Curriculum Vitae

Richard A. Lindgren

Photo/CV Updated Aug 28 2020

Personal Data

Office Address: Dept. of Phys., 382 McCormick Rd | PO Box 400714 | Charlottesville, VA 22904-4714

Office Telephone: 434/924‑6165, 434/924‑3781, FAX: (434) 924-4576, E-MAIL: RAL5q@Virginia.edu

Home Address: 449 Rookwood Drive, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Wife: Ying Lindgren

Children: Richard A. Lindgren, Jr, Michael D. Lindgren, Dana Leigh Lindgren Overstreet, Kristin Lindgren Henningsen

Grandchildren: Richard A. Lindgren III, Kathryn Lindgren, David Lindgren, Jack Overstreet, Alexa Overstreet, Christopher Lindgren, Michelle Lindgren, Maximilian (Max) Henningsen, Christian (Chip) Henningsen III, Eric (Chuck) Henningsen ( step-grandson)

Extra-curricular Activities

Tennis, Running, Basketball, Softball, Billiards, Chess, Reading, Ballroom Dancing, Church, House Renovation, and Yardwork.

Educational History

B.A. Physics, University of Rhode Island, 1962

M.A. Condensed Matter Physics, Wesleyan University (Advisor William Trousdale), 1964

Dissertation "Propagation of Conduction Electron Spin Polarization through Metallic Surface Films"

Ph.D. Nuclear Physics, Yale University (Advisor D. Allan Bromley), 1969

Dissertation "A Study of Light Rigid Rotor Nuclei"

Teaching/Service Awards

• In Appreciation for his Efforts in Establishing the Masters of Arts in Physics Education at the University of Virginia 1999

• Virginia Association of Science Teachers Non-K12 Educator Award for Outstanding Teaching 2003

Professional Experience

2009-Present Retired Research Professor of Physics, University of Virginia

1985-2009 Research Professor of Physics, University of Virginia (Nuclear and Particle Physics Studies at JLab and Physics Education/Outreach)

1977-1985 Associate Professor of Physics, University of Mass. (Nuclear Structure/Reaction Studies with electrons, protons, and pions)

1973-1977 Physicist, Naval Research Laboratory (Nuclear Physics Studies with 40-60 MeV Electrons)

1971-1973 Research Associate, University of Rochester (Nuclear Physics Studies with 10 MV VDG)

1970-1971 National Academy of Science Post‑Doctoral Fellow (Nuclear Studies with 8MV VDG)

1969-1970 Research Associate, University of Maryland, College Park (Studies with 3 MV VDG)

1965-1969 Graduate Research Assistant, Yale University (Nuclear Physics Studies with 10 MV VDG)

1964-1965 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Yale University (Introductory Physics Labs)

1963-1964 Graduate Research Assistant, Condensed Matter Group, Wesleyan University

1962-1963 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Wesleyan University

1961-1962 Two Summers, Physicist, Sound and Vibration Group, General Dynamics, Groton, CT

University of Virginia University Service

Founder, Director, Advisor, Instructor,PI or Co-PI for Funding, Master of Arts in Physics Education Degree Program 1999 - 2010

Project Director, "Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program," 1988 - 1997

Project Director, "Research Experiences and Curriculum Enhancement for High School

Physics Teachers," 1992-1993, 1995 -2002.

Director, "Science Projects for the Center of Liberal Arts", 1992-1995.

Research Community Service (This is incomplete)

Proposal Reviewer for National Science Foundation (Intermediate Energy, REU, and ESIE) and Department of Energy (Nuclear Physics), Journal Referee for Physical Review C, Physical Review Letters, and Physics Letters. Bates Linear Accelerator Users Group, Inc., Vice Chairman, 1981‑1982, President, 1982‑1983, Board of Directors, 1982‑1885, Member, Program Advisory Committee for Bates‑MIT Laboratory, 1982, Observer, Program Advisory Committee for Bates‑MIT Laboratory, 1983;Appointed Member, Nuclear Science Resource Committee, 1981(Nuclear Physics Division of the American Physical Society), Member, Organizing Committee for the International Conference on Spin Excitations in Nuclei, Telluride, CO, March 1982, Member, Local Organization Committee for the Nuclear Physics Divisional Meeting of the American Physical Society, Amherst, 1982, Invited Participant, Nuclear Structure Gordon Conference, 1982, Chairman, Intermediate Energy Session, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 27 (1982), Discussion Leader, Nuclear Structure Gordon Conference, 1978, Participation in a Panel Discussion on Nuclear Power which was televised on a local TV Network, 1978.

Professional Affiliations

Member of American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers, Virginia Association of Science Teachers, Jefferson Lab Users Group, Bates Linear Accelerator Users Group, Inc., LAMPF Users Group, IUCF Users Group, Jefferson Lab Users Group, BNL Users Group, LEGS Users Group, SLAC Users Group, Hall A Collaboration at Jefferson Laboratory, BigBite Collaboration in HALL A at Jefferson Laboratory.

List of funded projects PI and Co-PI can be provided upon request

Physics Teaching/Education/Outreach/Research

1969-1977

After receiving my Ph.D in Nov 1969 at Yale University I took a Post-Doctoral position at the University of Maryland, then a 1 year National Academy of Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship, and a two year Post-Doctoral position at the University of Rochester. I accepted a full-time nuclear physicist position at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in 1973 to conduct electron scattering studies on magnetic resonances in nuclei using the in-house 60 MeV electron accelerator. I also taught part-time at Catholic University and George Mason during the same period.

1977-1985

Four years later when NRL decided to stop funding Nuclear Physics, I accepted an Associate Professor position at the University of Massachusetts teaching one physics course a semester and joined the nuclear physics group. During this period and from earlier work I had published over 50 papers in Nuclear Physics. I was gradually becoming well known for my work in high spin magnetic resonances in nuclei called "stretched excitations" excited in medium energy electron and hadron scattering. In 1985 I was invited by the search committee from the University of Virginia to join the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics and the Department of Physics as a Research Professor of Physics and to start a program at CEBAF now known as Jefferson Lab.

1985-2009

I started out focusing on nuclear physics with a grant from NSF and then DOE to continue work in medium energy electron and hadron scattering, but as time went on I got more involved with Physics Teaching/Education/Outreach. I led a group which founded the University of Virginia Department of Physics Master of Arts in Physics Education program (MAPE) and I became its first Director. During this period of time I won many Professional Development Grants from SCHEV and also NSF to provide programs to increase the content level of high school physics teachers, broaden their pedagogical skills, and expose them to how physics is useful in society. Eventually I partnered with education people to help physical science teachers as well. After being the Director of MAPE for 10 years, one of the two main physics instructors for the masters’ program , and fund raiser, I retired from running the program and from full time research to teach part time at UVa. A complete timeline of all these events can be found in my full curriculum vitae.

2009-2020

Although retired as a professor in 2009, I still won several grant awards ($522,000) as PI including 2 Math-Science Partnerships in collaboration with the Curry School of Education in 2012 and 2014. During this time I also taught over 20 physics courses to pre-meds and calculus based for engineers and over 30 web based courses at UVa. I also taught at Hue University in Vietnam for 6 summers (2011-2017), which was part of a joint UVa-Vietnam advanced physics program led by faculty in Physics. I also taught teachers online seeking professional development courses including unique courses with Labs done at home. In-service teachers were provided complete kits in E/M and Optics with all the necessary tools to complete the Labs. My teaching evaluations are good and well within the mainstream in the Department of Physics which has a reputation as a good teaching faculty. One outstanding comment has always been how much I cared about the student learning the material.

Teaching Methods

My philosophy in teaching has migrated with the times following all the new trends in teaching physics such as Just-in-Time-Teaching, Flipping the Class Room, Inquiry Learning, Mazur’s Peer Instruction, Interactive Learning, David Hestenes Force Concept Inventory Test, etc. However, the pendulum has swung back. Presently, I prefer teaching with a laptop or notes, a supplementary backboard with some chalk and appropriate hands-on visuals for in-person classes. For online classes which I have also taught since 2000 it is a little more challenging especially when administering exams. My lectures have been given online using an ipad and subsequently recorded using Zoom for students to replay. I do disagree with some current trends in teaching physics that rely on test banks, multiple choice (MC) questions and Mastering Physics and WebAssign for homework. One big issue is that students spend more time searching for problem solutions (and find them ) than learning how to solve the problems. More often than not they will ask you how to solve the same problem (just before the exam) that they received a perfect score on the homework. I also have taught this way as well when part of team teaching large intro pre-med or engineering classes. It may be the most efficient way for an instructor to spend their time, but not the most useful for the student to learn physics.

Comments about Testing/Homework

For testing I prefer multiple choice (MC) exams since it is the most objective way to grade. There are intelligent ways to create detractors on MC problems and also offer partial credit by having students eliminate the wrong answers. In my opinion, exams themselves are not necessarily a learning experience, but it is to see how much you know and you want it to be as objective as possible. For testing grading standard problems with multiple parts by hand with partial credit introduces some inconsistency between students. You just can’t treat them all the same. On the other hand I consider homework assessments a learning experience and grading problem sets by hand is conducive to learning. Although hands-on grading is much more subjective, it is not a big problem because homework generally contributes far less to the final grade. And comments on homework can be tailored to the needs of the different students.

New Course

This past summer 2020 I introduced and taught online a new course called “Science of Sport” in which 15, mostly student athletes, were enrolled. I wrote all homework problems and all exams. Homework was a standard problem set and exams were multiple choice. They also had to write a 1500-page term paper. I graded all course materials since there was no TA assigned. I plan to continue teaching this course during JTerm and summer session. It has tremendous possibilities in introducing physics to the non-physics student.

More Details on Physics Teaching/Education/Outreach and Research

I led the establishment two new outreach and physics education  programs in Physics: one was the largest undergraduate physics summer programs in the country (over 20 students per summer) at UVa funded mostly by NSF from 1989 to 1997; the second was a new high school physics teacher professional development program called “Masters of Arts in Physics Education” or “MAPE” from the College of Arts and Sciences. I was the first Director of the MAPE program, advised 60+ students at the peak enrollment. I taught 5 of the MAPE physics courses per year, and graduated 92 teachers from around the country and the world with the degree conferred from 2001 to 2009 by the time I officially retired and stepped down as MAPE Director. Approximately 2 million dollars with myself as PI or Co-PI in grant funding helped maintain the REU and MAPE programs. I also have taught more than 125 undergraduate physics courses in the Department including online courses. My many physics education contributions to conferences, invited papers, and professional development workshops for teachers as well as my full nuclear physics research publications are listed in my full vita. Click for full CV.

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