While I have taught the full spectrum of Physics and Astronomy courses, most recently I have taught a course in Environmental Physics for non-science students, Classical Mechanics, and upper level Experimental Physics. I have a strong interest in environmental problems, laboratories at all levels, and lecture demonstrations, especially as used in calculus-based General Physics.
Research
In partnership with Mike Mickelson, I study the spectra of molecules of interest to planetary atmospheric modelers. Our present project, which is sponsored by NASA, is to measure the spectra of methane bands in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum. We do this a with the methane gas at a range of low temperatures reflective of those in the atmospheres of the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus. We use a very nice tunable dye laser system coupled with extensive home built apparatus. We report our results at the meeting of the Division of Planetary Sc