Christopher Sirola
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
Education
University of Pittsburgh, (Astronomy), Ph.D. (1995)
University of Pittsburgh, (Physics), M.S. (1990)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, (Astronomy-Physics), B.S. (1988)
Recent Work Experience
- Assistant Professor & head of physics teacher licensure program, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern Mississippi (USM), 2004-present
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Physics Department, Marquette University (MU), 2001-2004.
- Instructor, Science Department, Tri-County Technical College (TCTC), 1995-2001.
Recent Publications & Presentations
- “Rough-Tuned Universe: How the “Fine-tuned” Argument of Intelligent Design Creationists Works Against Them”, Sirola, Skeptic, 16, 4 (2011)
- “Warning! Celestial Bodies and Graphing Content Ahead!”, Sirola, The Classroom Astronomer 6 (Winter 2010-11)
- “Rebels in Physics Classes”, Sirola, presentation @ the Spring conference of the American Association of Physics Teachers (2011); also presented preliminary results at MAS (Mississippi Academy of Sciences, 2010) and PhysTEC (Physics Teacher Education Coalition, 2009) conferences
- “Kinesthetic Cosmology”, Sirola, The Classroom Astronomer 2 (Winter 2009-10)
- “The Status of Physics & Astronomy Education in Mississippi”, Sirola, presentation @ annual meeting of the Mississippi Association of Physicists (2007)
- “Laboratory Exercises for Stellar Astronomy”, Sirola, Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston, MA (2007)
- “Laboratory Exercises for Solar System Astronomy”, Sirola, Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston, MA (2006)
- “Promoting Physical Science to Education Majors”, Korb, M., Sirola, C., & Climack, R., Journal of College Science Teaching (March/April 2005)
Recent Synergistic Activities
- 2009-present: Had USM join PhysTEC, an organization linking over one hundred colleges & universities in the United States & dedicated to improving physics education
- 2009-2011: PI on an NSF grant (CCLI) to create a new course to teach physical science to education majors
- Summer 2007 – present: Co-PI on an NSF grant (Noyce) to administer scholarships to prospective science high school teachers in high-needs regions in the state of Mississippi
- Summer 2007 – present: PI on a mini-grant from the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium to combine the teaching of astronomy with that of music in secondary schools via Holst’s “The Planets”
- 2006-2007 academic year: Acting physics & astronomy laboratory coordinator; responsible for teaching assistants & lab equipment. Also incorporated a seminar course for graduate students regarding effective teaching practices
- 2005-2006 calendar years: Wrote & piloted new laboratory manuals for solar system and stellar astronomy courses at USM, incorporating active learning pedagogy. Conducted with a grant from USM.
Workshops/Public Talks Conducted
- The Physics of Movement, presented @ OLLI (2011)
- How Do We Know, presented @ Rainwater Observatory (MS) (2011)
- Using Constellations to Teach Astronomy, workshop @ Rainwater Observatory (2010)
- What If?, presented @ Rainwater Observatory (2010)
- Annus Mirabilis, presented @ Rainwater Observatory (2009)
- Happy Birthday, Tunguska! presented @ Rainwater Observatory, Atlanta Astronomy Club (2008)
- Applying Active Learning Techniques to Teaching Physics & Astronomy, presented @ USM (2007)
- Requiem for Pluto?, presented @ Rainwater Observatory, University of Louisiana-Lafayette (2007)
- Patterns in the Sky: Using Constellations to Teach Astronomy, workshop @ Rainwater Observatory (2007)
- Cosmology from A to A: Aristotle to the Accelerating Universe (2006)
- Bang! A Selected Brief History of Cosmology, presented @ USM (2006)
- The Unified Model of Quasi-Stellar Objects, presented @ University of Mississippi, Jackson State University etc. (2006)
- Black Holes are GOOD for you! presented @ USM, elsewhere (2004)
Miscellaneous
- Biweekly science column in the Hattiesburg-American (2006-present); over 150 columns to date
- Participation in Science Olympiad (2005-present)
- Participation in Science Fair (2005-present)
- Ran High School Physics Competition @ USM (2005-2008, 2010)
Collaborators (includes current & past projects; not all collaborators are listed)
- Current Collaborators
- Deborah Booth, Instructor, Dept. of Chemistry, USM
- Patricia Biesiot, Associate Dean, College of Science & Technology, USM
- Anita Davis, Associate Professor, School of Music, USM
- Khin Maung Maung, Chair, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, USM
- Sherry Herron, Director, CSME, USM
- Sheila Hendry, Instructor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, USM
- Mary Peters, Instructor, Dept. of Mathematics, USM
- Previous Collaborators
- Jacob Blickenstaff, Assistant Director, Center for Science & Mathematics Education (CSME), USM
- Tommy Sumrall, Science Teacher & education graduate student, Forest County Agricultural High School, Mississippi
- Michele Korb, Instructor, School of Education, MU
- Lynn Mack, Director, Instructional Development & Transfer Coordinator, SCATE
- Graduate Advisor
- David Turnshek, Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh (Ph.D. Thesis Advisor)