Post Doc Researcher at the Unvirsity of Glasgow in Astrophysics Data Analysis here to help you with Mathematics, Physics, and Astrophysics! WORTH IT!

Find out more about Federico

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  The answer to this question dates back to when I was a kid, trying to find my place in this very vast world. I was always fascinated on how things fit together, especially when the answer to some conundrums where non intuitive. For this reason I fell in love with astronomy. The idea of figuring out the secrets of the universe in the comfort of my own room inspired me to learn the tools that scientist use to do such discoveries. But sometimes these "mathematical tools" can be a bit complex to understand. I became obsessed into mathematics, physics and astronomy already at the age of thirteen. And from that point on, I never looked back 😊

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  So I mainly focus on mathematics, physics and astronomy, these are my top subjects I like to discuss. Especially astronomy, since it is something out of the ordinary day to day life, where the answers we get in that field sometimes my not be as intuitive as we would expect. Chatting about stars, galaxies and the universe in a whole, describing it with mathematical and physical concepts, makes me feel like I, and everyone else, have a deep personal connection with the universe , which I need to nurture and grow. Of course there are some topics which I am less fond of, like some areas of physics or mathematics, for example optics or vector algebra, which I still sometimes struggle to fully comprehend, but it does not mean these are less important, on the contrary, each field of physics and mathematics is more important than the others, but of course everybody as some sort of preferences.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Yes I do have a role model, my grandfather, Richard Stachurski. Ever since I was a little boy, he would tell me all these fascinating stories about space and science, non stop! He showed me how I was part of this enormous and vast universe, and how the universe was part of us. For a small kid, these concepts were incredible, and ever since he showed me the beauty of science, my thirst for curiosity and knowledge has never been quenched again! I owe him a lot, basically my entire career, and forthcoming. I was very lucky to have the best teacher in the world in my life, and hopefully I can redirect this love for science I learned from him to many other students, for upcoming generations! Thanks Nonno 😊

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  From my experience of tutoring and teaching, I believe that the best qualityis "being respectful". It is an honor to meet people who want to listen and learn from you, and for this reason the only thing one can do is be respectful to the students and supportive. Just because a scientific concept is easy to understand, does not mean it is easy to everybody. For this reason, being respectful is a MUST, it is your responsibility the tutor makes sure the students learn complicated truths about reality , so that one day they will be in your shoes teaching those same concepts to other people.
  
  Be respectful for those who want to learn! Be respectful always!

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I've always been fascinated by space, especially space exploration. Fortunately, in 2018, I was offered the opportunity to work for a summer internship at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, TX, which is a non-profit organization in collaboration with NASA space centre. There I worked on developing procedures to analyze hydration levels of the Martian soil using remote sensing data. This experience was very important to me, because for the first time, I went from being a student studying science to an actual scientist. When I realized this, I thought to myself, "is this the career I want to do? Is this the job I want?" and I remember answering myself: "yes, yes I do". What I am trying to say is that, never stop following your dreams, even if they seem impossible, because someday you will make it, and might not even realize it.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  I remember in freshman and sophomore years in high school, I was struggling to understand both math and physics. I was actually failing the classes. But how is that possible? Even if I had a great passion for science, I was struggling with important scientific concepts, and the only thing I remember was thinking that the career of a scientist might not be the best career for me. I struggled a lot. But after some time and working hard, I started to understand those difficult concepts, and from that moment, I became obsessed with learning new ideas and challenging myself to understand them.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I never thought of myself as a teacher in general. Every time I used to explain a somewhat complicated topic to my friends or family members, I remember I used, and still do, be filled with joy realizing they are able to understand it. Teaching is not my sole passion in life, but I do get a thrill from it when I realize that controversial and complicated subject, which are regarded as being "impossible" from many people, turn out to be fun and logical in a very natural way. This is the beauty of teaching that attracts me the most, and now, with the experience I have gathered, II feel the responsibility as a science communicator to bring forward challenging topics to people who want to learn about the inner workings of reality.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P) ?

  Can't say what makes me a Superprof for sure. I feel like a Superprof may be described by many attributes, which differ from teacher to teacher. I believe a Superprof is someone who respects and admires the student, who is able to appreciate the effort that they are doing by being there and listening to you. I had many amazing teachers in my life, and I remember what it was like to sit there while the professor explained complicated and challenging topics, and sometimes these subject could be a bit boring, for lack of another word. But no subject is boring, its just the way its taught that misleads the students in thinking that it is boring. If the teacher is able to inspire greatness and increase the curiosity of the student by many orders of magnitude, then at that point, the teacher becomes a Superprof.