Professor Thomas Schwarz

This prestigious title is reserved for educators who go far beyond standard instruction. To be named a Thurnau Professor, faculty must demonstrate not only excellence and innovation in their teaching but also a deep dedication to the intellectual development of a diverse student body. It is an award that recognizes impact—both in the classroom and in how a professor shapes students' lives and futures.

Professor Schwarz embodies these ideals as both a nationally recognized experimental particle physicist and a driving force for new teaching methodologies, curricular modernization, and access to research and internship opportunities. 

He introduced a studio format for Physics 240, “Introductory Electricity and Magnetism,” that dramatically increased student engagement, equity, and achievement, and then did the same for Physics 140, the introductory mechanics course. His chair credits him with changing students’ attitudes toward their ability to learn the material in these high-enrollment, gateway courses. 

In both courses, small groups of students spend time in class working through problems with support from a team of undergraduate learning assistants. Schwarz’s new, hybrid version of Physics 140 combines asynchronous lectures with face-to-face sessions, alleviating waitlist backlogs and improving time to degree by ensuring students can enroll in the course when they need it. 

Schwarz has directly mentored more than 30 undergraduates in his research group. As the inaugural undergraduate research coordinator, he significantly expanded access by launching two new programs, one to facilitate paid summer research positions and one to match students to internships in industry. 

As the associate chair, he worked with the Society of Physics students as a sounding board to adjust curriculum sequencing to welcome students who discovered a passion for the field later in their undergraduate studies. His efforts have empowered countless students, including transfer students and those from nontraditional backgrounds, to find belonging and success in physics.

Please read the full University Record article to learn about the Thurnau professorship and the other four awardees.