Asim Gangopadhyaya

About

I have been the chair of the Physics department from 2003 till June 30th of 2013. The freshmen projects have been elevated to become a required part of our programs, and thus both students and faculty received credits for this very labor intensive work.

I grew up in central India. After my undergraduate and some graduate education in India, I came to US to pursue graduate studies in theoretical physics. I started out at Brooklyn College. Shifted to City College of NewYork and completed there an MA in physics. In 1985, I graduated from City University of New York, with M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Theoretical Particle Physics.  My first position was in Michigan, at Central Michigan University.  After one year in MI, I moved to northern Missouri.  I was a faculty member at NMSU, now known as Truman State University. I joined physics department at Loyola in 1989 as a visiting professor. 

In 1995-96, while teaching a course in General Physics (PHYS 125-126), with help of my four excellent colleagues, I experimented with introducing research into the curriculum.  We called it freshman projects. It was a great experience for both faculty and students. We soon expanded the project to include most faculty members, and all students pursuing a degree offered by the department.

I have been the chair of the department from 2003 till June 30th of 2013. My major emphasis during this period has been redirecting resources toward introductory courses and undergraduate research. The freshmen projects were elevated to become a required part of our programs, and thus both students and faculty received credits for this very labor intensive work.  Our students now routinely publish with our faculty and present their work at national conferences. 

My wife, Alpana, and I live in southwestern suburbs. We have two children.  One of them is a faculty member in medicine at UIC, and the other is a doctoral student in health economics at UIC.