Mr Tristan David O'Hanlon

Biography

Tristan obtained his BSc from the University of Auckland in 2006 and began his career as a secondary school physics teacher in 2008. While teaching, he completed his PGDipSci (Physics) in 2010.

During his career as a teacher, he has been the Head of Department and has extensive experience with the NCEA and CIE (Cambridge International Examinations) curricula. Tristan has organised national physics events: the International Young Physicists Tournament and CERN Masterclass. He has also overseen student visits abroad to world-leading institutes including CERN and NASA.

Tristan works alongside Auckland secondary school physics teachers is organising the annual Physics Teacher's Day held at the University of Auckland. In 2019, he ran the Auckland University ChipSAT Hackathon. He is currently studying for his MSc in Climate Physics.

As well as teaching in the stage one physics programme, he is also the undergraduate coordinator for Te Pūnaha Ātea -- Auckland Space Institute, where he supports students designing and building payloads to be launched on a CubeSAT platform into space.

Research | Current

Investigating climate model biases compared with satellite data for clouds over the Southern Ocean.

Investigating strategies to enhance the training of teaching assistants in stage one physics labs.

Teaching | Current

• TFCPHYS 91F - Foundation Physics I
• Physics 102 - Basic Concepts of Physics
• Physics 120 - Advancing Physics 1
• Physics 160 - Physics for the Life Sciences

Previous:

• TFCPHYS 92F - Foundation Physics II

Responsibilities

• Undergraduate coordinator for Te Pūnaha Ātea -- Auckland Space Institute
• Laboratory coordination for Physics 160
• Lecturing and teaching development in first-year physics courses
• Teaching assistant support and training

Areas of expertise

• Physics Teaching and Learning
• Teaching Assistant Training
• Physics Outreach

Committees/Professional groups/Services

• Te Pūnaha Ātea -- Auckland Space Institute
• STEM Online
• CERN Masterclass