It has been my good fortune to know Ricardo since his early postdoctoral work in physics education. I appreciate both his practical and theoretical investigations of ways in which students apply and reason with mathematics in physics contexts. His historical perspectives on supporting student learning via “original sources” continues to influence my own perspectives on teaching. Ricardo is highly regarded within the PER community, and I hope we’ll expand our collaboration in the future. (Professor Steven Pollock, Physics Education, CU Boulder)
For more than a decade, Ricardo has provided invaluable support to the Niels Bohr Institute due to his unique combination of physics expertise and great pedagogical insight. Ricardo is a well-known and trusted presence at NBI, widely regarded as a go-to colleague for didactical questions related to both theoretical and experimental dimensions of physics, as well as their interplay. (Professor Steen Hansen, Deputy Head of Institute for Teaching at NBI)
Ricardo is a dream research collaboration partner. One attribute I really appreciate about Ricardo is his deep intellectual curiosity. He is an insatiable learner, cheerful and engaged conversationalist, and overall deep thinker. We share a common interest in the educational impact of the intersection of mathematics and quantum physics, and I look forward to our continued research projects. (Professor Megan Wawro, Mathematics Education, Virginia Tech)
Academia needs more people like Ricardo. He has a rare but much-needed skillset. An expert in physics, history of science, and education, he can draw on the rich history of physics to help us better teach physics. But he can also improve our understanding of physics. As a philosopher of science, I’ve found his work invaluable in helping me appreciate the origin of complex numbers in physics. An energetic and delightful lecturer, I always envy his students for their good fortune in having him teach them. (Professor Craig Callender, UC San Diego, PSA President)
I invited Ricardo to be an Assistant Editor of Science & Education journal, and he was exemplary in his performance of the tasks involved with the position. In 2014, he guest-edited a thematic issue on the interplay of physics and mathematics. It is a testament to Ricardo’s knowledge of the field, his own reputation, organizing ability, and language competence, that he was able to bring together a group of top-ranked international scholars from nine countries, and produce such a substantial issue, which became a landmark on the topic. (Professor Michael Matthews, Founding editor of Science & Education, University of New South Whales)
Stories from the history of physics often feature in physics teaching materials as side-notes: providing colorful context. In contrast, Ricardo’s proposals center historical developments within the learning process. Through careful scholarship, he demonstrates how the thinking evinced by previous generations actually provides deep insights into the concepts themselves – what they mean and how we use them – thus strengthening the ability of students to comprehend and apply them. Ricardo’s contributions helped make a recent symposium I organized into a highly thought-provoking experience for the speakers and audience alike. (Professor Paula Heron, Physics Education, University of Washington)
Ricardo is a wonderful teacher. I know that because I sat in on a class he ran on key elements of physics through a study of the original papers. That was a really rich and thoughtful example of physics at work, from the ground up, and one of my two or three most inspiring classroom experiences. (Professor Richard Staley, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge and Copenhagen)
Ricardo A. S. Karam 