“As a teacher, I want to help my students to not only foster an interest in physics but also to understand science as important for informed citizens. With all my head, heart, and hand, I aim to make physics learning amenable to all my students in a way that is fun, engaging, understandable, and challenging but certainly approachable.”
Title
Associate Professor of Physics
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Ohio University – Athens, OH
- M.S., Ohio University – Athens, OH
- M.Sc., Tribhuvan University – Kirtipur, Nepal
- B.Sc.,Tribhuvan University – Kirtipur, Nepal
Year Joined Franklin
2016
Expertise
I am a theoretical nuclear physicist by training although my research interest and work go beyond protons and neutrons (nucleons) and their interactions. For instance, a part of my Ph.D. research involved applications of Bayesian statistics in data analysis and parameter estimation. I also have a special interest in astronomy – I am always excited to learn more about astronomy and share my knowledge and love for it. I have also been working extensively on developing my expertise on ultrasound equipment for the benefit of both teaching and research at Franklin College.
At Franklin College, I teach general physics classes (algebra-based and calculus-based), astronomy, ultrasound physics, radiation and health, and biomedical optics.
I have heard that physics is hard. Is that true? What makes physics hard?
One of the main reasons why physics is hard for many students is because they tend to memorize algorithms rather than understand the ideas and concepts. Memorization is enemy in physics learning. Being good in math skills is certainly helpful but not enough since physics understanding is also about reading and interpreting the math. You should be prepared to spend enough time to understand physics concepts and to give your brain appropriate amount of digestive time. You should also have a love as well as admiration and not a stigma for physics – after all, your phone, iPad/tablet, laptop, gaming consoles, and numerous other things that you use and see around you exist because of physics!
Franklin College does not offer a physics degree. Does it mean that I will not be able to major in physics or do any physics-related/-unrelated research?
Even though Franklin College does not offer a physics degree, it is possible to create an individualized physics major with courses that match your interest and career goals. In addition, Franklin College does offer biomedical physics minor, which adds great value to your major especially if your career aspiration is the medical or health professions. For research, irrespective of what your major is, it is always possible for me to develop a research project, both physics-related and/or -unrelated, that fits your interest and talent. For example, some of the research projects that my students have worked on are a performance test of an ultrasound transducer and parameter estimation using Bayesian techniques. Some future research projects could include measuring blood flow in major arteries using ultrasound techniques.
Selected Professional Accomplishments
Conferences
New Faculty Workshop of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), College Park, Maryland, June 12-15, 2017
Indiana Section Meeting of American Association of Physics Teachers (IN-AAPT), University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 21-22, 2017
The Emergency Ultrasound Workshop by 3rd Rock Ultrasound Inc., Park City, Utah, January 9-11, 2017
Selected Talks
The Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017, Eli Lilly and Company, August 21, 2017, Indianapolis, Indiana
I see with sound… what is your super-power? (Ultrasound class and research advertising talk), Research-Lightning Round, February 9, 2017, Franklin College, Franklin, Indiana
Publications
The reactions ππ→ππ and γγ→ππ in χPT with an isosinglet scalar resonance, Arbin Thapaliya and Daniel Phillips, Eur. Phys. J. A 53 (2017) no. 10, 206 [arXiv:1706.04653]
Bayesian parameter estimation for effective field theories, Sarah Wesolowski, Natalie Klco, Richard Furnstahl, Daniel Phillips, Arbin Thapaliya, J. Phys. G43, 074001 (2016), arXiv:1511.03618 [nucl-th].
Halo Effective Field Theory of 6He, Arbin Thapaliya, Chen Ji and Daniel Phillips, EPJ Web of Conferences 113, 08018 (2016)
In My Spare Time…
In my spare time I like NOT to think about numbers or quantify life!