Overview
I have taught every course in the physics major, both lecture and lab, along with other courses for non-majors, including Energy (Phys/ENVS 105/107). I have also taught science fiction courses in the First Year Program, including To Boldly Go: The science and fiction of space travel, time travel and extraterrestrials, and Global Science Fiction. My research interests: Charge transport in metal-hydrogen systems; Error analysis in van der Pauw resistivity and Hall measurement; Translation of Spanish-language science fiction, especially Cuban.
More info can be found on my personal website.
Fall 2017 Courses:
- Phys 103: College Physics (Syllabus - Lab Instructions - Other course materials on Sakai)
- Phys 105: Energy
- Phys 489: SYE Advanced Laboratory
Spring 2017 Courses:
- Phys 104: College Physics (Syllabus - Lab Instructions - Other course materials on Sakai)
- Phys 308: Electricity & Magnetism (Syllabus)
- Phys 490: SYE: Advanced Laboratory
Research Interest:
- Dr. Koon probes material by looking at how it treats its electrons. He measures charge transport, particularly the Hall effect, which is the result of electrical current curving under the influence of a magnetic field. He has both calculated and measured how local defects alter measured electrical quantities -- a question of interest for quality control in microelectronics fabrication -- and has used resistivity, Hall effect, and optical transmission to monitor hydrogen absorption in metals -- of interest for the storage of hydrogen fuel for transportation. He has carried out these studies with SLU students in his own laboratory at St. Lawrence, in laboratories in Costa Rica, Spain, and the Czech Republic, and with colleagues from Denmark. Teaching science fiction in the First Year Program led him into translating science fiction from Cuban and other authors from Spanish to English, which he has published online and in print. Koon is a two-time Fulbright scholar.
Sample Student Projects Supervised:
- "Pd/Mg Absorption of H2" – Roelof Groenewald '13
- "Determining Optimal Pitch Spacing For Measuring Hall Sheet Resistance With A Square Four Point Probe" – Brian Thomas '13
- "The Micro Hall Effect" - Tyler Hendrickson '11
- "Efficiency of PEM Fuel Cells" - Chad Miller '10
- "Optical Transmission and Resistivity Measurements of Pd/Mg Film Hydrides" - Corey Griffin '09