A native New Yorker, Simon Gilbert grew up on the Upper West Side where he went to the Calhoun School. After attending Oberlin College in Ohio, he taught physics and robotics at the Ranney School in central New Jersey. Now, he is back in the city, living in Harlem with his python, Java.

New York has shaped him in many ways. He described it as a place that gives you a worldly view on things, but also puts in you a sort of bubble.

Gilbert said, “You have so many different cultures but you don’t have the widest range of ideas politically speaking. When you leave New York you see the true diversity of America.”

Growing up, Gilbert was a quiet kid who liked to read and play video games in his spare time. He also considered himself a jokester, a quality which he continues to exhibit as a teacher.

Senior Steven Attori said, “Simon Gilbert is a really funny dude. He makes us laugh as we learn.”

This humor and passion comes out whenever Gilbert talks about physics.

“It fills me with a profound sense of awe that we, as people, have methodically constructed these very precise laws to determine how the world around us works. We’re building up an understanding of the universe at the most fundamental level which is unbelievable to me,” Gilbert said. “The more I learn about physics, the more I realize just how amazing the world we live in is and how much there still is out there to discovery.”

Sophomore Nick Del Puerto said, “I like Mr. Gilbert because he is energetic and passionate.”

If Gilbert was not a physics teacher, he would be chasing other dreams, such as astrophysics research and playing in a jazz band.