By Nicole Ponticorvo Cavalier Daily Associate Editor If you've ever walked around Grounds or wandered into the Hereford Residential College, you might have stumbled upon a Dachshund named Sadie. At the other end of that leash would most likely be physics Prof. Lou Bloomfield who, if you've ever been in his class, probably greets you by name.
Bloomfield is currently teaching the popular course "How Things Work," which he designed for non-science majors. Perhaps this stems from his appreciation of the liberal arts.
Bloomfield attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics. During his time as an undergraduate, there was only one semester in college where he took more science than non-science courses. Bloomfield had all the credits required for a major in American Studies, minus the final thesis.
"I've always believed in a liberal arts education," Bloomfield said.
After almost attending Johns Hopkins University for his M.D. and Ph.D., Bloomfield decided, with the permission of his father, to instead work for his Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University.
Upon graduating from Stanford and marrying his wife, Karen, Bloomfield headed east to New Jersey, where he spent two years working for AT&T and Bell Laboratories, which was "the dream of corporate research" at the time, according to Bloomfield.
Bloomfield, who joined the University in 1985,said that research was always his primary focus.
"I came [to the University] with the idea that my goal was first and foremost to do good research on important questions, and teaching was a minor activity," Bloomfield said.
Bloomfield said one of his favorite experiences early on in his career happened while he was teaching quantum mechanics. At a final exam, he noticed his students were wearing identical shirts imprinted with his image surfing on a wave function.
"I did the best I could, and the students seemed to like me," Bloomfield said.
For the past six years, Bloomfield has been principal of Hereford, living there with his wife and two children. A great deal of his time is spent planning community-fostering activities for Hereford students with the help of his wife Karen.
Along with constantly doing research in his laboratory, Bloomfield has been teaching "How Things Work" since 1991, which focuses on the how and why questions of the world and draws non-science students to a field from which they are commonly repelled.
"I was tinkering [in science] my whole life," Bloomfield said. "My basement was a laboratory of sorts."
Bloomfield grew up playing with real chemicals, creating sizeable explosions and building electronics, including a high-voltage transformer. Bloomfield said most of his understanding of chemistry and electronics harkens back to his years of simply trying and experimenting.
"A lot of modern science students didn't grow up tinkering with things," Bloomfield said. "These various pieces of basic scientific equipment are much more mysterious to them."
Bloomfield takes a special interest in his students by trying to learn each of their names and as much as he possibly can about who they are, beyond just faces in a crowded lecture hall.
"I feel like I'm responsible for getting my students to understand this stuff as best I possibly can," Bloomfield said. "I would like them to go out and for them to feel like they actually have something useful for life."
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