Joe Lowry doesn't give tests. He holds "celebrations of
knowledge."
One of his astronomy classes so embraced the idea that,
on an exam day, Lowry walked in to find a room full of
students wearing party hats. One student had even baked
cupcakes.
"I like to make it fun," said Lowry, an Eastern Michigan
University physics and astronomy lecturer, who was the
recent recipient of EMU's 2007-08 Full-Time Lecturers Outstanding
Teaching Award. "Physics is so much fun for me, and many
students come in with a phobia of physics and math. I like
to have them leave with an appreciation of the fact that
it's not all drudgery."
 |
PHYSICS IS FUN: (above, from left) Joe
Lowry,
an EMU physics and astronomy lecturer, works
in a Strong Hall lab with student Julia Hoot, a
senior from Petersburg, and Hamdi Ahmed, a
senior from Ann Arbor. Lowry was recently
named the recipient of the 2007-08 Full-Time
Lecturers Outstanding Teaching Award. |
In the same sense, Lowry said he hopes the award will
reflect positively on the physics department.
The award, bestowed by Academic Affairs, requires documentation
showing a lecturer's commitment to the education of students
and their ability to facilitate student learning from effective
teaching. Lowry will receive a $1,000 honorarium and a
plaque. He will be honored on a date yet to be determined.
Lowry borrowed the "celebration of knowledge" concept
from a former student who came to an exam inexplicably
cheerful. It's just one of the ways he makes physics and
astronomy accessible for his students, many of whom aren't
physics or astronomy majors.
"Joe is indefatigable," said Bonnie Wylo, an EMU physics
and astronomy professor. "It seems like he's always here!
He's very knowledgeable in the field, teaches a lot of
classes and his students love him. He always has a trail
of them following him to his office to talk with him. They
have to pass by my office, so I know.
"I've also heard about him, unsolicited, from some of
his students I've run into out in the world. They love
his class. He's entertaining, funny, and goes that extra
mile as a teacher to explain and demonstrate physics concepts."
A licensed pilot, Lowry can relate physics to the way
a plane behaves. An avid rock and ice climber, he can bring
the dynamics of the outdoors to the classroom (or, as mentor
and colleague Ernie Behringer puts it, "He can talk about
falling off rocks.") Lowry is a mechanic and a carpenter,
so the physics of tools and machinery also are part of
his teaching tool kit.
But Lowry also can relate to students who would just as
soon have a root canal as take a physics class. As much
as Lowry loves physics now, he hated it as an undergraduate
at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he was required
to take two courses on the way to a degree in aviation
technology.
"I walked out of the exam for my second physics class
and said to a friend, 'The best part of that exam is that,
as long as I live, I will never take a physics class again,'" he
said.
But when Lowry graduated from Embry-Riddle, jobs in aviation
were scarce, so the Redford native moved back to Michigan
and started work on an engineering degree. He took a physics
class at Oakland Community College, taught by Davie Stoddard,
an OCC physics professor and EMU alumnus. Having a teacher
who taught physics in a way he could appreciate it made
all the difference. Lowry fell in love with the discipline
and never looked back, eventually earning his master's
degree at EMU where he built a special type of laser with
Behringer as his adviser.
"His attention to detail was really evident. Basically,
he was the best master's student I've ever had," Behringer
said. "When he finished that, he began teaching in our
department. ...He's always interested in communicating
physics, whether it's as a teacher or just with people
he knows. And he's really good at it. At this point, there's
no question (about his wanting to teach.)"
Lowry has had students come to his classes leery of physics
and end up becoming physics majors. And, through Behringer,
Lowry's become involved in the American Association of
Physics Teachers, presenting at one of their national conferences.
More locally, Lowry conducts physics activities with second-
and third-graders at St. Valentine's School in Redford
and has helped a friend design projects for his sixth-grade
science class in Walled Lake. One former student asked
Lowry to help design an activity for her daughters' Girl
Scout camp, and he's been back just about every year since,
organizing activities that range from a walkable scale
model of the solar system to a solar oven.
"I really enjoy working with students, and I love teaching
in this department with the people l work with," he said. "I
like the challenge it brings every day. I've enjoyed academia
for a while as a student, and it's a nice transition into
teaching. As I tell my students, I get to play with toys
every day."
