American scientist Carl Sagan said that science is a way of thinking, much more than it is a body of knowledge. Perhaps the role of a physics don
is to lead the students in a Socratic way to discern what questions are important;to listen to and patiently evaluate the answers that Nature offers.
”
Assoc Prof Phil CHAN Aik Hui
PhD (NUS); BSc (Distinction) (University of Winnipeg)
Department of Physics
- Astronomy and astrophysics
- Quantum physics and relativity
- Particle physics
- Serves as an invited member on a national-level task force
seeking to increase Singapore's pre-university student enrolment in
physics
- Chairs a committee overseeing polytechnic student admissions as well as publicity for the physics department
- Invited by Singapore's Ministry of Education to be a reviewer of physics syllabi and textbooks
- Chaired the Astronomy event of the 37th International Physics Olympiad in 2006 that drew 1500 students from 90 countries
- Led two teams in building astro-observatories at NUS High School and Nanyang Polytechnic for teaching
- Sought after by schools and tertiary institutions across
Singapore to deliver talks and judge physics and astronomy competitions
- Nurtures students to think critically and explore new ideas by posing unique and intriguing questions
- Encourages learning beyond the classroom by organising
enrichment activities such as astronomy field trips and celestial
observation sessions to help students bridge theory and practice
- Presents abstract topics in an accessible and coherent way
- Makes physics concepts come to life through the use of
multimedia and 'live' demonstrations as well as examples from everyday
life
- Published over 30 research and conference papers in leading journals such as Physics Letters B, Physical Review D and European Physical Journal C
- Co-edited two conference proceedings – 75 years since Solvay: Conference on Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Quantum Field Theory (2008) and Conference in Honour of Murray Gell-Mann (2010)
- Contributed articles to publications by the Institute of Physics Singapore and articles on teaching in university publications
- Fellow, Institute of Physics, London, UK
- Council Member and Awards Chair, Institute of Physics Singapore
- Member, Sigma Pi Sigma, American Institute of Physics
- Visiting Scholar, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
- Visiting Scientist, Beijing Institute of High Energy Physics, China
- Visiting Scientist, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
- NUS Annual Teaching Excellence Award (2009/8)
- Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (2008/7, 2007/6, 2006/5); Honours Roll (2009/8)
- Public Awareness of Physics Award, Institute of Physics, London, UK (2001)
"To teach is to learn; it is a two-way channel between teacher and student. Aristotle said it best when he referred to teaching as 'the highest form of understanding'.
From the ingenuity of my students' questions and projects, I have learnt so much and am encouraged to continue piquing their interest in physics and imparting wisdom
through what Nature offers."