Mathematics

I grew up on the western coast of Sweden and my family moved to the U.S. when I was in high school.  My two favorite subjects were Physics and Math and I had great teachers.  Meanwhile I got my SCUBA diving license and learned how to windsurf.  I ran on the cross country and track teams in both high school and college.  I majored in Physics at Harvard.  I then moved to California to study at U.C. Berkeley and I continued windsurfing.  I received my Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Physics based on work at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

I love to travel and went to work at Chiang Mai University in Thailand for seven months.  I resumed my research in particle physics in Switzerland where I also improved my French and learned yoga and meditation.  I returned as a scientist in Berkeley, where I met my wife Audrey.  Together Audrey and I enjoy walks, the beach, photography, Photoshop, French movies, travel, SCUBA diving, family visits, and the Sausalito home with our two cats.  Audrey is an oil painter and hair stylist.

My career as a professional educator began my senior year in high school when I tutored a student in Trigonometry. It was a great experience to see her succeed.  In college I taught Multivariate Calculus as an assistant and it was fun to teach my peers.  At Cal, I was a Teaching Assistant for Physics 10, a course nicknamed “Physics for Poets.”  Later, after many years as a scientist, I left research to work more with people and less with computers and gadgets.  I was given the opportunity to teach Physics 10 at Contra Costa College where I also taught Astronomy 10 to community college students.  Many of my Physics students were sophomores from Middle College High School and I liked their energy and enthusiasm.
 
Ever since I tutored my first high school student, I had the idea that one day I’d like to teach high school math.  Math teachers are fortunate to get to teach all grade levels.  I believe it is important for all students to have a good experience with math and to see that math is useful both in school and beyond school.  I like learning new things and helping students learn.  As a math teacher I have had a chance to teach a broad range of students and subjects.  My teaching assignments in independent high schools have included every course from Algebra 1 to Calculus and Statistics.  As a high school teacher, I have also taught mini-courses in Astronomy, hiking, and outdoor photography.   For several years I taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at a hospital in San Francisco. Maybe this helps some of my students have less math stress!