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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Personal
2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, from the street
This Thanksgiving, my wife and I went to New York City! It’s been one of her dreams to visit NYC and attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. This was the first time I’ve ever been, despite having done my PhD in … Continue reading
A Tiny update!
Posting will be light (-er than usual) this week on account of the Thanksgiving holiday! Before I went silent, however, I wanted to announce a bit of good news: the cat Tiny that my wife and I have been fostering … Continue reading
Foster kitty Tiny!
I’ve been rather overwhelmed with work, travel, and sick cats lately, so I haven’t had the time or energy to write significant science blog posts — this will change soon! In the meantime, I thought I’d ask people to spread … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
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My 5-year blogiversary!
I almost missed it! It turns out today, August 14th, 2012, is the 5-year anniversary of the founding of this blog! I would have in fact missed my “blogiversary” entirely if Jason Goldman of The Thoughtful Animal hadn’t tweeted congratulations … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Physics
10 Comments
My own little “Higgs”-related story
The physics community is in a near frenzy today with the expectation that, tomorrow at 9 am Geneva time, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider will announce the first significant evidence that they’ve discovered the “Higgs boson”, a fundamental particle … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Physics
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Personal book page for “Mathematical Methods”
Now that the semester is over and I have some time, I finally got around to writing a short book page for my Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering textbook! This page will serve as a place to post … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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“Arago’s inadvertent test of relativity” in Optics & Photonics News!
This is just a short post to announce that my third popular science article written for a magazine appeared online today! “Arago’s inadvertent test of relativity” has appeared in the May issue of Optics & Photonics News, the news magazine … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Personal
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“Mathematical Methods” on sale for $62 at Cambridge!
Just a quick note: for those who might have been interested in my textbook, Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering, but who found the list price a bit expensive, Cambridge University Press is selling it for 30% off until … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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One of my papers is top-ten cited in JOSA A!!??
Just a short note: on Twitter, Professor Andrew Dawes (thanks Andrew!) drew my attention to a recent email that the Optical Society of America sent out, listing the top ten most cited articles in the Journal of the Optical Society of America A … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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What a scientist looks like! (Also on Scientific American)
One of the neat things that has evolved out of the recently-concluded Science Online 2012 is the new site “This is What a Scientist Looks Like“. Founded by the excellent Allie Wilkinson, the site solicits photos and descriptions of scientists … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
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Skulls in the Stars 