Qasim Syed

Biography

Qasim Syed is Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Science & Technology, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics. He is also a 2010-11 Nexen Scholar of Teaching and Learning and a former 2nd Vice President (2008-2012) of the Mount Royal Faulty Association (MRFA). Qasim is passionate about teaching physics and has taught a variety of physics courses at Mount Royal to science, engineering, aviation, ITESM and academic upgrading students. He has taught courses in a wide range of areas such as optics and acoustics, electricity and magnetism, mechanics, and modern physics. Qasim’s long standing dedication to Mount Royal is due to its emphasis on providing personalized learning and its commitment to a quality teaching and learning environment. Through his involvement with MRFA, he has earnestly worked to foster professional excellence in the Mount Royal community. He has chaired the Professional Affairs Committee (now called the Professional Standards and Governance Committee) for four years (2008 – 2012). In his tenure on this committee, he has initiated and organized many successful programs and workshops for faculty and administration. In research, Qasim has a diversified experience and had done research in various areas like atmospheric physics, lasers, solar energy, and science teaching. His current interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning. More specifically, he is interested in fostering and understanding students' experience of learning disciplinary thinking in physics. In the past, he has been individually selected by several international scientific organizations and journals (e.g., The Physics Teacher, Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, U.S.A., Geophysical Research Letters, U.S.A., Journal of Geophysical Research, U.S.A.) as a referee of others working in the relevant fields. He has also served as a textbook reviewer for John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Higher Education. Qasim has served as physics coordinator and participated in many important committees including the Faculty Tenure Committee, the Faculty Leave Committee and the Library Transition Task Force. He is also a recipient of several awards including two PanCanadian Educational Technology Faculty Awards, the ADC Fellowship in Teaching Excellence (FITE) and Mount Royal Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant.

Research Interest

Optics and acoustics, Electricity and Magnetism, Mechanics, and Modern physics