The shelves of Dr. Dorina Kosztin’s office are full of colorful toys and apparatus, all demonstrating the power of science. As a physics professor, she is particularly fond of these toys because they show the practical, real-world dimensions of her field, well beyond the abstract equations and formulas typical of textbooks. Indeed, Dr. Kosztin has devoted her life to making physics a more accessible subject for students. Through her ongoing work, she has initiated major changes not only for programs in American institutions but in the very foundations of its classrooms.

Along with MU Professor Meera Chandrasekhar, Dr. Kosztin works with a summer seminar for high school teachers called “Physics First.” Its goal is to integrate physics into ninth-grade classrooms.

Dr. Kosztin continues her discussion of “Physics First,” as well as the secondary goal of creating department leaders from among the seminar participants. Working on “Physics First” also provided her a model to use for her own Education class at Mizzou.