Physics lecturer Mohamed Abdelhafez to leave MIT at end of the 2024-2025 school year
Abdelhafez: “I am often shocked by the impact. I don’t think I have really internalized what I’ve done here”
Photo provided by Mohamed Abdelhafez
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MOHAMED ABDELHAFEZ
On April 8, Physics lecturer Mohamed Abdelhafez announced through Instagram that he will leave the Institute at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Mohamed, who requested to be referred to by his first name in this article, has worked at MIT’s Physics department for almost six years. He teaches the General Institute Requirement (GIR) subjects 8.01 (Physics I) and 8.02 (Physics II), which a majority of freshmen take every year; according to the student subject evaluations, 611 students took 8.01 in Fall 2024, and 718 took 8.02 in Spring 2024.
In 2021, the Office of Open Learning recognized his contributions to the Institute by granting him the student-nominated Teaching With Digital Technology award. The next year, he won the 2022 James N. Murphy Award for contribution to community life and the 2022 Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education.
In an interview with The Tech, Mohamed emphasized his deep love for teaching. After emigrating from Egypt in 2014 to attend the University of Chicago for graduate school in quantum physics, he joined MIT as a postdoctoral fellow in 2019. Although Mohamed originally planned to focus on research, it became “very obvious” during graduate school that he was more passionate about teaching. He believes that as a teacher, one can “directly affect people” compared to research, which can be “detached from reality.” As advice for his students, Mohamed said that one ought to focus on the big picture, instead of looking at “pieces of information in isolation.”
Mohamed will return to the University of Chicago as an associate professor in physics. He believes that 8.01 and 8.02 are much more rigorous than classes at many other American universities. At UChicago, he hopes to adapt his style to create a more general, accessible way of teaching physics. Mohamed shared that in some ways, the University of Chicago feels like his “home university.” When applying to graduate school, he was rejected during multiple cycles from other institutions, including MIT, but UChicago “took a chance” on him. He hopes graduate students know that if they ever feel like they want to quit their PhD, they are “not alone” and that it’s “worth pushing through.”
Despite his upcoming departure, Mohamed hopes to return to MIT in some capacity, given its status as his “dream school,” his “home,” and a place where he has a “strong legacy.” He notes that his current position as lecturer focuses on teaching rather than research, which means that faculty standing is likely inaccessible for him at MIT. In contrast, the University of Chicago has a track for teaching faculty.
When asked to share his favorite moment at MIT, Mohamed recalled an experience from his first semester of teaching. Although he was a postdoctoral fellow, he served as the graduate teaching assistant (TA) for 8.01 after asking Senior Lecturer Dr. Peter Dourmashkin to put him “somewhere in the classroom.” As a graduate TA, part of his job was to lead review sessions. At first, he experienced imposter syndrome and was unsure if he could help his students. “I didn’t know if I belonged,” he stated.
At his second review session, however, Mohamed found that the classroom was packed with students sitting on the floor to attend. He recalled that, at that moment, he found it “crazy to me that this was really happening, so I stopped to take a video [of the classroom].” In that review session, he realized, “Wow, I’m really having an impact.” At the end of the Fall 2019 semester, 8.01 students wrote a petition to the Physics Department asking them to give Mohamed his own section for 8.02.
Jordan Wilke ’23 was an 8.01 student in Fall 2019. In an email to The Tech, he wrote that Mohamed’s kindness and compassion were “unrivaled.” Wilke said, “I got to his review for the final exam 30 minutes early just to make sure I could have a seat.” He remembers that in the Spring 2020 semester, when students had to leave campus and transition to Zoom, Mohamed shared messages of encouragement and support. Wilke added, “Even though his lecture and office hours were at 6 a.m. for me, they were well worth the early mornings.”
Elsa Deshmukh ’28 affirmed that Mohamed’s devotion to his students continued through his years at MIT. In a statement to The Tech, Deshmukh wrote, “One morning, I came in late for Mohamed’s 8.02 preview, and he stopped what he was saying, said hi to me, explained everything they had done so far to make sure I understood, and then continued to lecture. I was so surprised and touched. His patience and encouragement made everyone feel welcome.”
Even more broadly, Kanna Pichappan ’26 was deeply inspired by Mohamed’s “sincere dedication to the communities around him, without the slightest trace of ego.” Pichappan wrote to The Tech, “Not only does he teach physics with utmost clarity, thoroughness, and ease (so much so that even the most physics-averse student ends the semester with a newfound appreciation for its beauty), he also stands as a role model for the kind of person I aspire to be.” Pichappan described Mohamed as “upholding only humility, selflessness, service, and kindness.”
For Mohamed, another favorite moment came towards the end of his MIT teaching career. Earlier this spring, the Class of 2027 held their Ring Premiere ceremony to reveal the design of the Brass Rat, MIT’s nickname for the class ring. The 2027 Ring Committee asked Mohamed to put his handwriting on the ring and invited him to the ceremony to introduce the design. The entire class burst into applause. Mohamed said, “I am often shocked by the impact. I don’t think I have really internalized what I’ve done here.”