Dr. Adbel Bachri visited Honors Seminar today. Dr. Bachri teaches engineering physics at SAU and began by telling students about the academic journey that led him to SAU. That trip began in Morocco where he took his undergraduate degree, then led him to Italy for a master's degree, and finally to Stillwater, Oklahoma where he obtained his PhD at Oklahoma State University. A few years later, he found himself at SAU.
Bachri noted that science students today have so many more choices than he did. When he began college his only choices were physics, chemistry, or biology. Today, students are faced with a bewildering choice of options when they decide to pursue a degree in science. The program he heads, engineering physics, is an interdisciplinary amalgam of physics, engineering, and math. Most of the students, he said, go on to pursue advanced degrees. Several honors students are recent graduates of the program and are currently enrolled in programs at the University of California-Berkeley, the Colorado School of Mines, and the University of North Carolina.
When asked what gave him the most pleasure, Bachri replied "teaching." He enjoys teaching and has forged a close-knit group of students. Every fortnight the revived Society of Physics Students meets. Bachri says he likes for the group and he to "build things." He added that because of his training in theoretical physics he never had much chance to do things with his hands. Building apparatus with students helps fulfill that personal need.
Bachri urged students to get involved in research. For the last several years he has taken 3 to 4 students to Berkeley to work on physics projects. Thanks to grants and stipends, SAU students can go with him an no cost to themselves. Honors students, he said, should take advantage of opportunities like those.
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