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Michael Nassir

CTE

Instructor
Physics and Astronomy

Michael A. Nassir is an Instructor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he has taught introductory and intermediate undergraduate lecture and laboratory courses for both majors and non-majors since 2000. He is also the faculty academic advisor for most Physics & Astro majors, serves on UH General Education committees, and works with a variety of secondary-school and public-outreach science programs. Mike was awarded the UH Manoa Chancellor’s Citation for Meritorious Teaching (2010) and UH’s Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2005).

Since 2009, Mike has also staffed two programs of the Institute of Scientist and Engineer Educators based at UC Santa Cruz. As a Science Communication instructor for the Akamai Internship Program, Mike coaches undergraduate summer interns in writing and speaking skills for a future in engineering or science. Mike is also an instructor for the Professional Development Program, which trains graduate students in inquiry-based teaching methods and research related to STEM education.

Mike received his B.S. in Physics from Caltech in 1993, and his M.S. in Astronomy from UH Manoa in 1996. He has observed nearly 200 nights at telescopes in Hawaii and California, primarily studying protostars and star-forming regions at infrared and microwave wavelengths. Recently, Mike returned to graduate study at UH’s Institute for Astronomy to earn his Ph.D. with their solar physics group. Since 2017, he has been part of UH’s team to obtain and analyze spectra of the sun’s inner corona during total solar eclipses.