of course it is possible to keep w3c standards with IE6, if you write sites taht are simple enough. but there are examples where ou have to brek the rules for IE, like in iframe tags, "allowtransparency" is not standard and other browsers don't need it, but IE requires it if you want to set an iframe background transparent.
I just read most of your story on this website(I stopped when you started discussing the details of your dissertation). (Interesting stuff) Did you ever consider using you physics knowledge for many of the gaming and graphic applications? The physics properties of light is very useful in rendering, real physics in games is of course monumentally useful, and cloth simulations, fluid simulations, there are so many practical applications of physics needed in the game development field. Why teach physics when you can apply it to games?