What is Professor: Definition and 295 Discussions

Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors are usually experts in their field and teachers of the highest rank.In most systems of academic ranks, "professor" as an unqualified title refers only to the most senior academic position, sometimes informally known as "full professor". In some countries and institutions, the word "professor" is also used in titles of lower ranks such as associate professor and assistant professor; this is particularly the case in the United States, where the word professor is also used to refer to associate and assistant professors as well. This usage would be considered incorrect among other academic communities. However, the unqualified title "Professor" designated with a capital letter nearly always refers to a full professor.
Professors often conduct original research and commonly teach undergraduate, professional, or postgraduate courses in their fields of expertise. In universities with graduate schools, professors may mentor and supervise graduate students conducting research for a thesis or dissertation. In many universities, full professors take on senior managerial roles such as leading departments, research teams and institutes, and filling roles such as president, principal or vice-chancellor. The role of professor may be more public-facing than that of more junior staff, and professors are expected to be national or international leaders in their field of expertise.

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  1. N

    Did my professor do this laplace-inverse wrong?

    Hey, I get a different answer than the solutions manual. Did my prof do this laplace transform wrong? Basically I think the 2 in-front of e^-2t should be a 1 instead. thanks for help :)
  2. DrClaude

    Professor's Dumbest Comment in Organic Chemistry Class | Funny Student Stories

    A comment on another thread about people with PhDs saying dumb things reminded me of somthing a professor once told the class when I was a student. I thought of sharing it with you, in the hope that some of you also have interesting stories to share. In an organic chemistry course, the...
  3. N

    Addressing a professor in email with first name

    Hey, Not sure if this subforum is the ideal place for it, but in some way I am asking for academic guidance, so... I was wondering: if a professor concludes his email to me using just his first name, is it then good etiquette to start my reply with "Dear [first name]"? I suppose the...
  4. L

    Being a professor where you want

    Whenever I look at the careers of famous physicists, current and past, they seem to only attend prestigious universities. They graduate with a PhD from some great physics school and immediately start teaching somewhere very well regarded, whether it's Princeton or MIT. I've also read "So You...
  5. Alpharup

    Story of a mathematics professor

    I have hard somewhere the story of mathematics professor(It maybe fake:biggrin:). The math professor was very strong in his concepts and had very good ability to solve math problems. Due to popularity among his peers and other mathematicians, his name spread throughout the entire city where he...
  6. Adoniram

    Do Professors receive additional income for their research?

    I'm just wondering if, as a Professor, you get paid only by the school you teach at, or if you receive additional income for your research that you do. For instance, let's say you're doing some investigation into accreting binary systems and you get $50k in research grants from NASA; is that...
  7. T

    About career path to Phd, Professor

    I am currently a year 2 uni student in University of Sydney. I want to continue my career as a physicist and work in University while doing my research. I am wondering 1) How good does your academic record need to be in order to do Phd? 2) Does it cost less or more comparing to bachelor...
  8. schrodingerscat11

    Professor or Research Group that works on Nanotechnology-agriculture

    Greetings! I have this friend who had synthesis of nanomaterials as his MS thesis. After talking with him, I realized that his passion is on helping the farmers in the agriculture industry. I want to help him find a research group or professor (for his Phd) in which he can apply what he...
  9. lonewolf219

    Physics Professor teaching Math with no book assigned to the course

    Just wondering what anyone else thinks about one of the physics professor's at my university teaching a mathematical methods course strictly from notes. He did not assign a textbook. Most of the material I have not seen before. Is this common? This course was restructured halfway through...
  10. P

    Am I overreacting or is my professor acting unprofessionally?

    Recently our grades were updated and unfortunately I finished one percent short of an A. I wasn't going to put that on the teacher, I should have put in more work for that one percent. After about a week I found out that a good number of my peers had received random grade bumps. Some even being...
  11. P

    Learning physical chemistry online? My professor is bad

    We are learning about NMR and ESR right now. I know physical chemistry is a difficult topic to learn because there is a lot of background information that you have to be aware of in order to understand things. My professor does not reference these background topics, speaks with a strong...
  12. J

    I'm confused by what the professor means on this Fourier Series proble

    Homework Statement See the second bullet point on this page: http://facweb.northseattle.edu/rjenne/e240w13flr/hwflr/feb21/e240w13hwfeb21.pdf Homework Equations So I know that fft(x) for a bunch of sample points x={x1, x2, ..., xn} returns the n Fourier coefficients for a function...
  13. Vahsek

    Schools How to become a university professor?

    Hello everybody, I am sure that there are lots of people like me here who like to think (about abstract things such as mathematics etc) very often. In fact, whenever I get an opportunity, I just start scribbling in a notebook about theorems, proofs and all that. So here's the thing I...
  14. L

    Astronomy paper help - professor doesn't understand my wording

    Hiya, First off, I'm not sure where to post this topic. I was thinking either the homework section, or General Astronomy, but I chose to put it here because my question relates to a research paper in Astronomy. Let me discuss the basics of the paper. We have to pick a topic in the 1920s that...
  15. M

    Doing independent study/research with a physics professor in my first year?

    I met with a REALLY nice professor who is doing theoretical nuclear and particle physics (one of my interests). I am in my first year, but can graduate in three years instead of four because of AP credit (with already having taken AP Physics with Calculus and am currently taking Quantum). So he...
  16. M

    Which Organic Chemistry professor to take?

    So I am in a predicament here and can't make up my mind for which Organic Chemistry professor to take next semester. I am a chemical engineering major, so I don't know how important Organic Chemistry will be for me. I already took professor 1 last semester and barely scratched out an A, but I...
  17. dkotschessaa

    Error-riffic textbook written by a University Professor

    I will not mention the book by name unless I have to. However... I have a textbook for a class, which is quite bad. Amazon reviews of the book show 1 star ratings and terrible reviews. The book is error ridden, and there are quite a few typos and mistakes. The author teaches at my...
  18. Evo

    News Professor claims Newton Ct massacre a hoax

    This one is a DOOZY! A professor at Florida Atlantic University claims that no one was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school, "that trained “crisis actors” may have been employed by the Obama administration to shape public opinion on gun control."...
  19. S

    Lecturer vs Professor: Can You Teach Without a PhD?

    Hello! I have just a quick question for the PF community. What are the major differences between a lecturer and a professor in the US university? Reason I ask is because I'm interested in becoming a teacher and earning a PhD in physics, however I'm not too interested in the research part of...
  20. J

    What it means to be a professor

    I'm a little confused as to what it is to be a college science professor. So if you get your PhD, your considered a scientist because you have done your own original research (at a university of course). Now you graduate and apply for jobs. I would assume that someone who is hired into, say...
  21. M

    Professor that is rude/arrogant

    I have a professor that likes to use tactics of public humiliation on his students. He does things like call on you for an answer, and if you don't know he will continue drilling on the same student over and over again. He is quick to make any smartass remarks to any questions. Like for...
  22. D

    Will a letter of rec from a professor with poor English reflect badly on me?

    One of the professors I'm asking to write a letter of rec for grad school isn't the best at English. She's from Romania, so I think it's understandable. She's one of my favorite professors and I've always done extremely well in her classes, so it was an obvious choice to me for me to ask her...
  23. C

    Studying Is it OK to ask professor to use different textbook?

    next semester I will be taking a grad level solid state course. It will be using a textbook that is literally 40 years old: Ashcroft. Is it OK for me to suggest to the professor to use a more modern textbook (with absolutely no hope that the suggestion will be listened to; just want to put...
  24. N

    Math Can a math professor have Physics and Math in PhDs or some degrees like BA/MA?

    I am wondering if this is possible to have such a path. Can a math professor take physics PhD to do mathematical physics and math PhD to do the research on mathematic topics?
  25. O

    How Do You Calculate Displacement Using Vector Components?

    A disoriented physics professor drives a distance 3.40km north, then a distance 3.80km west, and then a distance 1.55km south. Find the magnitude of the resultant displacement, using the method of components. Find the direction of the resultant displacement, using the method of components...
  26. X

    Professor is a nice guy, but he is not teaching well. Thoughts?

    I am currently enrolled in an introductory Systems & Signals Processing course. The problem is, this has thus far turned into a series of lectures on the nuances of the Fourier Transform, i.e. special cases and difficult problems. Why am I complaining? Well, in his syllabus, he lists a...
  27. I

    LaTeX My Quantum I professor wants us to write up our homeworks using Latex.

    Hi I am taking Quantum I this 2012 fall. The little problem I am having is that my professor wants us to write our homework on Latex. I have no problem with Latex; I love making documents on it. But the only thing that borders me is that having to write up my homework on Latex, take a great deal...
  28. M

    Meeting with a Professor for Undergrad Research Tomorrow.

    Hey everyone, Tomorrow I'll be meeting with an undergraduate professor (does work in Astrophysics/Astronomy) to discuss work as an undergrad for the quarter. I know it'll mostly be grunt work and I'm not harboring any illusions on that but, I have no idea what she'll ask me during this...
  29. G

    Professor of Engineering Physics

    Hello, I've decided to go ahead and attempt to get into an Applied and Engineering Physics PhD program once I've completed my B.S. in Engineering Physics. I had a question though that hopefully someone could answer for me. I would like to initially work in some sort of industry once I finish...
  30. 1

    Why does the professor derive the equation?

    "why does the professor derive the equation?" I often hear people of other majors (engineering) ask me why the professor derives the equation to be used in some situation (like a continuous charge distribution electric field from coulomb's law divided by the test charge) instead of just giving...
  31. A

    Thinking Career As A Professor

    Recently, I have been thinking about what I would like to do once I finish my graduate school career. I already know that I like doing research, so I was thinking of either working for a national lab or becoming a professor. Based on some information I've read on the web, becoming a professor...
  32. S

    Calculators ? on how to use a little professor calculator

    I got the calculator free i don't even know how to turn it on :(
  33. K

    Programs Do you need a masters degree in Physics to be a Professor?

    Will not having a masters degree lower my chances to be a professor in physics.
  34. K

    Average salary for a new assistant professor in Mathematics.

    I really like Mathematics and wondering for the salary for a new assistant professor in the subject.
  35. M

    Physics Physics professor salary question

    I know some professors at my school do research- obviously. But some don't. Does my physics professor get paid more for doing research? Or does something fun like that come out of their own pay? Like do they have to finance it themselves?
  36. A

    Solving Professor Zoom's Highway Mystery: Speed Revealed

    Homework Statement Man travels down the highway in his car whistling middle C A policeman has a defective radar gun but passed a physics course. He hears the pitch change from D(294 Hz) immediately above middle C(262Hz) to A#(233Hz) immediately below middle C as the car passes. a) How fast...
  37. A

    Should I Worry About My Grades or Focus on Understanding Concepts?

    Hi all, I need some opinions on my situation: - In my school, in general, 90% and above is considered an A+ and gets you a 4.3 GPA (highest) for that course. Professors have the right to alter the grading scheme. I currently obtained an A for a course which I suspected I would get an A+...
  38. H

    My Professor frequently uses the term higher dimensions. Could someone

    My Professor frequently uses the term higher dimensions. Could someone tell me exactly what is a dimension. I think of it as some parameter which can vary. Also, I only know of 4 dimensions: time, length, width and height. Could someone give me more examples of dimensions? And lastly could...
  39. L

    Physics professor beats $400 ticket using physics

    http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/us/2012/04/18/dnt-scientist-beats-traffic-ticket.xetv discuss? My speaker is not working so will see what others have to say.
  40. L

    Is our professor expecting too much?

    I'm a 3rd year physics undergrad, currently taking a first compulsory course in statistical mechanics. The course follows R. Kubo's text of the same title along with additional lecture notes given in class(theory on ensembles and such). The highest level mathematics any of my classmates have...
  41. 1

    How does Professor Splash work?

    How does "Professor Splash" work? So there is a daredevil named "Professor Splash" who is known for diving (belly flopping) from over 30 feet into a foot or less of water. You can find more information about him below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Splash...
  42. D

    Distinguished physics professor busted with kilos in Argentina, possibly framed

    Wow: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/20/1945707/unc-chapel-hill-physics-professor.html
  43. T

    How is this equality possible? What did the professor do to reach it?

    Can someone explain me how one term got to the other term? It makes no sense to me
  44. 1

    True/False on math tests. I think I am right, should I confront professor?

    In calculus III, I recently took an exam. At the end of the test was a True/False question. I never know when to stop analyzing it. Because of my apprehension, I went to her office after the test and she told me that the answer was true; I marked false. I had nothing to go off of at the...
  45. C

    Professor not willing to send letter of rec

    Hi all, I asked the professor I've been working with if he's willing to write a letter of recommendation for me (I'm applying to REU programs). He agreed and I've submitted two applications so far(one at my current university where I'd be working with him, and one at a different university). He...
  46. P

    I attached the problem.In the solutions my professor posted, he

    I attached the problem. In the solutions my professor posted, he stated that acceleration is 0 in all directions. thus he can use the equation ar=r''-r*(θ')^2 to find r''=4.62. where ar is the the acceleration in the direction of the dotted line r. I don't understand how the acceleration...
  47. P

    What is the odds of being a professor at a top tier university?

    I have wet dreams( not necessary wet) that I will be a math( or anything) professor at Harvard(or any of the top tier schools). I did some research, and look at the faculty of those top universities. Most of them are rather old. I look at when they got their PHDs, I discovery that in these top...
  48. P

    New Adjunct Math Professor at Community College

    Hello, I am going to be a new adjunct math professor this semester at a community college, and I'm teaching precalculus (that's my only class). I am very new to teaching (I've never actually taught a class before although I've tutored in the past). I was just hoping to get some advice from...
  49. Norman

    The State of Being a Professor - an insider's view

    Izabella Laba has an interesting article up about the rigors of being a professor: The state of the profession. I think it should be required reading for every graduate student thinking about an academic career path. The article is interesting in that it ponders the feasibility of...
  50. G

    Schools Professor at college with only a B.S. in physics?

    Are there professors with only bachelor's degrees in physics who teach at the (non community-college) college level? What type of colleges and professors are these? Thanks
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