Tony Pitucco

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Tony Pitucco
Chair, Physical and Geological Sciences,
West Campus

Tony Pitucco dates his passion for science to a Boy Scout campout, when, at age 9, he peered through a telescope and saw the shimmering brilliance of a double star. He linked the stars to the Greek myths he'd read and loved-and his future was set. "I came to the University of Arizona [from New Jersey] because it's a world center for astronomy," he said. Studying the foundation of astronomy took him to physics, then to math. Today he merges his interests by teaching humanities and philosophy along with his full time appointment teaching physics at West Campus.

Even after more than 30 years of teaching, Pitucco says he is neither bored nor burned out. "The students at Pima are dynamic and enthusiastic. That's what I love. I learn through lecturing. I teach without notes and from a new perspective for each course; that makes it more creative. I want students to discover what motivated an idea, where it came from. I train students how to think and how to confront difficult problems."

B.S. in Physics; M.Ed. in Philosophy and Foundations of Education; M.S. in Mathematics; Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, all from the University of Arizona.
Publications: professional journals; middle school science and mathematics text.
On Pima Community College faculty: 1971-present. 1994 Arizona Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Science; Nisod/USA Today Teaching Excellence Award: Top 50 Professors in the USA (1994); Outstanding PCC Faculty award, 1993. Numerous National Science Foundation grants.
Other teaching positions include the University of Phoenix.
Favorite activities: playing piano, opera, music, theatre, travel, bicycling, working out, scuba diving, skiing, indoor rock climbing.

June 2005