Susan D’Amato
Faculty Associate
Professor of Physics
Susan is a 1977 graduate of Furman, where she studied chemistry. She received her M.S. in chemistry and Ph.D. in physics from the University of South Carolina. Her dissertation area was quantum measurement theory, in which she looked at issues of describing a quantum system at a given moment, not just in terms of a state that has evolved forward in time to that moment (from the past), but also in terms of a state that has evolved backward in time to that moment (from the future). Susan joined the faculty of Furman in 1983. Her current area of interest is dialogue between physics and the humanities, especially the science-religion dialogue. Susan teaches Modern Physics, Quantum Physics, and a First Year Seminar (writing-intensive seminar) on “How Science Shapes Our View of the World.”
Susan joined the Center staff in 2011, having previously participated in the LIVE! Partners program, LIVE! Conversations, the Mepkin Abbey retreat, and helped lead two faculty seminars (one on science and religion, the other on sustainability).
Read more about Susan below.
Hometown
Waco, TX (birthplace); Grew up mostly in the South, mostly in Greenville, SC
Hobbies
Clever gadgets, organizational supplies, and crafts for children’s Sunday School classes
Favorite Book(s)
Anything by Barbara Brown Taylor
Favorite Film(s)
The Right Stuff
Favorite Music
Things she can sing along with in the car (this covers a wide range, from Connie Dover to Carly Simon to the soundtrack of Mama Mia!)
What is one thing you’ve always wanted to do, but have not yet done?
Travel overseas with her daughter
Two random/fun facts about Susan
1) She once experienced a 7.9 earthquake in California.
2) She used to sing in the chorus of a local Gilbert & Sullivan troupe.
Favorite Quote on Vocation
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” -Einstein