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“I had just finished my lecture on Solid State Theory in the Physics Department at UWI Mona, when I began to feel dizzy and fainted. One of the students, Mr. Craige Boyd and Dr. Russell took me to the Health Centre. When I was released that evening, Dr. Patrick Chin purchased a few food items for me from the Campus Store and dropped me home. When I returned to campus later that week, one of my students, Miss Melissa Sturridge, came to my office with tears in her eyes to ask if I was alright. Away from family members in India, it gave me great joy to feel so much concern from my students. I find a lot of beauty and delight in Physics, and much more in God. Just as a chair needs a minimum of 3 legs to be stable, so we need the Arts to develop our hearts, the Sciences to develop critical thinking and God for wisdom and enlightenment.”

Dr. Michael Ponnambalam

SENIOR LECTURER
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCES
MONA CAMPUS, JAMAICA
Tel: (876) 927-2480 • Email: Michael.Ponnambalam@uwimona.edu.jm

PROFILE

Dr. Michael Ponnambalam describes himself as a dreamer – who wants to “leave behind him footprints on the sands of time”– working wholeheartedly, tirelessly and persistently towards realizing those dreams. Dr. Ponnambalam won the Gold Medal in BSc in India – scoring First Rank in Madras State, with a population of around 25 million then. He was cited in “Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges” in 1978, and was honoured in 1979 with the “Distinguished Service Award” by Illinois Institute of Technology, USA where he completed his PhD in Physics. Tired of the easy life in USA, Dr. Ponnambalam ventured for adventure in the Third World. He spent six years in Africa (Kano, Nigeria) and then came to Jamaica in November 1987. Dr. Ponnambalam believes strongly in the ancient Indian wisdom that the invisible God gives three visible “Gods” – mother, father and teacher – to every newborn babe, to help it during its journey to enlightenment. Hence, for him, teaching is a sacred vocation and an awesome responsibility – to teach the students godly values and attitudes, in addition to facilitating a deeper understanding, love and appreciation of Physics. Over the years, he has gradually actualized his revolutionary image of the teacher as a harmonious blend of a father, mother, friend, counsellor, mentor, instructor, researcher and inspiration to his students; and according to them, “He has impacted a sphere much greater than The University of the West Indies, since the lives he has touched will in turn touch others.” “There are many students who would never have passed their courses or graduated from the University … if not for the timely aid and counsel of Dr. Ponnam.”

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Knowing that “the brain is too precious a gift from God to be wasted” and painfully aware of the law “Use it, or lose it”, Dr. Ponnambalam has been active in research – in the past in theoretical work on Nuclear Quadrupole Interaction in Cubic Metal Alloys as well as Stark Effects in F-centre Emission; and now, in Physics Education and the Interface of Physics with Other Fields. He has published 22 papers in international refereed journals; and presented 23 papers at international conferences (in Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, India, Japan, Trinidad and USA), nine in the American Physical Society Meetings and ten in the Meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers. He has given seminars in England, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, Nigeria and USA. Currently, he is an executive member of the Inter American Council on Physics Education.