Faculty | Dorina Kosztin

Dorina Kosztin

Associate Teaching Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies
office: 224 Physics Building
phone: 573-882-2238
email: kosztind@missouri.edu
education: Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 1998

Research Interests

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Biomolecules

My research was focused on the study of the mechanism of association and dissociation of macromolecules, for example, the binding and dissociation of ligand to/from receptors, the recognition of ligands by their receptors or the recognition of DNA sequences by the DNA binding domains of regulatory proteins. These processes can be studied through molecular dynamics simulations with the addition of an external force. This approach closely mimics the micromanipulation through atomic force microscopy or optical tweezers.

Teaching

My responsibilities include teaching and advising undergraduate students. The primary goal for my teaching has been to revitalize the calculus-based introductory physics courses for science and engineering majors, and introduce the use of technology in the classroom (online homework, student response systems, recorded lectures, etc.). I am also involved in an NSF funded project that aims to prepare Missouri's 9th grade science teachers to become intellectual leaders as they learn to teach a yearlong freshman physics course. For more details, see Leadership in Freshman Physics.