All physics students are assigned a physics faculty mentor in order to guide their academic progress while pursuing a major in physics. Â鶹ÒùÔº must receive mentoring from a physics faculty mentor at least once a semester, prior to registering for classes. Faculty mentors can provide guidance on physics major coursework, research opportunities, and career paths.

Meeting with a faculty mentor individually

Continuing students should prepare for a meeting with a faculty mentor by knowing their current schedule and their plans for the future. Assignments by last name are intended for initial visits. Â鶹ÒùÔº are encouraged to work with the same faculty mentor over the course of their academic career, when feasible. Â鶹ÒùÔº should complete theÌýÌýprior to meeting their mentor, and should visit faculty mentors during their office hours.

Note: During the summer, faculty mentors do not hold weekly office hours. Please email your mentor for assistance.

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PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: A - B)

Chris Akers Portrait

Chris Akers

Assistant Professor • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: A - B)
Physics
Office Hours: Monday 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research interests I am interested in combining quantum mechanics and gravity, especially by thinking about quantum mechanical aspects of black holes and the AdS/CFT correspondence (our best theory of quantum gravity so far). To this end, I often use the tools of quantum information theory and quantum computation, and I am interested in expanding these connections. How can...
chris.akers@colorado.edu

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: C - D)

Michael Calkins Portrait

Michael Calkins

Associate Professor • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: C - D)
Physics
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. in DUAN F727 • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research Interests: My research interests can be broadly classified as geophysical and astrophysical fluid dynamics (GAFD). Some of the problems in which I’m interested are the generation of planetary magnetic fields via the inductive action of turbulent motions, and the physics of fluid motion in planetary atmospheres. Research in GAFD requires an interdisciplinary approach that...
michael.calkins@colorado.edu     (303) 735-4853

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: E - I)

Yuan Shi

Yuan Shi

Assistant Professor • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: G - I) • Fellow - Center for Integrated Plasma Studies (CIPS)
Physics
Office hours: Monday 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in F813 or Zoom • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research: The research in our group uncovers the synergy between plasma physics and quantum physics. We study how magnetic fields change laser-plasma interactions for fusion and photonics applications. We develop quantum algorithms for plasma-related problems and improve the performance of current quantum hardware. We explore field-theory models and use...
yuan.shi@colorado.edu     (303) 735-1362

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: J - L)

Joseph MacLennan Portrait

Joseph MacLennan

Professor Attendant Rank • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: J - L)
Physics
Office Hours: Wednesday 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. or by appointment • PHYS-BA Mentoring Zoom Link • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Background: Joseph Maclennan received his B.Sc.(Hons.) in Physics and Electronics from Rhodes University, South Africa, in 1980, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Colorado in 1988. He then spent five years in the Physical Chemistry Department at the University of Mainz in Germany, the first two as...
jem@colorado.edu     (303) 492-7543

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: M - N)

Katherine Perkins Portrait

Katherine Perkins

Professor Attendant Rank • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: M-N)
Physics
Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. via zoom • https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/96198810865 • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research Interests: Kathy Perkins is Director of PhET Interactive Simulations (2008-present) and Professor Attendant Rank in Physics, specializing in Physics Education and STEM Education Research. She previously served as Associate Director (2006-10) and Director (2010-16) of CU’s Science Education Initiative. Her work currently focuses on advancing the design and classroom use of interactive simulations...
katherine.perkins@colorado.edu

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: O - R)

Eleanor Hodby Portrait

Eleanor Hodby

Associate Teaching Professor • Director - Diversity Initiatives • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: O-R)
Physics
Virtual Office Hours: Friday 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. • PHYS-BA Mentoring Zoom Link • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form •
hodby@colorado.edu     (303) 735-6964

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: S)

Daniel Bolton Portrait

Daniel Bolton

Associate Teaching Professor • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: S)
Physics
Office Hours: Thursday 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. via Zoom, and Friday 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. in DUAN F1033 • PHYS-BA Mentoring Zoom Link • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research Interests: Dr. Bolton was originally trained in theoretical nuclear physics. He now works in the field of Physics Education Research. Dr. Bolton enjoys studying how students learn physics, especially at the introductory level.
daniel.bolton@colorado.edu     (303) 492-7368

PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: T - Z)

Shijie Zhong Portrait

Shijie Zhong

Professor • PHYS Faculty Mentor (Student's Last Name: T - Z)
Physics
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:00am - 11:00am in DUAN F713 or via PHYS-BA Mentoring Zoom Link • PHYS-BA Mentoring Form • Research Interests: Our research interests have been primarily in understanding the physical processes that control the evolution of terrestrial planets (Earth, Moon, Mars, ...). Modern space exploration has provided high resolution gravity and topography data about many planets. Other observational techniques including seismology and in-situ sampling have revealed the structure...
shijie.zhong@colorado.edu     (303) 735-5095