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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
Why I left experimental particle physics – a meandering story
Some time ago, I promised that I would tell the story of my transition from experimental particle physics to theoretical optics. With a lot of busy stuff going on at work and my research blogging efforts mired in some rather … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Personal, Physics
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Meet your new ‘content editor-at-large’ for ResearchBlogging.org!
If you ever browse through ResearchBlogging.org for posts about the latest state-of-the-art scientific research, you might be interested to know that there are now a collection of “content editors” who will be summarizing the most noteworthy posts in their field … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
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Another short note — and goldfinches!
Just a quick note again — I’m still quite swamped with work, even after getting my proposal done. Now I’m working feverishly on my book, as I want to have a first draft completed by the end of August. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
3 Comments
CAREER award craziness!
Sorry the blog has been quiet recently. I’m in the midst of putting the finishing touches on an NSF CAREER award proposal, and that’s been taking up all my mental energy. The proposal is due on Wednesday, so I’ll be … Continue reading
900th skydive milestone!
Just a short note: yesterday I made three skydives, the third of which was my 900th! Up until the 1000th jump, skydivers tend to treat every 100th jump as a personal milestone. Due to work, I’ve been jumping quite irregularly, … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Sports
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My interview on “A Blog Around the Clock”
As part of the run-up to ScienceOnline’10, Coturnix of A Blog Around the Clock has been running written interviews with the participants of the ’09 conference… including me! You can read my interview here.
Posted in General science, Personal
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Best wishes to Eric
As a short personal note, my very good friend Eric is in the hospital today for what is considered a “minor” heart surgery. Eric has been a good friend for many years and, without his support and friendship, I arguably … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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3quarks daily prize — vote for me! (please?)
There’s a new scienceblog prize being sponsored by 3quarksdaily. I have a number of posts submitted for voting, and the prize is $1000, a not insignificant amount. Like most blogging prizes, the first round amounts to a popularity contest — … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Another short hiatus!
I hate to have to do this so soon after my honeymoon break, but I’ll likely be going silent for a few days over the Memorial Day weekend: if the weather is good, I’ll be skydiving at the Florida/Alabama border … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Thanks to all!
Well, I’m back from the honeymoon! Thanks to all who gave well-wishes and congratulations in my previous post. I should get back to detailed blogging this week, but in the meantime, here’s a picture from Epcot at night: Yeah, we … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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