Doug Heath always wanted to combine music and sciences, but somehow secondary school timetables didn't make that possible. When he came to Otago however, he found the acoustics papers in Physics fitted his combined interests perfectly. Then he carried on with the papers he did best at, and qualified with a BSc in Physics and an MSc in Electronics.
“Electronics was what I was best at. I guess because I had kind of grown up in amongst it : my grandfather had an electronics repair business, so I had that background. I had this passion for acoustics, and music, so the papers in Physics were just perfect. “
Doug is now teaching at the Southern Institute of Technology's Audio Production programme. He's teaching all three levels of the Bachelor of Audio Production degree, and finds he's making good use of his Otago studies.
“I'm teaching acoustics, and electronics, all the things I learned at Otago in Physics, it's great. Not only that, but I worked at a tutor in my final years at Otago, so I learned teaching skills too, and I find I can really get these very complex ideas across effectively to students at all levels.”
Recently the SIT Audio Production programme has linked up with SAE Institute, giving students a 12 week internship at their Byron Bay facility, and to give added value to the Southland degree. While Doug is looking towards the possibility of further study, he's very happy with his present situation, making the most of the things he learned at Otago.
“With the exception of quantum mechanics, I'm using everything I learned at Otago!”