Teaching
After graduation ceremony, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Hail, Saudi Arabia, Summer 2004
Math and Mechanics courses [top]
  • Calculus and advanced applied calculus
  • Differential equations
  • Finance mathematics
  • Statistical reliability
  • Preparatory mathematics
  • Strength of materials
  • Theory of plates and shells
  • Theory of elasticity
  • Structural stability and dynamics
  • FORTRAN
  • Java
  • Numerical and analytical methods in mechanics
Manuals for students [top]
The following manuals for students have been written and published to help them in the work on assignments:
  • Beams on the elastic foundation
  • Selected problems of beam theory
  • Calculation of beam deflections
  • Bending of statically undefined beams
  • Bending of simply supported rectangular thin plate (Fourier method).
  • Finite difference method in the theory of elasticity
Teaching philosophy [top]
The key idea of my teaching philosophy is to keep the subject interesting. I believe that it is not enough to consider the student’s choice of a course and his/her payment for it as a sign of his/her being interested in the subject. It is only the first step towards loving a subject. There are several components that make the discipline interesting. In my opinion, the most important of them are the following: clearness of the course, usefulness in future applications, combination of rigorous mathematical approaches and training diversity, and a personality of the teacher.
It is not too hard to achieve clearness in teaching mathematics for students, who have strong analytical and logical abilities. However, there are not many pure mathematicians compared to applied ones. Future engineers, for instance, usually prefer visual demonstrations. In my teaching practice I have tried to give mathematical (theoretical) as well as physical (practical) interpretations of both the problem solving approach and obtained results. It is very impressive, also, to tell about historical circumstances and, sometimes, curiosities of origin of famous mathematical methods.
A good teacher always emphasizes the usefulness of a currently considered method and demonstrates how it fits into the course as a whole. Students have to understand application area of subjects in practice and further studies. The historical aspect can be interesting here too, because many methods have risen through practical activities.
In my teaching I prefer rigorous approach to obtaining the proof of theorems, because in this way the most profound understanding of methodology of the discipline and conditions of method application can be achieved. On the other hand, we have to provide different kinds of training to cover almost all types of applications. I am aware that it is not easy to reach the optimal balance in the situation with restricted time and permanent increase of important materials for studying, but a good teacher is always in a quest for better solutions.
The crucial factor in teaching is the personality of the teacher. The ideal teacher is erudite, has good sense of humor, and is eager to involve students in the thinking process. He has to be easily accessible, helpful in an academic sense, and respectful to the concerns of the students. This can be possible only when he himself is interested in the process of teaching, the process of changing and discovering new pedagogical ideas, and students’ feedback, which is an important source of teaching improvement. I believe that this would be a part of a solid base of an interesting education.
Postgraduate students [top]
The following students have defended their Ph.D. theses under my supervision:
  • Veretennikov S. A.
1992    Moscow Aviation Institute
             Department of Applied Mechanics
           Moscow, Russia
      Thesis: ”Dynamics of thin spherical shells by large deflections”
  • Duginetz S.
1990    Civil Engineering Acadamy
     Department of Strength of Materials
      Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
      Thesis: ”Theoretical and experimental investigation of rubber spherical shell by large deflections”
  • Dubichev A.
1993    Dnepropetrovsk State University
     Department of Mathematics and Mechanics
      Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
      Thesis:"Asymptotic analysis of stability and post-buckling behavior of orthotropic shallow spherical shells"
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