Teaching
I teach physics and gravitational-wave data analysis with an emphasis on conceptual clarity, hands-on computation, and research readiness.
My teaching has ranged from introductory classical mechanics and special relativity to gravitational-wave data-analysis workshops for students entering the field. I also mentor undergraduate and postgraduate researchers on gravitational-wave projects, with a focus on helping students move from technical exercises to publishable research.
The common thread is that I try to make the material operational. Students should leave with a framework they can use in a problem set, a notebook, or a research pipeline, not just a definition they can repeat back.
Teaching Roles
Helped organize and lecture in the Caltech Study Hub workshop, which gave participants a crash-course in gravitational-wave data analysis through expert lectures, hands-on software tutorials, and a data challenge. Workshop details.
Helped organize the CUHK Gravitational Wave Open Data Workshop, which introduced open data access, time- and frequency-domain visualization, CBC waveform generation, matched-filter searches, Bayesian parameter estimation, and advanced topics such as GstLAL, population analysis, and BILBY. Workshop details.
Led office hours and review sessions, prepared tailored notes and exercises, and contributed to problem sets, examinations, and solutions. I also wrote revision notes for the course and received course compliments in both 2019-20 and 2022-23.
Selected student comments
“Alvin was awesome! Very well prepared and kind with a great understanding.”
“He was the best and most enthusiastic TA I had this semester, by far. He was always prepared and made time to answer my questions, as well as all other students. Additionally, he attended all of the lectures, which is probably a major reason why he was so prepared in office hours.”
“Alvin, thank you for your great support throughout the entire course. I really appreciate it. And I really enjoyed chocolates and sweets that you gave us. I hope that all the best things in life come your way and that you have a great life ahead.”
“Alvin is the single best TA I've ever had. You, with your "lecture notes", single-handedly helped me turn around my grade from a disaster to a modest B+! I couldn't have done this without your help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for all you do.”
I first joined LIGO SURF as a student researcher in 2018. I later returned as a mentor for undergraduate research projects and as an invited lecturer from 2021 through 2023, giving Physics of LIGO seminars that introduced students to gravitational-wave lensing.
Taught foundational concepts in gravitational waves and data analysis in an intensive summer-school format.
Taught calculus-based classical mechanics for advanced secondary-school students preparing for the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad. I built a structured training sequence covering vectors, limits, differentiation, integration, multi-dimensional motion, curvilinear coordinates, Newtonian mechanics, torque, angular momentum, energy, momentum, and simple harmonic motion.
The course materials included handwritten lecture notes, weekly problem sets, progress tests, mock papers, and supplementary readings designed to bridge school physics with first-year undergraduate mechanics.
Mentoring
I have mentored or co-mentored more than fourteen undergraduate and postgraduate researchers across CUHK, RESCEU, and other institutions. The table below is set up for the full mentoring record and leaves space for current positions and notes.
| Name | Institute and Position when being mentored | Year being mentored | Current Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peony Ka Kiu Lai | The Chinese University of Hong Kong, undergraduate student | 2025 Summer - Present | — | Co-mentored with Kipp Cannon and Otto A. Hannuksela. |
| Elwin Ka Yue Li | The Chinese University of Hong Kong, MPhil student | 2025 Summer - Present | — | Co-mentored with Kipp Cannon and Otto A. Hannuksela. |
| Seonjun Kwon | Research Center for the Early Universe, UTokyo, master student | 2024 - Present | — | Co-mentored with Kipp Cannon. |
| Wong Yin Lam | The Chinese University of Hong Kong, undergraduate | 2024 - 2025 | — | Co-mentored with Otto A. Hannuksela. |
| Haley Boswell | Santa Monica College, undergraduate | 2023 LIGO SURF | — | Co-mentored with Alan J. Weinstein. |
| Aidan Chong | The Chinese University of Hong Kong, MPhil student | 2022 LIGO SURF & 2023 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Alan J. Weinstein. |
| Diarmuid Eamonn O Foghlu | KU Leuven, former master student | 2021 - 2023 | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
| Storm Colloms | University of Glasgow, Ph.D. student | 2021 LIGO SURF | — | Co-mentored with Alan J. Weinstein. |
| Darin Mumma | Louisiana State University, Ph.D. student | 2020 LIGO SURF | — | Co-mentored with Colm Talbot and Alan J. Weinstein. |
| Juno C. L. Chan | Obtained Ph.D. degree at Niels Bohr Institute, now postdoctoral researcher at CUHK | 2019 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
| Sonja O. T. Choi | University of Arizona, Ph.D. student | 2019 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
| Wing Lok Chan | Not specified in CV | 2019 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
| Zhilong (Franklin) Wang | Texas A&M University, Ph.D. student | 2019 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
| En-Tzu Lin | National Tsing Hua University, Ph.D. student | 2019 Summer | — | Co-mentored with Tjonnie G. F. Li. |
Educational Works
NSS Physics Insight - A Short Introduction to Special Relativity
Electronic textbook, 2017 - 2018
NSS Physics Insight - A short introduction to Special Relativity was written by me with Y. Y. Pang as undergraduate students, originally as a course final project. It is a self-study textbook for NSS students and junior undergraduate students. It was presented at the 1st CUHK Physics Student Conference.
After that, Professor Chu Ming Chung and Dr Leung Po Kin encouraged us to polish the work further and publish it through the CUHK e-learning project. The preface captures that path from class project to published outreach textbook, as well as the help we received from Lin Lap Ming, P. K. Leung, and CUHK Physics.
Link to textbook: the CUHK PDF edition.
Imaging a Black Hole: The First Image Captured by Scientists
CUHK Physics outreach lecture, April 2019
Imaging a Black Hole: The First Image Captured by Scientists is a CUHK Physics outreach booklet written as a companion to Dr. Po Kin Leung's public lecture. I prepared the notes and emceed the talk so that mainly high school participants could follow the physics from escape velocity, to gravitational redshift, to Schwarzschild black holes, and finally to the interferometric idea behind the EHT image of M87.
Link to booklet: the CUHK PDF edition.
Recognition
ASCIT Teaching Award
California Institute of Technology, 2019-2020
ARC Course Teaching Compliment
California Institute of Technology, 2022-23
View the original compliment card
Alvin was one of the TA's this year for Ph 106a. I consistently attended his office hours, and he would often spend almost an hour past the 2 already scheduled hours to ensure that students were understanding the content both for the sake of solving problems and on a deeper conceptual level. Alvin also held review sessions for both the midterm and the final, and provided us with his own summative notes (about 100 pages) to help us prepare for the exams. I was consistently impressed with his dedication to students' understanding and him going above and beyond in his role.
- Riley Tam
Outreach
Designed and led interactive gravitational-wave demonstrations for students and the public.
Introduced gravitational waves and astronomy to more than 100 primary and secondary school students.