The Power of Interaction

In her research, Amy Spivey, professor of physics, studies how quantum dots, very small semiconductor particles, transmit and release energy in the form of light. Amy finds energy in studying physics, as well as working with students, both in the classroom and beyond.

“I like getting to know my students as people and helping them develop their skills as physicists and as thinkers and communicators during their college years."

For 13 years, Amy has taught students in Puget Sound’s physics department through first-year seminars on energy and electrical power and in upper-level lab courses on nuclear decay and subatomic particles. “When I first thought about teaching at the college level,” she says, “I decided that I wanted to teach at a place like Puget Sound because of the small classes and the chance to do research in my own laboratory with undergraduate students. I like getting to know my students as people and helping them develop their skills as physicists and as thinkers and communicators during their college years.”

Amy’s experiences teaching and mentoring students reinforce her belief in the power of interaction between Puget Sound faculty and students that she sees everywhere on campus.

One of her favorite things about working at Puget Sound—and one of the things that makes Puget Sound such a dynamic place— is the collective opportunity for collaboration among all members of the community. “Students really have a chance to get to know their professors,” she explains, “and their professors get to know them as well.” Faculty, she says, “see their students as their partners in the classroom and tend to structure their classes so that students play an active role in their own learning and in their classmates’ learning.”

The benefits of this active approach to learning affect all of the interactions and encounters that students experience at Puget Sound. As Amy notes, Puget Sound students are active learners and thinkers, no matter what classes, clubs or projects they pursue. “Just among our physics majors, there are university athletes, top-notch musicians, students with off campus jobs, and people with hobbies like stand-up comedy, martial arts and foreign languages. Puget Sound students work hard on their studies, but coursework is usually not the only thing they are doing. That makes them fun and interesting people to get to know.”

That’s why Amy encourages prospective students to visit campus: “Meet the people here, sit in on a class or two, and see what being a Logger is all about,” she says.