The physics department was greeted by a new face at the beginning of the year: Nimel Theodore. Theodore, who teaches Active Physics, IB Physics I and II SL, has already fallen in love with Marshall in his first half year here.
“You really feel like you belong when your students care for your teacher as well as when your teachers care for students,” Theodore said.
Prior to this year, Theodore worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. as a post doctorate, studying “surface chemical reactions that occur in a frictional contact,” he
said.
He majored in both physics and chemistry and minored in math at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.
In additon, he aquired his masters
and Ph.D at the College of William and Mary in applied science, which combines physics, chemistry and engineer- ing toward a research program.
What drew Theodore here was the “familial” aspect of Marshall,“[It’s that] feeling that you get when you meet the teachers and the administration, a gut feeling,” Theodore said.
In terms of his teaching style, Theodore refers to his as a Music Man-like approach.
Similar to the 1962 film where a man tries to encourage students to think about how the music is going to sound together before playing.
Theodore tries to provoke various questions to students about different problems in the world.
“It’s a constructivist approach: you break things into smaller pieces that you can understand. Then you start adding more variables to it,” Theodore said.
Outside of the physics room, Theodore enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and participates in the Washington Area Frisbee Club during summers.
Some students have approached him to start a club and they hope to start playing by spring.
Theodore is also expecting a baby in May.
Many of his students have already been suggesting various names. “I offered it to all my students. A lot of them are using their own names, or names very similar,” Theodore said.
Theodore hopes to find a name that fits him and his wife.
“As soon as I hear [the right name], I’ll probably pick it.”