Rice University Physics PhD Student for Physics and Math Tutoring

Ray H.

I'm Ray! I'm currently a third-year physics PhD student at Rice University where I investigate how cosmological observables can be used to find evidence of new hypothetical particles. In high school I did the IB Diploma and graduated in the top 1.4% of IB students worldwide so I have first-hand experience with IB HL physics.

I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio summa cum laude with a BSc in physics in 2020. At UTSA, I tutored calculus in the "Math Lab" for two years. I mainly taught freshmen and sophomores who were seeking help with calculus I and II. My tutoring style emphasizes conceptual and intuitive understanding above rote memorization.

At Rice, I was the tutorial session TA for freshman honors mechanics. Every week I found new and challenging problems for the students and would come up with my own solutions. In the tutorial session I would break the room up into groups and have them attempt to work on problems of their choice. While they were doing that I walked around the room and would assist them when they got stuck.

When I tutor a student I discuss their goals with them and gauge their current level by giving them example problems. Once I have a feeling for where they are at I typically demonstrate how to solve several example problems and have them attempt to solve a new one with minimal guidance from me. The main idea is to have the student actively "get stuck" on a problem and learn how to overcome those obstacles in real time. This helps me identify areas to improve on and lets them learn from experience.