Physics 155: Musical Acoustics (science course for non-science majors)
Syllabus: Physics-155-H01-Spring-2024-Kunchur-syllabus.pdf
Physics 155L: Acoustics Laboratory (now merged with lecture course)
Physics 201: General Physics I (algebra based for pre-meds, etc.)
Syllabus: Physics-201-H01-Fall-2025-Kunchur-syllabus.pdf
Physics 202: General Physics II (part 2 of above)
Physics 207: Principles of Physics II (for physics majors)
Physics 211: Essentials of Physics I (calculus based for physics & engineering)
Physics 212: Essentials of Physics II (part 2 of above)
Physics 309: Classic Experiments in Physics (for physics majors)
Physics 441: Undergraduate Seminar Training course
Physics 512: Solid State Physics (for graduate/undergrad physics majors)
Physics 730: Graduate Seminar Training course
Physics 750A: Films (graduate physics course)
Governor's Distinguished Professor and
South Carolina Professor of the Year (state’s highest honor for academia)
George Pegram Medal for the Southeast United States (10-state region)
CASE and Carnegie Foundation "U.S. Professors of the Year" Award
Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching (SFist)
Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year (USC's highest honor)
Michael A. Hill Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award
Center for Teaching Excellence Letter of Commendation
Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award
NON-SCIENCE MAJORS:
He is an excellent teacher! I do not like science, and I was not looking forward to taking this course. Dr. Kunchur managed to get me interested – not an easy task. He attempts to get to know each student personally and learn each student’s name. He is the best teacher I have ever had at USC.
Kunchur is, by far, one of the most optimistic, clear, inspiring teachers I have ever had. He is very interested and passionate about the subject and possesses extraordinary patience with his students. The course teaches the fundamentals of acoustics and is helpful to understand the nature of sound and manipulation of sound.
Physics was a subject I swore to myself I would never take again after high school, so I had an overall negative impression of what I would be learning about. However, Dr. Kunchur introduced us to basic physics laws and equations in a way I did not expect. He would simply ask inspiring questions, never just giving us the answer. In this way, we felt like we were discovering these laws ourselves, which not only helped us learn and remember them better, but created an encouraging and positive atmosphere in the classroom.
Dr. Kunchur really seems to enjoy what he teaches. Although a big class, he made students welcome to ask questions and incredibly learned everyone’s name. He helped everyone – even liberal arts majors – learn complex science concepts. It’s very practical & can be applied to everyday life. It increases one’s understanding of the world.
I hope to become an ESOL teacher, but I will teach science as part of my student teaching. While science concepts don't come naturally to me, I have been able to understand the ideas, examples, and demonstrations. I feel I will be able to better help struggling students, now that I am reminded what it is like to understand and
enjoy what I previously saw as an intimidating subject.
Professor Kunchur is a wonderful professor–clearly enjoys teaching and cares that his students understand the material, and the non-science major may ask even the most ignorant of questions without fear. More challenging than anticipated of a science course for non-science majors, but worthwhile & interesting, not anything to complain about, but not a pushover, easy course either. He’s a fabulous teacher.
SCIENCE (but NON-PHYSICS) MAJORS:
This instructor does an incredible job of presenting all relevant material at an optimal pace and manner, with masterful teaching ability, funny anecdotes, and true sense of caring about his students. There were few days that I could leave that class without the passion this instructor has for physics rubbing off on me. He has an infectious smile, and offers a chance to gain a childlike wonderment for the universe and its many joys. I would place this professor among the highest calibre of teachers, and wish that everyone would have the opportunity to take general physics with such a profoundly inspiring man. I cannot speak highly enough of this professor. I will remember his class for the rest of my life.
Dr. Kunchur is the best professor I have had at USC. He is an incredible instructor and brings an impressively diverse collection of experiences and knowledge to the class. He teaches with examples that are interesting and help us better understand the world around us. Also, he has fascinating stories from his own life that he is always willing to share. His personality and passion for the subject keep students engaged and open the class for discussion. The best part about Dr. Kunchur, though, is his willingness to help his students and explain concepts as many times and in as many ways as needed. He cares about our learning, and it motivates us to do better. I have thoroughly enjoyed my two semesters with Dr. Kunchur and will truly miss learning from him. He has not only taught me more than I ever thought I'd know about physics, but also how to be an abstract thinker, inquisitive learner, and all-around more confident student.
Dr. Kunchur is the best professor I have had at this university thus far. He is very knowledgeable and truly cares that the students learn the materials. He will stop and take time to explain it clearly and thoroughly to make sure we understand everything. I was dreading physics because I had heard such terrible things about physics 201, but Dr. Kunchur has made this class one of my favorites this semester. He is such an incredible professor and has done some of the most interesting research. I wish I could take him for Physics 202.
This Honors experience this course provided was excellent and was made possible only through the fantastic Dr. Kunchur. As a junior in the Honors College, I can confidently say that Dr. K is single–handedly the best professor I have had in my time at USC. This was such a shock coming after the notorious reviews I have heard about [...] physics [...] Dr. K really cares that his students understand the material, and he does not teach the course using any shortcuts. This class has been such a rewarding experience, and I hope that Dr. K continues to be the Honors physics professor as long as he wishes to be.
I believe each student had a commitment to learning the content because of the professor's effort. I find that if the professor doesn't care, the students also show less effort. However, everyone in this class is engaged, attentive, and respectful. Every student asks questions and many students study together. It was a very fufilling honors experience. The flow of the content was also adjusted to the student's needs, so it never felt like we were taking on too much at once. I just wish it was a T/R class to fit better with my schedule, but I was willing to sacrifice that for the professor!
Many professors are so far removed from the basics of their respective field that their students have a hard time understanding the language and explanations that they provide. However, Dr. Kunchur breaks the basics down in a way that reveals that he is still in touch with the foundations of his subject. Although he is an expert in physics at a high research level, I felt that he was acutely aware of students’ previous backgrounds and the gaps in their knowledge. This professor never assumed we knew more than what we actually did. Nobody felt shy to ask questions in the classroom, and nobody was left behind. Because his teaching style is so efficient, students often find that they do not have to study for hours and hours after class because they were lost in the class. He is able to teach at just the right level and speed. The class was challenging enough so that we had to work hard to succeed, but not hopelessly beyond our grasp causing students to feel helpless. He helped us see that rather than being concerned about simply getting an A or the highest grade, if you were passionate about what you were learning, you would make a personal connection to your studies, and the success would follow naturally. I have never seen a professor dedicate as much time to his or her students’ success as Dr. Kunchur.
ONLINE VIRTUAL COURSES (taught during the COVID fully remote year)
Dr. Kunchur was easily the best professor I had this semester during covid. From day one he made it abundantly clear that he truly cared and wanted us to understand the material being taught. He put in so much effort setting up the Microsoft team meets in a way that we could see both his face and what he was writing simultaneously. He always answered every question I had and made sure that he didn’t move on until everyone understood. He gave his phone number so that we could call him during exams and ask any questions we had. His availability and level of care for us and our success is something I want in every professor. He handled having to teach during the pandemic exceptionally!
Dr. Kunchur is one of the best professors I have had. He made online physics so accommodating and flexible. His teaching style allowed us to ask as many questions as we needed until we understood the concepts. He is an amazing person and singlehandedly made my online semester so much easier. SCHC is lucky to have him.
I loved Dr. Kunchur. He was fun, interesting, passionate about physics, available for meeting with students, and overall just a wonderful professor. He went above and beyond to make sure we understood the material, and he always wanted to make sure we felt confident. Also, in the wake of COVID he was amazing at making sure we still got the most out of his course. I have no doubt that I learned just as much online with Dr. Kunchur as I would have if we were in person. Amazing professor and sweet person.
Despite loving science, physics is my least favorite of the hard sciences. Nevertheless, I looked forward to logging into every class as Dr. Kunchur’s passion for teaching made me more motivated to learn the content. I still remember him telling us stories about how he used the principles of momentum to avoid a potentially fatal automobile accident. By sharing these personal stories and anecdotes, Dr. Kunchur increased class engagement and helped me feel a part of a learning community at a time when I was so isolated from the outside world. Dr. Kunchur’s course was the only one where I felt like a real student.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Dr. Kunchur is the Maya Angelou quote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I believe good teachers can synthesize and deliver complicated topics in a digestible way. What sets an exceptional teacher apart is their ability to leave such an impression on their student’s lives. I can unequivocally say that I will never forget how supported and uplifted I felt by Dr. Kunchur.
LABORATORY-EXPERIMENTS COURSES (labs created from scratch; no TA)
I liked how the lab and lecture were so related and there were so many opportunities to interact with the professor and clarify misunderstanding. Some professors just seem to teach to check off a box, whereas Dr. K always seems excited to share knowledge with
us and this makes his passion for the subject contagious.
He is very encouraging, funny, and intelligent My professor's greatest strengths are that he creates the labs to be very interactive and interesting for us to do.
Amazing professor, fascinating material, it's exactly what is said in the class description.
For the lab section of PHYS 155, we had a variety of hands-on experiences on different nuances of musical acoustics that were directly related to lecture class topics.
The professor was approachable and the entire class was genuinely interested in learning, this led to us being comfortable asking questions whenever we needed to and forming a bond as a class.
It was mostly focused on the students rather than having the professor lead the lab, and it encouraged lots of discussion with our peers and professor.
There was really good opportunities to collaborate with other students.
The labs were fun and very applicable to what we learned in class.
GRADUATE & PHYSICS-MAJOR COURSES:
Dr. Kunchur's class was of a quality that is rare. His teaching was more productive and efficient than the majority of the professors we have taken. Dr. Kunchur was always excited to teach us in the class and was not overly concentrated on just the subject at hand. We appreciate how he made sure we understood the underlying concepts and how they applied in other areas of physics as well. Dr. Kunchur was also very accessible whenever we had questions.
Great professor! Very open minded! Wish more professors taught like him! Never says anything he can’t back support with an explanation; really shows an absolute understanding and belief in physics.
Dr. Kunchur is an excellent professor. He was very concerned that students really understand the material and spent many extra hours outside class to help students. Very good – explaining thoroughly and giving examples.
Great teacher – he wants us to learn and takes the time. Very helpful outside class, helped with my questions. I would recommend this professor!!