currently a post-doctoral researcher in astrophysics
at the University of Cambridge; she will be returning to
a tenure track position at the University of Michigan in
2001.)
- "While
several of the newer people did interesting research, there
was a strong sense that it was somehow clandestine–that
they were doing it despite the department, rather than as
part of it…. I believe that it’s possible to be
‘too’ focused on teaching, and the department–which
seemed to be actively discouraging faculty from doing research
at that time–could certainly have loosened up a bit
in that respect without losing their students." Craig
DeForest ’89.
- "Research
by the faculty was limited by their dedication to teaching,
but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In choosing
to work at Reed, they are saying that they want to concentrate
on being a good teacher." Benjamin Brau ’93 (graduate
student in particle physics at MIT).
The
Reed Physics Department
The
Era of Experimentalists: 1911-1963
The
Era of Theoretical Physics: 1963-1897
Achieving
Balance: 1987-Present
Academic
Structure and Issues
Junior
Qual
Senior
Thesis
The
Role of Research and the Integration of Research and Teaching
The
Curriculum
Relations with Students
Teaching Style
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