Sotirios K.

About Sotirios

I am a theoretical physicist and I have loved all my life the study of the universe and its secrets through research and continued education. Mathematics and Science have offered modern humans unprecedented awareness. Strong ethical individuals, supported by coherent education and fulfilling work, can sustain peace, produce tangible progress in quality of life and help improve our cultural values. In my opinion an effort to improve this education and our willingness to cooperate and share knowledge with others is a source of happiness and virtue. Promoting an improved rational understanding of the world and the opportunities it opens for young people is why I love tutoring.

I come from a family that values education. My mother, being a Physics professor at high school, gave me the first opportunity to experience teaching and my father created an environment with rich educational resources at home. Their effort to help my education cultivated my natural curiosity and enabled a very successful student life. I always scored in the top 1% in all my classes, homework assignments, high school and university entry exams. Progress in national math competitions allowed me to successfully participate in international math Olympics events before entering university to study Physics. I kept scoring high in exams all my academic life. My parents made possible for me early to take my education in my own hands by cultivating confidence in self study and providing substantial access to educational material. I like to apply what worked for me to my students, adapting to their needs and character.

I firmly believe early well timed assistance protects a student's future in Math and Physics. It prevents learning gaps that prove depressing. You can achieve a breakthrough in self confidence by developing first a strong foundation with organization, frequent practice and disciplined methodology in small steps. Empowered by newfound clarity they get motivated. They gradually recognize they can be good at it. You can use this now to inspire their curiosity further and make it a personal victory. They deliver novel proofs or calculations and recognize interesting properties in their studies, often ahead of their classmates. You help them realize first hand the benefit of a coherent education. Learning becomes enjoyable and proves a self esteem boost. Inspiring real world examples offer them the opportunity to apply and appreciate their education naturally and fuel their curiosity, often taking initiative to experiment with their own original ideas. It becomes possible for them to develop the confidence and desire to learn more on their own and take the responsibility of their education in their hands. They continue to benefit from additional tutoring but now they prove more demanding to their educators and maximize their gains! The skills, confidence and techniques to train and perform well in exam conditions, properly revealing their education, is something I aim to improve in my students because of the doors it opens. In particular having available multiple methods in their arsenal to solve problems boosts their confidence, it allows them to operate well under stress and maintain a fighting, never give up spirit that is essential to their success in exams and academic career.

During my graduate school years at Stanford I also served as a teaching assistant, helped students with their labs and courses homework and prepared them for their exams. I can help students in a variety of Math and Physics from the later years of primary school to high school and college entry exams and even their university years. I will first listen to their needs and see what they know, what they want to understand better and where to improve performance. I can help them both with their understanding of the material and the strategies in performing exceptionally well in exams even under adverse conditions so that they can overcome the stress of the experience and find it challenging instead. We can have free consultation meetings so that I can become more familiar with their particular curriculum and the objectives of their classes. After that we can work on their own homework problems or I can bring problems and sample exam questions of my own as needed to test their progress. Interaction is very important. I have access to significant online resources and personal libraries related to their class topics and more. If their desire is to improve score results in exams used for college admissions I can provide training with actual practice exams and explain solution methods improving their efficiency in tests like SAT Math, ACT Math, SAT Subject or GRE Subject (Math or Physics). I can help them with exams and homework assignments in AP Math or AP Physics 1, 2 and C. I can help them with most Physics and Math they will ever see at high school and University. I find exciting to take gifted or eager young students and teach them in suitable order as much of the Math and Physics I know. They can move substantially ahead of their school program at a very young age and obtain a great advantage. I would be happy to do this over many months, even years and suggest to them many resources to enhance their educational progress.

Due to the demanding nature of theoretical Physics a solid understanding of a great deal of Math is essential. As a student I maintained top performance in my classes and later with research those math skills kept improving by necessity. It never ends really. There is so much I still want to learn. Basically I use math every day for a variety of problems and personal ideas. I often see hard problems that require significant imagination and creativity and as a result I maintain a healthy mix of evolving experience and humility when it comes to math. I handle well most math my students will ever see at school or college. I find math absolutely amusing, entertaining, liberating for the mind and I aim as much as possible to show students ways to apply it in everyday life.

I can help them with Algebra, Euclidean Geometry, Analytic Geometry, Trigonometry, Analysis, Pre-Calculus, Calculus of any level and applications, Discrete mathematics, Probability theory, Differential equations, Linear Algebra, Vector and Tensor Analysis, Complex Analysis, Differential Geometry, etc. I can help them with simulations and calculations in the symbolic mathematical computation program Mathematica and the software environment for statistical computing R. I use both in selected problems they have to help them appreciate better what one can do with math and computers. I always bring in our meetings a computer with various resources to use as needed. Additionally my exposure to math Olympics training has given me access to very hard and creative problems and the skills needed to survive very tough exam conditions, an experience that will benefit every student and offer them a better perspective about how difficult but also rewarding math can be. Difficulty is not the enemy, it is a challenge. I also enjoy using examples from games/game theory or creative puzzles that will help students enjoy math and its vast applications.

Physics is my main field of study from high school to university, grad school and then later research and I keep naturally active in many topics of it. Tutoring Physics and being a teaching assistant at Stanford allowed me to remain familiar with the curriculum of both high school and college classes. I regularly work with Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Wave Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, Special and General Relativity, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Field Theory, Particle Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology etc. I can help them with courses related to these topics. I like to combine knowledge from different fields when possible to produce examples during tutoring. I enjoy using everyday experiences as examples where one can apply Physics and Math to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena and recognize a very rich optimistic way to experience our world and obtain intuition about it. When possible I may bring with me simulations or extra software and papers to make a presentation of a topic more vivid and enticing. I like to help them also use the vast resources of the internet to their advantage in their education.

I am generally available for tutoring every day from 9 am to 10 pm. I can travel to students or meet them online. My rate is $45 per hour for in person tutoring and $30 per hour for online meetings. I can offer significant discounts if a package of multiple hours or longer sessions is desired though. You can contact me for more details on this and anything else! If during a meeting extra time is needed for any adjustments, breaks or consulting of any kind it will be provided free of charge.

I am looking forward to hearing from you and helping you experience continued success in your studies, exams and overall educational objectives. I am a theoretical physicist and I have loved all my life the study of the universe and its secrets through research and continued education. Mathematics and Science have offered modern humans unprecedented awareness. Strong ethical individuals, supported by coherent education and fulfilling work, can sustain peace, produce tangible progress in… Read more

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