You may know  Mr. Shankar Kumar as Irvington’s AP computer science, AP physics, and regular physics teacher. Although he’s always been an enthusiast for teaching, he was not always  a teacher. After pondering over the subjects he enjoyed in eighth grade, Kumar decided that he would pursue a career in physics. His main motivation was to know how things worked and where everything around us came from. He majored in physics and math and even went on to earn a doctorate in physics, an accomplishment that also lead him to earn a PhD in research.

Kumar’s first job was as a researcher in a biotech company that  works on the applications of pharmaceutical drug design. As a co-partner for this start-up, he served as the company’s consultant in its products’ efficiency.

“Although I majored in physics, the sciences in general really interested me,” said  Kumar. “I even self-studied biology and chemistry before I became part of the start-up that dealt primarily with these subjects.”

For  Kumar, the passion of both teaching and research allowed him to work in the summer with the biotech company and teach during the school year.

“I push my students, but I push them in a reasonable way,” said  Kumar. “I want them to understand these subjects as I see them and apply that in the future. I always have students that come to my class and leave wanting to pursue physics or computer science as a career.”

Outside of hitting the books, Mr. Kumar as also been an exceptional tennis player for four years. He has even coached the boys tennis team here at Irvington. His involvement at Irvington stems directly from his passionate interest in the sciences and math.

“I tell my students to explore many subjects and see what you dislike the least before you go on to explore it further. You have to ultimately make your own decisions.”