25 September 1999 Norm Kolb ('83)

Norm Kolb is Professor of Physics at the University of Saskatchewan where "I teach physics courses and performs research in photo-nuclear physics. I also currently supervise two graduate students and three research associates. After graduating from VU (1983), I was lucky enough (thanks to Don Koetke) to work the summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In the fall, I started graduate school at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. I earned my M.Sc. (Physics) in 1984 and my Ph.D. (Experimental Nuclear Physics) in 1989. Afterwards, I accepted a post-doctoral research position at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In 1993, I moved to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada to accept a professorship in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics. Here I remain...

The access of the experimental equipment (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, sub-critical reactor, accelerator...) to undergraduate students was a rare opportunity. I would say that the experience I gained with experimental apparatus at VU, not only served me well in my graduate work, but also helped to decide my specialization in physics. A very important thing, that I learned at VU, is to understand the physics. All the math and equations are just tools we use to apply our understanding of the physics to solving problems. I think the faculty at VU did an excellent job of imparting their understanding of physics to the students. I try to emulate them when working with my own students."