I grew up working in bars and restaurants in New Orleans and viewed education as a path to escape menial and dangerous work environments, majoring in Physics at LSU. After being a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship I was offered graduate research fellowships from both Princeton and MIT, completing a PhD in Physics from MIT in 1995. I have published papers in theoretical astrophysics, experimental atomic physics, chaos theory, quantum theory, acoustics, ballistics, traumatic brain injury, epistemology, and education.
My philosophy of education emphasizes the tremendous potential for accomplishment in each individual and that achieving that potential requires efforts in a broad range of disciplines including music, art, poetry, history, literature, science, math, and athletics. As a younger man, I enjoyed playing basketball and Ultimate. Now I play tennis and mountain bike 2000 miles a year.
Overview Over the years, I’ve noticed some distinct trends among the physics and chemistry majors I’ve mentored and worked with. Those with GPAs in the 3.8-4.0 range vary with respect to other habits, but they are very intentional in two things: High-achievers (3.8–4.0 GPA) 1) They aim high from the first day of the semester. …
[CONTENT] Learning Objectives Execute a specific experimental procedure to test a specific hypothesis. Use the Tracker video analysis software for a simple experiment. Analyze the acquired data with a spreadsheet to test the hypothesis. Explain in one’s own words whether the experimental data supported the hypothesis, and (if so), how well. Use a carefully measured…
Learning Objectives Gain confidence and experimental care in making accurate measurements. Understand the relationship between force and spring stretch. Use a neat and orderly lab notebook in which data are recorded. Execute a specific experimental procedure to test a specific hypothesis. Analyze the acquired data with a spreadsheet and graphing program to test the hypothesis….
Figure 1: Distance vs. time a firecracker report echoed off of a building at different distances on both a cold and a warm day. Introduction The speed of sound varies slightly with temperature, but at a constant temperature, the distance sound travels increases linearly with time according to the equation, D = Vt, where D…
Student Success and Key Factors After earning a 4.0 GPA in his first semester as a Physics major at an esteemed state university, our son (and homeschool grad) attributes his success to 45% work ethic, 30% homeschool subject mastery, and 25% reasonable course load. Our Approach: Work Ethic First I was surprised he gave much…
What ‘Publishable’ Means Undergraduate interest in research is a good thing; it’s even better if they aspire to publish their work for review and consideration from a broader audience. First, we should consider what it means to be publishable. Usually, “publishable” means a paper contains a novel and interesting result in either theory or experiment…
Read part 1 -Backyards, Barns, Bayous Air Force Academy appointment When I was offered a job at the Air Force Academy, it seemed like an opportunity to exercise both my commitment to academic rigor and my desire to serve my country while continuing with the basement and boat ramp approach to research. Since I was a…
Challenging the Myth of Institutional Labs 21st-century science labors under the myth that good experimental science requires expensive lab facilities in a university or institutional setting. We have the example of Marie and Pierre Curie discovering radium in an abandoned shed, Lavoisier’s seminal Chemistry work in his home laboratory, and Isaac Newton’s seminal work in…
Introduction The article, “Governmental policy is wrecking science,” makes some interesting points but is fundamentally in error, because government policy is only a small part of the problem. The government is depending on scientists and teachers to police students and each other regarding scientific and academic integrity. To a harmful extent, scientists and teachers are…
Why High School Physics Matters A year-long high school Physics course is important preparation for all college majors in science, engineering, and medicine because students in these majors will all be required to earn credit in a year-long college-level Physics course. Some schools, like our military academies, require every student to earn credit in a…
The popularity of homeschooling and failures of the public schools often present the need for parents to teach or supplement college preparatory math courses at home. A common sequence is Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-calculus. In many cases, the challenges of these courses are beyond what parents themselves can muster, and the parents…
Abstract Over the past few years, the author and his wife have served as teachers, qualified scientists, mentors, and/or parents on dozens of science projects assisting students ranging from elementary school projects that can be completed in a weekend to high school and college freshmen projects that take a semester or year to complete and…
How did I go from the brink of changing my major from physics to ceramics (no more math) to the Math faculty of the Air Force Academy? How did I go from choosing to be an experimentalist (too bad at math to be a theorist) to consistently having my theoretical more widely cited than my…
Figure showing links between ballistic pressure waves and traumatic brain injury. Many physics majors believe that pursuing a Ph.D. in physics requires them to choose between theory and experiment. Due to my weaknesses in math, I thought I had chosen to be an experimentalist when I chose an experimentalist as my mentor for grad school….
While I served on the math faculty of the US Air Force Academy, we invited numerous cadets to participate in self-funded research projects, often conducting experiments like this one in the basement of our home. When I look over the most highly cited papers and my favorite accomplishments, I am struck by the fact that…