Speaker
Description
David Harrison completed his Ph.D. in experimental high-energy physics at the University of Toronto in 1972 under James Prentice, then transitioned to Physics Education Research (PER) as a teaching-stream professor. He won many teaching awards throughout his career, including the Canadian Association of Physicists Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2012. David passed away at age 81 in Toronto in July 2025. Today I would like to celebrate his life, and his many innovations in teaching and science communication. I will review a selection of David’s most useful and relevant PER papers, which include investigations into how students read, groupwork in labs, data analysis and uncertainties. I will also share a selection of David’s many online teaching animations and simulations, which I have updated to be accessible on modern devices. The topics covered in these simulations include Mechanics, Chaos, Fluid Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.