Janet Stemwedel is marking everybody’s favorite Hallmark holiday by posting an interview with her mother about going back to school to get a science degree. As Janet says, this was a major inspiration to her: I would not be who I am or where I am today without my mom, Sally Stemwedel. Although I probably… Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day
Tenure and Drinking Age
When I was an undergraduate, we had more or less annual alcohol crackdowns on campus. My sophomore year, it was a series of “open container” stings, with cops hiding in the bushes outside various dorms, and leaping out to arrest anyone who walked outside with an empty keg cup. My classmates and I were outraged.… Continue reading Tenure and Drinking Age
Beer
Daniel Davies stakes out a controversial position at Crooked Timber: I tend to regard myself as Crooked Timber’s online myrmidon of a number of rather unpopular views; among other things, as regular readers will have seen, I believe that the incitement to religious hatred legislation was a good idea (perhaps badly executed), that John Searle… Continue reading Beer
The Tenure Process
Mark Trodden gave a nice outline of the tenure process over at Cosmic Variance, laying out the general criteria used by most colleges and universities: The typical criteria in physics are: Excellence in research, as demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications and (by far the most important thing) letters of recommendation solicited from a selection of external… Continue reading The Tenure Process
Ignorance Was Bliss
As a newly minted Associate Professor, I sort of feel like I ought to say something about the recent tenure discussions. These were kicked off by Rob Knop’s recent despairing post (though it should be noted that Rob’s been worried about this for a while), and most of the discussion has taken place at Cosmic… Continue reading Ignorance Was Bliss
Bubble Fusion Gets Weirder
The bizarre saga of Rusi Taleyarkhan (which I’ve mentioned before) keeps getting stranger. Previously, Purdue University had announced that it conducted an investigation of Taleyarkhan’s work and cleared him of any misconduct, without saying, well, anything much about the investigation. Now, after pressure from Congress on the question, the New York Times reports that they’re… Continue reading Bubble Fusion Gets Weirder
Many Worlds, Many Treats
I’m sitting at the computer typing, when the dog bumps up against my legs. I look down, and she’s sniffing the floor around my feet intently. “What are you doing down there?” “I’m looking for steak!” she says, wagging her tail hopefully. “I’m pretty certain that there’s no steak down there,” I say. “I’ve never… Continue reading Many Worlds, Many Treats
Not the Same Old Song
The iPod giveth, and the iPod taketh away. Back in the day, there was this technology called “audio tape,” which people used to record music. On a typical tape, you could record maybe ten or elevent pop songs, and then you had to flip it over, and record another ten or eleven songs on the… Continue reading Not the Same Old Song
Walter Mosley
Noted author Walter Mosley spoke on campus last night, and a spot opened up at the last minute for the dinner beforehand, so I got to spend an hour or so listening to him talk off-the-cuff in a small group. He’s a very charming guy, and had a lot of interesting things to say about… Continue reading Walter Mosley
Why Cesium?
The Zeitgeist for today highlights a little New York Times Q & A piece on atomic clocks, answering the question “Why is cesium used in atomic clocks?” The striking thing about this, to me, is that they don’t really answer the question. I mean, they talk about how atomic clocks work in very vague terms… Continue reading Why Cesium?