Rate My Professor Eric Mazur

Eric Mazur is the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, with joint appointments in the Department of Physics and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a PhD in 1981, from Leiden University in the Netherlands. After completing postdoctoral research at Harvard University, he joined the faculty as an assistant professor and advanced to associate professor in 1987, receiving tenure in 1990. Mazur’s research centers on experimental ultrafast optics and condensed matter physics, including the use of ultrashort laser pulses to study dynamics in physical systems, femtosecond laser micromachining, and the development of black silicon. He is also recognized for developing the peer instruction teaching method and authoring the 1997 book Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual, as well as related publications on active learning in physics education. Mazur previously served as Dean of Applied Physics from 2010 to 2021 and Academic Dean for Applied Science and Engineering from 2021 to 2024. He was President of Optica in 2017 and has received awards including the Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1988, the Esther Hoffman Beller Medal in 2008, the Robert A. Millikan Award in 2008, and the Minerva Prize for Advancement in Higher Education in 2014.

Mazur maintains an active research group focused on nanophotonics, optical metamaterials, and applications in photonics and biosensing. His contributions span both fundamental physics and educational innovation, with extensive publications in peer-reviewed journals on topics such as laser-induced phase transitions and classroom assessment practices.