Professional interests:
The main focus of my research is in the  field of physics education research. Research in this field probes the following: what are student difficulties in understanding physics concepts, in generating solutions to problems, in understanding what it means to learn physics; what kinds of activities can be developed to help students overcome theses difficulties; and how do we assess the effectiveness of the curriculum. There are also those who are very interested in cognitive theories of how we learn, and what are the basic pieces of our understanding on which all else is built. For a library of research-based physics teaching resources, visit Physport. For a large repository of Physics Education Research information, visit PER Central.

My own work includes the following (please follow these links to find curricular materials):
  • Development of curricular materials for the algebra-based course for life science students
  • Development of curricular materials that help students connect meaning and mathematics.
  • Development of a course (in collaboration with Prof. Kelly Black in Mathematics) that fully melds the calculus and physics courses to give a richer context to the mathematics and a deeper understanding of the physics. Some of our calculus/physics materials are available on the web in pdf format.
  • Participant in the national program to disseminate materials for "A new model course in Applied Quanutum Physics"
  • Participant in the national program to disseminate Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment University Programs (SCALE-UP)
Computational Physics, Fortran Edition
The book Computational Physics, Fortran Edition by Steve Koonin and myself once again in print as of Spring 2002. Thanks to technological improvements in the printing process, small quantities of books can now be printed at a reasonable cost. See our Computation Physics Web page for more information and the Basic and Fortran codes.


 
Positions held:
             2014-present:  Full Professor, University of New Hampshire
1991-2014: Associate Professor of Physics, University of New Hampshire.
1987-1991: Assistant Professor of Physics, University of New Hampshire.
Education:
1987: Ph.D. degree in Physics, California Institute of Technology, where I did my thesis on Quantum Chaos with Professor Steven Koonin. 
1980: B.A. degree in Liberal Arts, St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM where I was able to read "the Great Books of the Western World", began to learn how to learn and to ask more interesting questions.