Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Connor Nanney
Dr. Rajive Tiwari, the longtime physics professor and the Coordinator of the Physics-Mathematics Minor at the Abbey, displays an exemplary love for knowledge and education.
Dr. Tiwari, often referred to by his students as “Dr. T-Money” (or Dr. T$), grew up in Delhi, India. His father was a professor, and teaching became a family trade as some of his siblings acquired PhDs and taught. Furthermore, he feels indebted to his own teachers who imparted him with “wisdom and knowledge and all that good stuff,” and he feels that teaching is a way to repay that debt. All these factors contributed to the creation of a successful, effective, and beloved professor.
Having taught at Belmont Abbey College since 1994, Dr. Tiwari has taught many physics classes and students. One would expect that 30 years of teaching the same few subjects would become boring, but Dr. Tiwari claims that “The material might be the same, but every class is different.”
Not only do interactions with different groups of students prevent teaching physics from becoming monotonous, but new questions raised by pupils provide fresh perspective and insight. Dr. Tiwari believes that one learns by being asked questions that they cannot answer. As such, he is glad to be asked difficult questions, stating: “That enriches my own knowledge.”
Being in the classroom in action is an invaluable thing to this professor. Belmont Abbey College is blessed to have such a dedicated professor of physics, and Dr. Tiwari is excited to continue doing what he loves: teaching.
This article was originally posted in the Spring 2024, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.
