Dr. Touma's
STEM
Academy
Hi I'm Dr. Touma
For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a math and science teacher. When I was in grade school, I was in awe of the teachers' knowledge of these subjects. But as I got older, I realized that there is no mysticism to their ability: it took discipline and dedication to master the material in a way that made it palatable to the student. It wasn't until my college years that I was convinced that teaching should be my eventual career or at least a large part of my life. So, I began tutoring math in the math lab, I substituted for professors and taught low-level classes as a teacher's assistant as part of my graduate duties. Lately I have held positions as an adjunct professor at several local universities. At each of these levels, I was reaffirmed that my passion is in teaching and in interacting with students.
Although I've always been very comfortable with math at all levels, this is certainly not the case for everyone. Throughout my career as a teacher and mentor, I interacted with many students with different math levels, educational and cultural backgrounds, and perceptions about this subject. I came to the realization that math can be accessible to everyone. Moreover, no two students are alike and thus an ideal universal teaching method is illusory. However, some methods are more effective than others and I, in what follows, will present my teaching philosophy that incorporates the ones I found to be effective
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Show that math is relevant As a scientist I use math everyday to solve real-world physics and engineering problems such as collect and analyze data, write algorithms, and conduct simulations. This puts me in a special position to bring real world scenarios to the classroom and show the students how math is being used. It also provides my students with the sense of purpose in excelling in math and taking it seriously.
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Teach students by example I do not teach by presenting an idea and let the student figure out on their own, instead, after presenting the material I like to show the student how it is applied by providing many examples starting with the easiest and moving on to more involved ones. It gives my students enough confidence to solve problems on their own and be proud of their accomplishments.
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Foster critical thinking By implementing the two points above, my students will build the necessary skills to apply those ideas in the more analytical and systematic fashion to solve real problems in real life as well as other classes or their careers.
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Engage the student During lectures I often interact with the students by asking them questions about the material, ways to approach a solution to a problem, or how these ideas could be applied in real world scenarios. I also expect and welcome students to ask questions about anything involving the lecture no matter how elementary that question is.
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Make math enjoyable I understand that sometimes math lectures can be mentally exhausting so by injecting some humor and watching relevant videos to make lectures more palatable
My Credentials
EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy – Theoretical/Numerical Plasma Physics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, fall 1998.
Dissertation: “Advanced Generalized Theory of Stark Broadening of Hydrogen Lines in Plasmas”
Chair: Professor Eugene Oks.
Master of Science – Mathematics, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, summer 1993.
Publication: “Phase diagram of the Ising model on percolation clusters”, May 1994, Physical review. B, Condensed matter 49(14):9583-9585
Bachelor of Science, Physics with a Minor in Math, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, spring 1992.
TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS
MAC2311 – Calc I, limits and continuity, rules of differentiation, and integration.
MAC 1114 – Trigonometry, definitions, graphs, and properties of the six trigonometric functions and their inverses; trigonometric identities.
MAC1105 – College Algebra, functions, and functional notation; domains and ranges of functions; graphs of functions and relations; exponential and logarithmic properties.
MAC 1140 - Pre-Calculus Algebra, equations and inequalities; linear, quadratic, logarithmic and exponential functions and relations; systems of equations; matrices and determinants, mathematical proof techniques.
MAD 2104 - Introduction to Discrete Mathematics, Topics include formal logic, set theory, combinatorics, mathematical induction, relations and functions, recursion, and graph theory.
MAT1033A - Intermediate Algebra, factoring, algebraic functions, radicals and rational exponents, complex numbers, quadratic equations, rational equations, two-variable linear equations/inequalities and their graphs, systems of linear equations and inequalities, and an introduction to functions.
STA2023 – Statistics, descriptive statistics, probability, random variables, discrete and continuous probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence interval estimation, hypothesis testing, two sample inferences, correlation, and simple linear regression. TI 83/84 calculators recommended.
PHY1020 - Physical Science - Preset the fundamental classical and modern concepts of physics in mechanics, energy, wave motion, electromagnetism, atomic structure, earth science and astronomy.
PHY1053C - General Physics I without Calculus – Mechanics, Vibrations, Waves, and Fluids.
PHY1054C- General Physics II without Calculus – Electricity and Magnetism, Electromagnetic waves, Optics and Optical Instruments.
PHY2048C - General Physics I with Calculus – Mechanics, Vibrations, Waves, and Fluids.
PHY2049C - General Physics II with Calculus – Electricity and Magnetism, Electromagnetic waves, Optics and Optical Instruments.
PHY4323 - Electricity and Magnetism I, Electrostatics, Gauss's Theorem, magnetic fields, Biot-Savart Law, electromagnetic induction, introduction to Maxwell's Equations, and electromagnetic waves.
PHY4325 - Electricity and Magnetism II, Continuation of PHY 4323 Electricity & Magnetism I. Maxwell's equations and electromagnetic waves in vacuum and in a medium, radiation from dipoles and antennas, transmission lines, wave guides, relativistic electrodynamics, Lienard-Weichert Potentials.
COP2220 - Programming in C, An introduction to C programming language using microcomputers.
CS5900 – Computer Vision in Python, an introduction to computer vision, computing properties of the three-dimensional world from digital images, including such topics as edge detection, feature detection, image segmentation, motion estimation, image mosaics, 3D shape reconstruction, and object recognition.
Also taught Applied Mathematics for Scientists and Engineers, Solid state and Semiconductors, Python Data Processing, and Basic Machine Learning in Python.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Amanda L. Musgrove, Alexander Cockerham, Javier J. Pazos, Shaimum Shahriar, Michael McMahon, Jimmy E. Touma, Stephen M. Kuebler, "Bio-inspired photonic and plasmonic systems for gas sensing: applications, fabrication, and analytical methods," J. Optical Microsystems 4(2) 020902 (21 May 2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JOM.4.2.020902
Volk, A., Rai, A., Agha, I. et al. Development of spatially variant photonic crystals to control light in the near-infrared spectrum. Sci Rep 12, 16146 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20252-1
M. F. . Martinez, J. J. . Gutierrez, J. E. . Touma, and R. C. . Rumpf, “Formulation of Iterative Finite-Difference Method for Generating Large Spatially Variant Lattices”, ACES Journal, vol. 37, no. 02, pp. 141–148, Feb. 2022.
J.E. Touma, E.A. Oks, S. Alexiou, A. Derevianko, “Review of the advanced generalized theory for Stark broadening of hydrogen lines in plasmas with tables”, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer,Volume 65, Issues 1–3, 2000, Pages 543-571.
HONORS AND AWARDS
General Lyle Mentorship Award, US Air Force, 2022.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
First Lego League coach/mentor 2017 – Present
Develop YouTube and other social media education material – 2020 – Present.
Air Force Internship program mentor – 2007-Present
Doctor of Philosophy at Auburn University – 1998.
M.S. in Mathematics at Cleveland State University - 1993.
B.S. in Physics with a Minor in Math, Cleveland State University – 1992
PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE
1999/Present: US Air Force, Eglin AFB, FL.
2000/Present: Adjunct Professor, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL.
2000/Present: Adjunct Professor, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL.