Alexander P. Stephan

Teaching Experience

Both during my time as a graduate student and since becoming a postdoctoral scholar, I have been involved in mentoring and supervising several undergraduate students, several of which have published first-author papers as a result of working together. Additionally, several of those students have successfully advanced to graduate school themselves.
I have worked as Teaching Assistant and Teaching Associate for multiple physics and astronomy courses when I was a graduate student at UCLA. Among them were courses on general astronomy education, quantum and statistical mechanics, analytical mechanics, and modern physics laboratory experiments.

Outreach Activities

I am passionate about outreach as a means to advance the science education and experiences of students from under-reprerented groups and to enhance the general public's awareness of current scientific achievements. As such, I served as one of the coordinators of the UCLA astronomy outreach group Astronomy Live! for several years, where we visit local LA schools or hold on-campus events to explain astronomy and physics concept using scientific demonstrations. I have also participated in and at times co-organized the on-campus outreach event Exploring Your Universe, which draws several thousand visitors to UCLA each year. Since joining OSU as a postdoctoral scholar, I have participated in public talks and public virtual discussions to remain involved in outreach as much as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.