I am deeply committed to integrating teaching with research, outreach and other professional activities. During the last three years, I enjoyed the opportunity of teaching physics courses at all levels, as well as doing more than just my direct teaching responsibilities. I provide a short description of my teaching since the arrival to CU in 2007.

Graduate-level teaching

My graduate-level teaching is focused on fostering students' growth as professionals and broadening their scientific perspectives. In 2007, right after arriving from U. of Illinois, a University with typical 1st or 2nd USNews rankings in both condensed matter physics and materials science, I realized that our department was offering only...

Advanced undergraduate level teaching

I have developed an interdisciplinary upper-division undergraduate course 鈥淚ntroduction to Soft Condensed Matter鈥�, which I was teaching for the first time during the Fall 2010 semester as a special topics course Phys 4810. Some of the undergraduates have joined my research group while taking the course. I see this as...

Other undergraduate physics courses

I also taught courses at other levels, Phys-2170 鈥淔oundations of Modern Physics鈥� and Phys-4230 鈥淭hermodynamics and statistical mechanics鈥�. In both cases, I extensively used clickers, combining the blackboard-style teaching with the use of PowerPoint slides. I also had an opportunity to teach two sections of Phys-1140 undergraduate labs. The overall...
I-CAMP 2012 Thank you note

I-CAMP summer schools and tutorials at conferences

"Thank you" note from participants of the I-CAMP 2012 Inspired by highly successful TASI and 麻豆影院 Condensed Matter & Materials Physics summer schools organized by my colleagues, I have established the annual Inter-Continental Advanced Materials and Photonics (I-CAMP) summer school series . The I-CAMPs are traveling around the world, and...

Advising of students and postdocs

Traditional education often lacks some of the several key components critically important in preparation for scientific careers: (A) interdisciplinary coursework; (B) international, national laboratory, and industrial research perspectives; (C) hands-on experience of using state of the art equipment; (D) participation in conferences; (E) co-advising and outreach opportunities. These components are...

Professional short courses and advising of student chapters of international societies

I am teaching 鈥淟iquid Crystals: from fundamentals to applications鈥� conference short courses such SC790 of the Intl. Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). SC790 provides an introduction to the fundamental physical properties of liquid crystals, as well as to their widespread photonic and electro-optic applications. The main goal of the course...
outreach activities

Outreach Activities

Ivan Smalyukh is giving a lecture in front of the students of the Western Reserve Academy School (Hudson, Ohio) during outreach activities Ivan Smalyukh is also organizing Outreach Activities Inter-Continental Advanced Materials for Photonics I-CAMP鈥�10 (organized by Ivan Smalyukh,and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop) is taking place in two cities in Australia (Sydney-Brisbane,...