Dr. Salomon Itza
Assistant Professor of Physics
B. S., Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico
M. S., Center for Research and Advanced Studies, Mexico
Ph.D., Tulane University
Office: 125 Smith-Broyles Science Building
Phone: (479) 979-1365
E-Mail: sitza@ozarks.edu
Dr. Salomon Itza joined the Ozarks faculty in the fall of 2006. His field of expertise is Theoretical Atomic Physics. After graduate school he worked as a Research Associate (postdoc) at Tulane University in the field of Condensed Matter Physics. Later he pursued a postdoc in Physics Education at Kansas State University. Before coming to Ozarks, Dr. Itza was part of the San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus faculty.
Dr. Itza has an interest in teaching physics at all levels; conceptual, algebra- and calculus- based, and upper-level courses. His approach has been to encourage students to see that physics is around them every day and although they may not be able to write down mathematical equations to express situations, or to know the name of the physics laws, he believes that they should be able to explain the basic concepts. He encourages them to perform experiments, because he believes physics is best learned by “doing,” and not by “listening.” He also has been involved in physics workshops for elementary school teachers.
In Dr. Itza's opinion physics is one science course that everyone should take in high school and college. Physics is the study of nature in its simplest form, from atoms to galaxies. It is the science of daily existence -- the nature of forces and how things respond to those forces, the conservation of mass, energy, and momentum, and some aspects of gravity -- these are all concepts everyone experiences. The study of physics can guide and clarify our thinking to reveal the underlying nature of our experiences.
If Dr. Itza is not in his office look for him in one of the two physics labs. There is always something to do in the lab; Ah!, this is because the fundamentals for physics lie in experiments.
