Alanna Pawlak, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Assistant Teaching Professor
Faculty adviser, UW Bothell Physics and Astronomy Club
Dr. Alanna Pawlak joined UW Bothell as a physics faculty member in 2021. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics from Michigan State University and her B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from DePaul University. She conducts Physics Education Research, specifically focusing on collaborative learning environments in physics courses. Prior to joining UW Bothell, she taught at the University of Colorado Boulder and Front Range Community College and was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. Pawlak teaches a variety of courses across the physics curriculum at UW Bothell. In her courses, she emphasizes collaborative reasoning, conceptual understanding, and self-efficacy.
Education
- Michigan State University
- Ph.D. – Physics
- DePaul University
- B.S. – Physics and Mathematics
Courses
- BPHYS 121 Mechanics
- BPHYS 122 Electromagnetism and Oscillatory Motion
- BPHYS 123 Waves
- BPHYS 221 Classical Mechanics
- BPHYS 222 Modern Physics
- BPHYS 484 Physics Society and Industry
Teaching Interests
Dr. Pawlak loves teaching a variety of physics courses, from the introductory physics courses all the way up to the 400-level physics major courses. In her teaching, she emphasizes problem-solving skills, conceptual understanding, and building student confidence. Her courses are highly interactive, often incorporating group problem-solving sessions and student-led discussions.
Research and Scholarship Interests
Dr. Pawlak conducts physics education research (PER). Her research focuses on how students and faculty engage with collaborative learning environments in physics. She has studied student interactions, collaborative reasoning, and the beliefs and teaching approaches of undergraduate teaching assistants. Pawlak has mentored students at UW Bothell in research projects investigating burnout among physics majors, differences between novice and expert physics problem-solving strategies, and the effect of pre-class assignments in physics courses.
Creative Interests
Dr. Pawlak has a variety of interests outside of physics! She enjoys singing and playing piano, cross-stitching, crosswords, swimming, watching the Kraken, and petting her cat, Joules (named after the scientist, of course).