College of Natural Sciences Faculty Spotlight: Adam Neat
Posted: April 24, 2025 | Author: Southern Utah University | Read Time: 3 minutes
A native of nearby Panaca, Nevada, Professor Adam Neat began his undergraduate career at Glendale Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. As an undergraduate, Adam didn’t know what he wanted to study, so he took a bunch of classes that sounded interesting including art, philosophy, and physics. He says he was worried about seriously pursuing physics at first because he felt that his math background was weak. But, he says “I had an epiphany during my first semester at college - if I read the textbook and do the homework, math actually makes sense.” It wasn’t long before classmates were coming to him for help with their physics homework. Adam ultimately ended up transferring to Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, and completed a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree - both in physics.
Professor Neat’s first faculty job was at the prestigious Swarthmore College, outside of Philadelphia, which is consistently ranked as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. This was followed by a stint teaching high school in Joseph City, Arizona, before landing at SUU in the fall of 2022 as a new member of the physics faculty. Here at SUU, Professor Neat teaches introductory physics, is the physics laboratory coordinator, and plays a major role in outreach education work here at the university as the steward of the SUU mobile planetarium - a collaborative endeavor with the SUU STEM Center.
As a Lecturer in the department, Professor Neat is not expected to do any formal research. Consequently, his creativity is brought to the table to develop new activities and create experiments to implement into the physics lab curriculum. The physics program at SUU is growing rapidly to meet the needs of our aviation, engineering, and science students. Additionally, we have a new Physics Teaching bachelor’s degree and dreams of creating a stand alone physics major. Part of this expansion has brought funding to the department for instructional laboratory development and additional lab space. Professor Neat has been instrumental in selecting equipment and creating new experiments for our expanding program.
When asked to identify his favorite thing about working at SUU, Professor Neat notes that he actually has several favorite things. First, are his colleagues, which he describes as fun, smart, and down to earth. Second, are his students. He says that “...many of [his] students have a lively but mature attitude towards learning. They’re willing to engage in the material, but also like to have fun. This makes for an enjoyable atmosphere in which to share ideas.” Third, is the mobile planetarium which he describes as “an amazing pedagogical tool”. He loves to share about the “mind expanding moments” that take place inside the planetarium, with the most enthusiastic and impressionable audience out there - elementary school kids.
Away from the university, Adam likes to spend time in the kitchen, and his wife has made him a really cool Star Trek apron to wear while cooking. But apparently, his extracurricular devotion to physics does not end there. When his daughter was four, she was overheard telling a cousin “My dad doesn’t like pretty things, he only likes space”. Adam has also constructed a theremin at home. He says that it looks like an old bread box with copper tubes sticking out for antennae. When he does take time for non-physics fun, Adam likes to read, play the guitar, hang out with his wife, and grumble at his kids to “do something useful or productive”. We are certainly glad to have Professor Neat as a member of the College of Natural Sciences team!
Tags: College of Natural Sciences Career and Professional Development FacStaff
