Physics Graduate and PhD Student, Maths/Physics tuition for school and university students in person or online.

Find out more about Alex

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I developed an interest in Physics during my final years at school where I was mainly captured by the characteristics of people who think differently. I was intrigued by the idea of Kepler and his discoveries in the orbits of planets and the laws of motion they follow, anyone capable of breaking the norm and seeing an explanation hidden from the rest of the world must have something special. The world we live in is bizarre without explanation, and now that I have studied it for a few more years it is even more bizarre with explanation.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I have always found explaining physics to be a strength of mine, I think it is because I don't find it easy either! Basically I have worked hard to understand many things which may seem obvious to others, but by making these mistakes and correcting them I am a better explainer to others. My favourite topics (or those which I have made the most mistakes in) are Fields and Waves, Quantum Mechanics, and Statistical Analysis.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  If any role model goes then I always liked Billy Joel and his music. But if we're going only for physics then it has to be the late and great Stephen Hawking.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  To be a good tutor I think you have to be good at putting yourself in someone else's shoes. When questions are easy to some teachers they have a habit of skipping over them, they aren't showing people who haven't done them before what is actually going on. I think I can answer questions that people think are stupid (but they aren't) in a helpful way.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Basically any valuable anecdote is a wide question so I'm going to give a wide answer, I think my life to this point has been one long anecdote and the culmination of my time on this planet will be tutoring any student who is reading this. But seriously if an anecdote is a snippet from your life that you hold to be significant enough to remember, then I aim to make all our future lessons anecdotes because you'll remember all the physics.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  I am constantly challenged by my subject in new ways, it is impossible to know everything about anything and I always enjoy jumping into a new topic and learning something new. I am now challenging myself in my PhD to discover something new about the way materials can be constructed to perform computing operations in unorthodox ways.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I would say my other passion in life is sports I love to cycle and run, and I used to row for my university on a national level. Generally anything that gets me outdoors is always refreshing and always does me good when I have been cooped up inside for too long.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P) ?

  I am a Superprof because I want to spread my passion for my subject to others, and I want to connect with the people that I tutor by helping them to succeed at whatever goals they have set for themselves.