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. D

    Optics did my professor screw up?

    Homework Statement A cat is standing 1m in front of a mirror. a virtual image is formed 10.0m behind the mirror. what is the radius of curvature for the mirror? Homework Equations 1/f = (1/do)+(1/di) f=+/-(1/2)*R The Attempt at a Solution (1/1m + 1/10m)^-1 = .909 .909*2 = 1.82...
  2. A

    A question professor couldnt solve

    The professor said he didnt know the ans of this qn, so, can u help? Question: Can you have lim_x->a f '(x) = D , f ' (a) exists, but not equal to D? any one can give an example? thx!
  3. jtbell

    Fake Professor in Wikipedia Storm

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6423659.stm
  4. L

    Physics professor salary in academia and industry

    So I was looking through salary.com statistics and various news articles such as this one http://content.salary.monster.com/articles/salary/highestpay/ and found that physicist salaries far surpass my expectations, since many people claim that physicists, and scientist in general, do not make...
  5. C

    Professor Jones' claims about the physics of WTC collapse

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=964034652002408586 Here is a video of Professor Jones of BYUniversity presenting a lecture about the collapse of the WTC buildings. He talks about the stresses on the steel columns imposed by the heat of the fires and how they were not great enough to...
  6. A

    How much math does a math professor remember?

    I've always wondered about this question. I've taken university math courses and gotten A+'s. But then years later, if I never used topics in that course again, I realize how much I have forgotten. A math professor who does research in, say, number theory would essentially never use, say...
  7. M

    Kind of looks like pascals triangle, i can't find the pattern the professor said

    Hello everyone. I have the following problem that can be solved using a traingle that looks similar to pascals triangle, but i must have have misunder stood the professors method of finding the next row. I have a final tomarrow and learning this technique would help but he told us on the...
  8. K

    How much power does a professor have to get a grad student in?

    I was just wondering, If my undergrad advisor knew someone at a university that is currently looking for graduate students to help with his research and I talked to him and he liked me and such, but perhaps my test scores were too low, or gpa wasnt 4.0, or something just wasnt in the top 95th...
  9. S

    Asking a professor about doing research for them

    I figure I should just approach the professor and ask if there's any research or work I could do for them next semester. That simple?
  10. Ivan Seeking

    Bigfoot research makes professor a campus outcast

    http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/03/professor.bigfoot.ap/index.html
  11. L

    Homework Questions? Am I right or the Professor?

    Here's some questions from a friends homework that we submitted online. I think the answers that the professor marked are wrong. If they are right please explain it to me. 1) A golf ball moving forward with 1 unit of momentum strikes and bounces backward off a heavy bowling ball that is...
  12. JasonRox

    Topology is later today and it's an awesome professor teaching

    I walk into Real Analysis and in the first 3 seconds my thoughts go... ... drop class NOW! When I first took the course, I was under the impression that the chair of the department would be teaching the course. Unfortunately, the professor from last year Complex Analysis is teaching the...
  13. P

    Professor predicts timetravellers this century

    I don't understand where he bases his 100yr prediction on, it would be quite hard to guess how technologies will develop in a century.
  14. M

    Diameter of the Image: Solving Problem with Professor's Steps

    Hello everyone, today our professor did this homework problem for us, just different numbers. This is the question: You produce an image of the Sun on a screen, using a thin lens whose focal length is 20.6 cm. What is the diameter of the image? (The mean radius of the Sun is 6.96x10^8 m and...
  15. M

    Confused on how my professor did this last step, DiffEQ, 2nd OrdER

    Hello everyone! My professor was going over a problem real fast for the exam and now that i went over it again, I'm lost on how he did this last step. He is using a method called Abels Theorum. THe problem says: Find a second solution of the given differential equation: t^2y''+3ty' + y = 0...
  16. M

    I have a crush on my physics professor

    [SOLVED] I have a crush on my physics professor He's sooo fine... his grayish blue eyes... his intense stare... his hot body...mmmmm...so sweet... I can't even think when I am in class! How can I get past his hotness?
  17. J

    Brian Wingfeild and I am a Phisics Professor

    Hello, My name is Brian Wingfield and I am a Phisics Professor. To conduct my expiriments, i have been given the windows application, Working Model 2d. I have been given basic training on how to use it but i have run into a small problem. I need to Create a joint that pins 3 layers so 3...
  18. marcus

    Bojowald now Assistant Professor at Penn State

    http://www.phys.psu.edu/people/display/index.html?person_id=417 Last year Martin Bojowald was a postdoc at the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI-Golm) Now he has a faculty appointment at Penn State and this semester (Spring 2006) he will be teaching an advanced course in Gen Rel...
  19. M

    -did my professor screw up the igan vector? matrices fun weee

    Hello everyone, we found 3 igan values: 1, 2, 3 for the last case: 3 we came out with 0 -1 0 0 -1 0 2 -2 -2 he wrote b = 0, a = c; then said igan vecotr is: 0 1 1 but clearly shoouldn't it be: 1 0 1 ?
  20. M

    Properties of linear transformation, did my professor make an error?

    Hello everyone, I'm studying an example my professor did, and it isn't making sense to me... here is the orignal matrix: THe oringal matrix is: T[s] = [3s-t] [t]...[2t+7s] he wants to determine if the following trnasformation is Linear. Here is what he wrote on the board...
  21. M

    Becoming a Physics Professor: Options at University of Cincinnati

    I have always had the idea of becoming a physics professor after I graduate and go to graduate school, but the more I hear about it the more weary I am of this happening. I go to University of Cincinnati which isn't really known for its physics or anything but see that all of the professors went...
  22. Mk

    Professor gets fired from MIT, falsification of data

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051028/ap_on_sc/professor_fired
  23. S

    I saw my philosophy professor today

    I was arguing with him for about 30 minutes in his office and finally convinced him to raise my mid term grade by a (total) of 14%. :biggrin: :rofl: I now have a B (in any other grading system it'd be an A, but you need 90% to get an A in this class - stupid)
  24. D

    How good at math do you have to be to be a math professor?

    Something I often wonder, as I want to one day be a math prof...
  25. N

    What is the total kinetic energy of the globe, professor, and platform?"

    Hello all, I am working on a question as part of an assignment, and while I think I have the correct solution, would just like to check if I have gone about this the right way. Question: "At the beginning of each term, a physics professor named Dr. Zeus shows the class his expectations of...
  26. S

    Either my professor made a boo-boo or I don't get it(regarding E=mc^2)

    either way, you can help! so w=change in KE, and W=the line integral from 0 to s of FdotdS(I never learned how to use the latex thingy, so bear with me, the question isn't that hard...) So then he wrote KE=lineintegral from 0-S, d/dt(gamma*mv)ds and then from there you end up with...
  27. G

    Is It Ethical for a Professor to Kiss a Student?

    So I was at the bar, and all of the sudden this beautiful gorgeous blonde starts snapping her fingers at me and calling my name. Wouldn't you know it, it was my 27 year old psych professor from last semester. I think she was a little bit tipsy cause she kissed me. But you know what they say...
  28. O

    Incompetent Math Professor: How to Confront Your Diff Eq Instructor

    I am currently enrolled in a Diff Eq course at a community college. My instructor has an MS in Math and Electrical engineering which I assumed meant he knew how to think but apparently he doesn't. The problem is this, we are solving differential equations using the LaPlace Transform for...
  29. R

    Research Professor Salary: How Much Do They Earn?

    How much money does a university research professor generally earn per year?
  30. L

    New theories of professor Valitov after Einstein

    Here I'd like to present theories of professor of physico-chemistry, Ph.D. Najip Valitov from Russia, who discovered new theories after Einstein. Part of his discoveries are described in his web-page: [PLAIN]www.bashedu.ru/ValitovNKH.htm[/URL] In 1972 professor Valitov, who lived in the...
  31. Q

    Math professor and number of rooms

    A math professor was staying in a hotel before attending a math conference. When he came out of his room, to go to the conference, he found out that the total of room numbers to his left was equal to the total of room numbers to his right. The total numbers of rooms per floor were about 300 and...
  32. Gokul43201

    Professor Wilczek Talks at OSU: Exploring the Origin of Mass

    Announcement : Frank Wilczek is giving a talk tonight at the Ohio State University. This will be a great opportunity to attend a not-too-technical talk by a brilliant physicist. So if you happen to be in the Central Ohio region tonight, you might want to come take a look-see...
  33. A

    Professor Walter Levin from M.I.T.

    Hi, just some advice searching here. I'm doing my classes online through this guy from M.I.T. http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-02Electricity-and-MagnetismSpring2002/VideoLectures/index.htm Any comments? Anybody here about him? he seems pretty good so far.
  34. Y

    Looking For College Professor To Interview For Senior Rail Gun Project

    Need Help: Looking for college level proffesor or someone "qualified" to interview Im doing my senior project on Rail Guns and as a requirement I need to interview "qualified" people, asking them questions pertaining to my project. I'm looking for atleast one person to interview, 2 would be...
  35. E

    A Math Major's Journey to Becoming a University Professor

    Ok so I love tutoring math and I am currently a math major at a University in the US. In the past I have tutored college algebra, pre-calculus, trigonometry, calculus 1, 2, 3, differential equations, and even some lower maths(pre-algebra, intermediate algebra, technical mathematics). Currently I...
  36. O

    What is the Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers in Calculus?

    I am a little terrified at the moment as my Calc 2 teacher both mumbles and has a heavy accent. Anyways this is what caused me the most anxiety about the first class could someone please explain to me wtf he was trying to say by this? these are two piece-wise functions F(x) 1 x...
  37. E

    Become a Professor: Steps After PhD

    I know after you get a phd you get the title of doctor, but how do you become a professor?
  38. F

    Physics professor substituted for a 2nd grade class

    if a physics professor substituted for a 2nd grade class and the student from left to right were like this :rofl: :smile: :mad: :approve: :bugeye: :tongue2: :cry: :uhh: :biggrin: :confused: :grumpy: :rolleyes: :redface: :wink: :yuck: :frown: :cool: :eek: :devil...
  39. B

    News Murdering of American Professor and his son by ……

    Today Israeli soliders murdered in cold blood an American Professor and his son. I am sure if this Professor is not from Palestinian origin, the American media and politician will react strongly, especially if the criminals are link to Arab or Islam...
  40. zoobyshoe

    Professor Teaches Critical Thinking With Bigfoot

    * * "In his Tier III class, Moody uses a variety of evidence, including a Discovery Channel documentary, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science," to teach students how to weigh evidence. The movie presents a range of clues for the existence of Bigfoot, including films of purported...
  41. C

    Question That My Physics Professor Proposed

    At the end of class today, my Physics II professor asked us this simple question to answer over the weekend. The question: "So many people are interested in mathematics and physics, but why are there so few people getting degrees in these basic sciences?" I just wanted to hear what kind of...
  42. F

    MIT Professor vs. all college physics books

    Hi there! I'm a first year student and found quite interesting the MIT on-line video lectures on electromagnetism. http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8...tures/index.htm In one these lectures given by Dr. Walter Lewin it is explained how all college books and teachers wrogly use...
  43. S

    News Thinking About Neoconservatism, by Professor Kevin MacDonald

    September 18, 2003 Thinking About Neoconservatism By Kevin MacDonald Over the last year, there’s been a torrent of articles on neoconservatism raising (usually implicitly) some vexing issues: Are neoconservatives different from other conservatives? Is neoconservatism a Jewish movement...
  44. S

    News Trent University's Problem Professor

    Trent University's Problem Professor By Jonathan Kay National Post | January 8, 2004 It is a starting point for debate about the Middle East that one can oppose Israeli policies without being anti-Semitic. Jews and Palestinians are locked in a violent, complex dispute. Reasonable people...
  45. J

    News American Professor Says President Bush Assassinated Senator Paul Wellstone

    According to Professor James H. Fetzer, Ph.D., President Bush shot his new electromagnetic laser at Paul Wellstone's plane, jamming the electronics and causing it to crash. Fetzer says Wellstone was the leading voice of opposition to starting the war against Iraq. Here is the professor's site...
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