Scott Feister, Ph.D.

Hi, I'm Scott! I am an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI).

I earned a B.S. in Physics from University of Notre Dame, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University. My expertise and passion for scientific computing grew out of my postdoctoral work in computational physics at University of Chicago and University of California Los Angeles.

I sought out CSUCI deliberately for its qualities as a teaching-oriented, majority first-generation-to-college / Latinx-serving university. My mission as a teacher is to create a new force in STEM by providing first-tier research experiences, perspectives, and opportunities to our diverse student body. In concert, my mission as a researcher is to leverage modern computing to improve scientific outcomes.

You can see how I put these two missions into action through my digital portfolio or Curriculum Vitae (PDF).

As a tenure-track faculty member, I manage my own research direction and am Principal Investigator on several multi-institution grants. I leverage multi-billion dollar research infrastructure located throughout the world while having my own small-scale prototyping space on-campus, and this approach is perfectly tailored to achieving high-impact research at CSUCI.

I lead research in scientific computing: the application of computers to solve scientific challenges of the 21st century. Scientific computing is inherently multidisciplinary, situated at the intersection of computer science, mathematics, and the natural sciences. This makes scientific computing particularly rich as a research platform for student involvement at CSUCI, a university that values interdisciplinarity.

I involve students in my research, sharing supercomputing access, leading a campus laboratory space in embedded programming and controls, and taking undergraduates with me to national conferences. While in the midst of performing research, I am always also seeking and developing opportunities for students to be part of these cutting-edge, interdisciplinary applications of scientific computing.

You can learn more specifics of my areas of research and achievements within scientific computing in my digital portfolio.

Over the past five years, I have taught twelve distinct university courses in computer science and mechatronics engineering, developing new course materials for several. I have loved teaching my whole life. As a young adult, I taught swimming and languages. In graduate school, I taught university physics.

Today, I structure my teaching with research-driven, high-impact methods that involve more than lecture-based "knowledge transfer" -- I create a welcoming forum for diverse perspectives and personal growth. For each course, the main learning outcome I seek for my students is to be confident and capable of independently carrying themselves forward: knowing where to engage for further study on the topic, comfortable working and solving problems without a teacher involved, and confident enough in themselves to teach others.

Frequent assessment, reflection, and modification of my teaching process allow me to continually improve my teaching. Furthermore, I seek out professional development workshops and certifications focused on supporting students outside the classroom. Especially for students with financial insecurity, mental health stressors, or home obligations such as sibling care and parent care, student access to support structures is a pre-requisite for success in the classroom.

If you're interested in seeing how I put these words about teaching into practice, explore my digital portfolio.

Curriculum Vitae
Feel free to drop me a line at sfeister@gmail.com