Juan R. Burciaga Affiliation: Faculty Title: Visiting Assistant Professor Office: Olin 105 Email: burciagaj@denison.edu Phone: 740-587-5665 B.S. from University of Texas at Arlington, 1975 M.S. from University of Texas at Arlington, 1977 Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, 1986 View Juan's personal page.

Teaching Philosophy and Pedagogy

Most of my work in curriculum development and pedagogical research has been in responses to what I see in my courses. At one time the question that drove me was – Why do people have trouble learning physics?

But now I also ask – Why do not more people have fun learning physics?

To me physics is hard and challenging … but it is also fascinating, suspenseful and always surprising. The universe is full of challenges, mysteries, wonders, and (in some ways) implacable logic. Who would not want to study it? Why?

Some of my recent papers and talks are

• "The Role and Preparation of Faculty for the Changing Community of Physics" (invited), Juan R. Burciaga, NW APS Regional Meeting, Vancouver, BC, 2009
  
• "How Do We Increase the Participation of Under-Represented Groups in Physics" (invited), Juan R. Burciaga, AAPT Summer Meeting, Edmonton, 2008
• EDITORIAL: "Diversity in Physics: Closing the Gap", Interactions, June/July 2007
• BOOK REVIEW: "A Love of Discovery: The Second Career of Robert Karplus" by Robert G. Fuller, American Journal of Physics, April 2007
  
• "Self-Assessment as a Tool for Reflective Teaching", Juan R. Burciaga, NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting, Boston, 2007
• "Designing a Workshop for Change in the Community of Physics", Juan R. Burciaga, AAPT Winter Meeting, January 2007
• "Characterizing and Assessing Affective Goals of the Introductory Physics Laboratory Experience", Juan R. Burciaga, NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting, San Jose, 2006
• "A Journey into Inquiry, Research, and Social Community in the Introductory Physics Laboratory: A Short Course in Experimental Philosophy", Juan R. Burciaga, Conference on the Innovations in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at the Liberal Arts Colleges, St. Olaf College/Carlton College, 2004

Physics Research

I study the photodissociation of molecular hydrogen. That is I study how molecular hydrogen can at times dissociate into atomic hydrogen when the molecule is struck by appropriate light. Though this is a straight-forward kind of quantum mechanical problem there is a subtle interaction between the energy states of the molecule that point to a surprising effect. It has been a while since I have picked up this problem but there are still some questions I’d like to investigate.

Some of my early work is summarized in

• "Nonadiabatic Perturbation of the C State Shape Resonances in the Photodissociation of Molecular Hydrogen", Burciaga, J.R. and A.L. Ford,  (J. Mol. Spec. 149, 1, 1991)