Testimonials
The school system creates conformity, not excellence. When I was 12 years old, Professor Meyer
unlocked my excellence through the Gedanken Institute. I was a curious kid who had been let down by
the education system. I used to love doing mathematics and logic puzzles; however, school took that
away from me by trying to optimize everyone’s standardized test scores rather than develop my abilities
to solve new and challenging problems. After attending the Gedanken Institute over the summer, I
completely rediscovered why I loved STEM in the first place. Professor Meyer challenged me with new,
interesting problems and that’s exactly what I needed. By the time I was 13 years old I started my first
week as a full-time college student at Baldwin Wallace University thus becoming the youngest student
at Baldwin Wallace in their history, and they were established in 1945. Recently, Professor Meyer and I
tackled a Grand Challenge involving probability. It was a fun exploration in which we discovered an
interesting phenomenon. I wrote a paper on it and presented it in the Grand Ballroom at the 2024
National Conference for Undergraduate Research at Long Beach State University in California. I was the
youngest presenter. The problem on which I presented is the grand challenge of the month for May.
– William Warren
My first year at Baldwin Wallace was, coincidentally, Professor Meyer’s first year. I started my education as a biology major, taking both the biology and physics first year sequences. Dr. Meyer was the instructor for both the first and second semester physics classes. I enjoyed those classes so much that I changed my major to physics. I also had the privilege of have a year of advanced physics classes with Dr. Meyer during my junior and senior years. He loves teaching and has inspired me that I can do the same.
I can say without hesitation that Dr. Meyer is the best professor I had in my four years at BWU. he is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the subject matter he teaches, and that has a profound effect on his students. He demands that his students not only understand the material but master it.
As a result of my experience at Baldwin Wallace, I went on to get a PhD in physics from William and Mary University and I’m currently a Professor of Physics at Eastern Michigan University.
– Jon Skuza
Understanding is hard work. The world is complicated, thus understanding it takes time. It takes effort. And building the muscles used to identify and tackle new problems takes practice.
Of course, this sounds reasonable enough, but I did not appreciate it when I started college. During my freshman year, I wandered into Physics 131, and to my good fortune, Dr. Meyer was standing at the lectern. Rather quickly it became clear that his class was different. We didn’t memorize. We didn’t regurgitate. We just had lots of time to sit quietly and think. No distraction – just good, hard problems. By the end of that class, I was hooked. Because he hand-curates problems to meet the edge of each student’s capacity, his problems push the solver to their absolute limit, allowing for both maximum growth and maximum reward upon completion. From physics to problem-solving, I signed up for every class Dr. Meyer taught. Through those courses, I learned to solve problems.
Since then, I have found this was the single most critical skill that I acquired while in college. I am now a doctor and a scientist at Yale University, and solving problems is what I do all the time. Much of how I think and work on problems is still shaped by my time struggling with hard problems from Dr. Meyer. Interestingly, the rapid rate at which new knowledge is generated means many of the “facts” that I learned back in college are now out of date or obsolete. Conversely, something that has only become more valuable over time – problem-solving. Through Dr. Meyer’s courses, I learned to love thinking hard and how to stick with a problem until it is solved. It was truly a transformative experience, and I cannot recommend his courses highly enough!
– Joe Luchsinger
I was a student of Dr. Meyer’s for four years, and I learned many things from him, but most importantly, I gained confidence. Every day we would work on difficult problems, and the one thing he would always remind us to do was to keep trying, and not give up. The worst thing we could do was give up and lose that valuable time we spent thinking and working towards an answer. My time working with Dr. Meyer changed how I approach difficult situations and encouraged me to seek more challenges with a confidence I did not have before.