Faculty Spotlight: Francisco Pham

Francisco Pham joined the physics department as an instructor in August 2024. He received his Bachelor's in physics from Louisiana State University in 2001 and his Master's in physics from Texas A&M in 2012. Prior to his current position as an instructor in the physics department Francisco was a science teacher for over a decade. He proudly attributes his advancement to his current position to the habits he forged while studying physics during the weekends and developing his teaching and tutoring skills in the classroom. Francisco describes his path to becoming a physics instructor as follows "I had no great desire to be a doctor or a lawyer when I grew up like other kids. I just liked to read and like to learn new things throughout my time up to high school. I did not know what I wanted to do with my life until I was in my late twenties when the issue came up about a livelihood. At this time I developed a fondness towards physics problems because they had the draw of being inscrutable to most people. I was attracted to physics because by then I was convinced that it was something hard but worthwhile to pursue. (I did not think this when I was younger.) At first it was a challenge to apply physics principles at the same time I used mathematics to solve a problem to a satisfactory completion, which meant that I had to supply the missing steps to get to the right answer at the end. With the skills that I develop as I continue to solve problems, I gain more confidence to approach more formidable ones. Today I consider physics my passion and something that I would enjoy interacting with and continuing to learn from for the rest of my life."

Contact Francisco Pham or learn more through these links:
francisco.pham@louisiana.edu
The physics department faculty page